A manufacturer of respirators is being sued by a shipyard worker whose job it was to clean and maintain the respirators. The lawsuit alleges that the worker was exposed to asbestos when cleaning the respirators, causing him to develop mesothelioma, a type of cancer.

Plaintiff Leo Macias maintains that the manufacturer, Saberhagen Holdings, Inc., had a duty to warn him that he could be exposed to harmful asbestos dust when handling the respirators.  A lower state court threw out the lawsuit, ruling that it was the asbestos, not the respirators, that caused his cancer.

In a 5-4 decision, the Washington State Supreme Court recently reversed the lower court's ruling and reinstated the lawsuit.  Supreme Court Chief Justice Barbara Madsen wrote that when used as intended, the respirators posed a danger to anyone who cleaned them, and thus, Macias should have been warned by the manufacturer.

—Source:  The Sacramento Bee