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Case Law Database

Access over workers' compensation decisions, including En Banc, Significant Panel Decisions, and writ-denied cases.

Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Berger v. Amchem Products

In this action, defendant DaimlerChrysler Corporation moved to preclude evidence linking exposure to automotive friction products to asbestos disease and to dismiss plaintiffs' complaints, or alternatively, for a Frye hearing. Plaintiffs, whose decedents Herman Berger and Arnold Nygaard died from mesothelioma after extensive exposure to brake and clutch dust, opposed these motions. The court denied both motions, finding that the established link between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma is not novel science warranting a Frye hearing. It concluded that sufficient empirical evidence exists for a jury to consider causation, despite arguments about chrysotile fiber characteristics in friction products.

Asbestos LitigationMesotheliomaAutomotive BrakesChrysotile AsbestosEpidemiological EvidenceFrye HearingDaubert HearingCausation ScienceExpert Opinion AdmissibilityOccupational Exposure
References
23
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision
May 13, 2003

Claim of Cammarata v. Caldwell & Cook, Inc.

Jack Cammarata, a drywall finisher, died in 1996 from mesothelioma, prompting his wife to file for workers' compensation benefits, alleging workplace asbestos exposure during his employment with Azor Drywall Company between 1964 and 1967. The Workers’ Compensation Board found Azor's carrier, Merchants Mutual Insurance Company, liable, ruling that mesothelioma was an occupational disease causally linked to his employment. Azor and Merchants appealed, contending they were not liable because Azor had ceased operations before the disablement. The court affirmed the Board's decision, asserting that liability rests with the last employer in the disease-causing employment, and substantial evidence supported Merchants Mutual as the responsible carrier for Azor's coverage through 1967.

Occupational DiseaseMesotheliomaAsbestos ExposureWorkers' Compensation BenefitsEmployer LiabilityInsurance Carrier LiabilityLast Employer RuleCausal RelationshipAppellate ReviewDrywall Finisher
References
3
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Smith v. Aerospace

The employer and its insurance carrier appealed a decision by the Workers’ Compensation Board that discharged the Special Funds Conservation Committee from liability on a death claim. The decedent, who died from mesothelioma, had previously developed asbestosis, a recognized dust disease, which medical evidence showed precipitated the cancer. The Board had erroneously concluded that Special Fund was not liable solely because mesothelioma is not a dust disease. The court clarified that Special Fund's liability extends to cases where a dust disease is a contributory or precipitating factor, not just the direct cause of death. Finding the Board's decision irrational and unsupported by substantial evidence, the court reversed it. The matter was remitted to the Workers’ Compensation Board for further proceedings consistent with the court's opinion.

AsbestosisMesotheliomaDust DiseaseOccupational DiseaseSpecial Funds Conservation CommitteeCausationContributory FactorPrecipitating FactorMedical EvidenceAppellate Review
References
13
Case No. 2020 NY Slip Op 02261 [183 AD3d 211]
Regular Panel Decision
Apr 09, 2020

Nemeth v. Brenntag N. Am.

This case concerns the appeal of a jury verdict in favor of Francis Nemeth, representing the estate of Florence Nemeth, who died from peritoneal mesothelioma. The jury found that Nemeth's mesothelioma was caused by asbestos-contaminated talc in Desert Flower Talcum Powder, supplied by Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, Inc. (WCD) to Shulton, Inc. WCD challenged the findings on general and specific causation, claiming insufficient evidence. The Appellate Division, First Department, affirmed the jury's verdict on causation, finding sufficient evidence to support it. The court also addressed and rejected WCD's arguments regarding summation remarks and jury instructions, and modified the judgment to increase the principal award, while otherwise affirming it.

Asbestos exposurePeritoneal mesotheliomaToxic tortCausationExpert testimonyTalcum powderProduct liabilityAppellate reviewJury verdictDamages
References
42
Case No. 2023 NY Slip Op 05796
Regular Panel Decision
Nov 16, 2023

Sason v. Dykes Lbr. Co., Inc.

Plaintiff Raphael Sason alleged that his deceased brother's mesothelioma resulted from asbestos exposure caused by Durham Rock Hard putty, a product obtained from defendant Dykes Lumber Company, Inc., among other suppliers. Dykes Lumber moved for summary judgment, asserting a lack of specific causation based on an expert's affidavit that calculated the decedent's asbestos exposure to be within ambient air levels. In opposition, plaintiff presented affidavits from a medical expert and an industrial hygienist whose reports, relying on simulation studies, concluded that the decedent's work created toxic concentrations of asbestos fibers exceeding known causative levels for mesothelioma. The Supreme Court denied the motion, recognizing a factual dispute regarding causation, and the Appellate Division, First Department, unanimously affirmed this decision.

MesotheliomaAsbestos ExposureSummary Judgment MotionCausation EvidenceExpert TestimonyIndustrial HygienistMedical Expert OpinionAppellate AffirmationToxic TortsProduct Liability
References
6
Case No. 2025 NY Slip Op 04322 [240 AD3d 1230]
Regular Panel Decision
Jul 25, 2025

Skrzynski v. Akebono Brake Corp.

