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High Court: It's Okay to File a Second Lawsuit

Provided by a Mesothelioma Attorney

High court: it's okay to file a second suit

Most of the people who work in industrial settings like assembly lines and aluminum smelters are hard-working, unassuming folk.

"Outside of a quiet reputation for doing a good job, they don't look for notoriety and, in fact, are embarrassed by it," said Richard A. Dodd, a Texas personal injury attorney who specializes in asbestos-related law and who has done extensive work with employees with asbestos exposure from ALCOA.

Dodd said the types of people who work at places like ALCOA are the "salt of the earth. It takes a lot for them to consider filing a lawsuit for damages, even after the diagnosis of a life-altering disease like asbestosis or mesothelioma. Filing a second time is extremely unusual."

So, Dodd believes it's unlikely that Henry Pustejovsky, a 25-year veteran of the ALCOA potlines in Rockdale, wanted to be famous among lawyers for precedent-setting asbestos ALCOA lawsuits. "I'd bet that he would have been more than a little embarrassed."

Pustejovsky was diagnosed with asbestosis, the scarring of the lungs caused by inhaling asbestos fibers, in 1982. In 1994, at the age of 59, he began having trouble breathing and was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer that afflicts the lining of the thoracic cavity (the mesothelium). The only known cause for mesothelioma is asbestos exposure. He died in 1995.

But, because Pustejovsky's family was relentless in the pursuit of justice, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that people like him, who were diagnosed with the workplace disease asbestosis and reached some sort of settlement for it, may make a second claim for asbestos-related cancers like mesothelioma.

"This was an important ruling for workers in Texas," said Dodd. "Asbestosis and mesothelioma are different diseases and have different latency periods. A worker who suffers from ALCOA asbestos exposure may not develop symptoms of mesothelioma for several decades, if at all."

Dodd noted that the law imposes a time limit for seeking compensation through the courts so it's important to seek professional insight. "If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or asbestosis or any other illness that is the result of a hazardous workplace, you can't afford to wait around. Treatment can be expensive, but help is available."

Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP is a Texas mesothelioma law firm with offices in Cameron and Port Lavaca.