$1.7 Million Awarded by Pennsylvania Jury in First Asbestos Trial Against Employer

After a three week trial in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, a jury found that ESAB Group was 100% liable for a factory worker’s death from mesothelioma, a deadly cancerous condition typically caused by exposure to asbestos. The verdict is the first asbestos case to be tried to verdict against an employer in the state of Pennsylvania. The jury awarded $1.7 million in damages, with $1 million going to the deceased plaintiff John Busbey’s widow and $700,000 to his estate.

In July 2012, 72-year-old former factory worker John Busbey died from mesothelioma after working for defendant ESAB Group from 1962 to 2001. Busbey’s widow brought suit against his former employer under the Wrongful Death Act and Survival Act.

Busbey’s suit was a result of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision Tooey v. AK Steel, which ruled that the Workers’ Compensation Act does not prohibit employees from filing suit against their employers when the occupational diseases manifest more than 300 weeks after employment ends. With Pennsylvania’s long industrial history, many believe that Busbey’s case will usher in a new wave of employer asbestos cases.

The case is: Busbey v. ESAB Group.

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