Joseph A. Skrzynski sued Akebono Brake Corporation and Ford Motor Company for personal injuries, specifically mesothelioma, resulting from asbestos exposure from friction products while working at an automobile dealership. The jury found Ford Motor Company liable for failing to warn about the asbestos hazards. On appeal, Ford challenged the legal sufficiency of the evidence for both general and specific causation. The Appellate Division, Fourth Department, affirmed the judgment, concluding that the trial evidence was legally sufficient to establish both that chrysotile asbestos from automotive brakes can cause peritoneal mesothelioma (general causation) and that plaintiff's exposure levels were sufficient to cause his illness (specific causation). A dissenting justice argued that plaintiff's experts offered insufficient evidence for both general and specific causation, particularly regarding the specific type of asbestos and the quantification of plaintiff's exposure.

Products LiabilityAsbestos ExposureMesotheliomaFailure to WarnCausationGeneral CausationSpecific CausationAppellate ReviewJury VerdictExpert Testimony
References
16
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Claim of Kirisits v. Durez Plastics/Occidental

Kenneth Kirisits, after receiving workers' compensation disability benefits for pleural asbestosis in 1994, died in 2008 from mesothelioma. His widow, the claimant, filed for death benefits, leading the employer and its carrier to seek to shift liability to the Special Fund for Reopened Cases under Workers’ Compensation Law § 25-a, claiming more than seven years had passed since the original disability claim. The Workers’ Compensation Board, however, discharged the Special Fund, ruling that § 25-a was inapplicable as the death benefit claim constituted a new occupational disease, distinct from the initial disability claim. The appellate court affirmed the Board's decision, emphasizing that death benefit claims are separate legal proceedings and noting the absence of a causal connection between the original pleural disease and the later mesothelioma diagnosis in the medical records, thus upholding the Special Fund's release from liability.

Death BenefitsOccupational DiseaseAsbestosMesotheliomaPleural AsbestosisSpecial FundWorkers' Compensation Law § 25-aLiability ShiftAppellate ReviewCausation
References
2
Case No. 2020 NY Slip Op 01875 [181 AD3d 1123]
Regular Panel Decision
Mar 16, 2020

Matter of Gimber v. Eastman Kodak Co.

Sandra Gimber (claimant) sought workers' compensation death benefits for her husband (decedent), who died from mesothelioma allegedly due to asbestos exposure during his employment with Eastman Kodak Company (Kodak) from 1967 to 1985. Kodak and its carrier attempted to apportion liability with the decedent's prior employer, International Paper Company, under Workers' Compensation Law § 44. The Workers' Compensation Board denied the apportionment, finding insufficient evidence that the decedent contracted mesothelioma during his employment with International Paper. The Appellate Division, Third Department, affirmed the Board's decision, concluding that while there was evidence of asbestos exposure at both employers, there was no objective medical evidence proving the disease process began during his employment with International Paper, which ended in 1967, especially since the diagnosis occurred in 2013. The court found the medical opinions linking the condition to prior employment to be speculative and insufficient to establish contraction during that period.

mesotheliomaasbestos exposureworkers' compensationapportionmentoccupational diseaselast employer liabilityprior employerdisease contractionsubstantial evidencemedical evidence
References
8
Case No. No. 8
Regular Panel Decision
Feb 21, 2019

Matter of New York City Asbestos Litigation v. Chevron Corporation

Mason South, a merchant marine, sued Chevron Corporation (successor by merger to Texaco, Inc.) and other defendants in 2015, alleging his mesothelioma resulted from asbestos exposure during his career from 1945-1982. This current lawsuit followed a 1997 settlement between Mr. South and Texaco, Inc., where he signed a release for $1,750 concerning previous asbestos exposure claims. Chevron moved for summary judgment in the 2015 case, arguing the 1997 release barred the claims. The Supreme Court and Appellate Division denied summary judgment, noting the record's insufficiency to demonstrate the release's validity under the heightened burden of federal admiralty law and FELA for seamen. The New York Court of Appeals affirmed, finding Chevron had not met its burden to prove the release was executed with full understanding of rights, citing the ambiguity of the release regarding future diseases like mesothelioma and the circumstances surrounding the 1997 settlement.

AsbestosMesotheliomaSeaman's ReleaseJones ActFELAAdmiralty LawSummary JudgmentContract ValidityBurden of ProofNew York Courts
References
40
Case No. ADJ6824732
Regular
Sep 06, 2012

SHEILA CORREIA, KENNETH BURNETT (Deceased) vs. VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS, AMERICAN HOME ASSURANCE COMPANY, CHARTIS, SEDGWICK CLAIMS MANAGEMENT SERVICES

This case concerns a deceased worker, Kenneth Burnett, diagnosed with mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure. The sole issue was determining the date of last injurious exposure to establish liability. The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board denied reconsideration of the judge's decision. The judge found the applicant's medical expert's opinion on a five to ten-year latency period to be more persuasive than the defendant's expert's twenty-year period. This led to a finding that the decedent's last injurious asbestos exposure occurred between 1996 and 2001, during his employment with Verizon.

MesotheliomaLatency PeriodAsbestos ExposureDate of Last Injurious ExposureLC §5500.5LC §5412Verizon CommunicationsSedgwick Claims Management ServicesDr. LurosDr. Raybin
References
0
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