The Delaware Supreme Court has reversed a 2012 ruling that awarded $2.86 million to Darcel Galliher, widow of Michael Galliher, a mesothelioma victim. Mrs. Galliher’s wrongful death lawsuit found R.T. Vanderbilt – a New York mining company – 100% responsible for Mr. Galliher’s asbestos exposure.
R.T. Vanderbilt made and sold an asbestos-containing talc powder, which was used at Borg Warner, the manufacturing company that employed Mr. Galliher for 36 years. According to the claimant, Vanderbilt made no effort to warn anyone of the hazardous properties of its product, or to protect against the effects of exposure to asbestos, which has been banned since the 1970s.
After the outcome of the 2012 trial, Vanderbilt appealed. The Supreme Court’s most recent ruling, which found that “legal errors” had occurred at the trial, will send the case back for a retrial. The Supreme Court also referenced the testimony of a plaintiff’s witness, Dr. Barry Castleman, who made “egregious” accusations about Vanderbilt and the company’s supposed bribery of politicians. The hearsay testimony had been ruled inadmissible but came up during trial, and therefore, Vanderbilt argued, was grounds for a mistrial.
Vanderbilt contested that Borg Warner had not been held accountable for its failure to provide a safe working environment for its employees, and the Supreme Court agreed; one of the justices referred to Mr. Galliher’s work environment as “Talc City.”
Asbestos exposure is the primary cause of mesothelioma, a highly preventable type of cancer that has an extremely low survival rate. When asbestos is airborne, as it was inside Borg Warner, it is easily inhaled. Inhalation of the fibers can be detrimental to respiratory health. Each year, there are approximately 3,000 mesothelioma diagnoses.