Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

The Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal upheld a verdict of $3.2 million for former contractor Ray Rando, who contracted mesothelioma as a result of asbestos exposure. The defendants are Parsons Infrastructure and Technology Group, and Jacobs Constructors. Rando worked for the companies between 1965 and 1985 as a pipe fitter and welder. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2006.

Rando was initially granted the $3.2 million verdict about 15 months ago. The Louisiana Court of Appeal found that because the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act does not cover mesothelioma, leaving former employees injured by the occupational hazard of asbestos with no other recourse for compensation, lawsuits brought against employers for mesothelioma cannot be barred on the basis of workers’ compensation.

The appeals court also ruled that the claims Rando made against his employers fell within statute exceptions because his employer, which was a turn-key construction company working onsite at chemical plants, had control over the conditions at the construction sites where Rando was exposed to asbestos.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS157278+19-May-2008+PRN20080519

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