Tennessee Court Rules Against Alcoa in Asbestos Suit

The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that Alcoa Inc. can be sued in the asbestos-related death of a former worker’s daughter.

The Pittsburgh-based company had argued that it should not be held responsible for Maryville resident Amanda Satterfield’s cancer.

Satterfield had mesothelioma, a rare cancer associated with asbestos. She died in 2005 at the age of 25.

She originally filed suit against the company in 2003, claiming that the asbestos dust her father brought home on his clothes had caused her cancer. Doug Satterfield has continued the lawsuit as the representative of his daughter’s estate.

The court ruled that the employer had a duty to those who came in close contact with asbestos-contaminated work clothes to prevent them from being exposed.

The lawsuit is seeking $10 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages.

Source: The Daily Times.