Firm News

Sinars Slowikowski recently secured a complete defense verdict following a two-week asbestos lung cancer trial in the City of St. Louis on behalf of a building-materials supplier. The jury also returned a defense verdict in favor of a co-defendant auto-parts supplier. 

The case involved allegations by the plaintiff that the decedent’s lung cancer was caused by exposure to asbestos-containing products, including asbestos-containing joint compound allegedly purchased from the building-materials supplier and asbestos-containing passenger vehicle brakes allegedly purchased from the auto-parts supplier. After hearing the evidence presented during the trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the defense. Plaintiff’s overall theory was that asbestos exposures, in combination with cigarette smoking, contributed to causing the decedent’s lung cancer. 

The defense strategy focused on the defendant-specific evidence presented at trial. While the plaintiff relied on broader asbestos exposure theories and generalized product literature, the defense argued that the evidence did not establish exposure to an asbestos-containing product attributable to the defendant at a level sufficient to cause the alleged injury. Throughout the trial, the defense emphasized the importance of product identification, asbestos content, frequency and duration of exposure, dose, and medical causation. 

The defense further supported its position through expert testimony, addressing both exposure and medical causation. The defense's industrial hygiene expert testified that generalized product literature alone does not establish causative exposure attributable to a particular supplier or seller. The defense's pulmonary expert also presented a case-specific analysis of the decedent's medical records, imaging, pathology, and smoking history, concluding that the lung cancer was attributable to smoking rather than asbestos exposure. He further explained that the objective medical evidence lacked findings commonly associated with asbestos-related disease, including asbestosis, pleural plaques, pleural thickening, and asbestos bodies. 

The verdict underscores the continued importance of product identification, asbestos content, dose, and medical causation in asbestos lung cancer litigation. The defense remained focused on whether the evidence established defendant-specific exposure and causation, reinforcing the principle that plaintiffs must meet their burden of proof with respect to each defendant. 

The case was tried by Sinars Slowikowski attorneys Cheyne Adam, Jaclyn Kostich, Mary DiMaggio, and Douglas Sinars, whose practices focus on defending complex asbestos, toxic tort, and product liability matters. Learn more about the trial team by visiting their attorney profiles. 

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