Shortness of Breath Not a Compensable Asbestos Injury, Appeals Court Holds

PHILADELPHIA - A plaintiff cannot pursue claims for shortness of breath related to his asbestosis when he suffers from a myriad of additional ailments that could be the cause of his condition, an appeals court has held. Quate v. American Standard, Inc., et al., No. 1835 EDA 2002 (Pa. Super. Ct.).

In a Feb. 20 decision affirming a July 2002 trial court opinion, the Pennsylvania Superior Court refused to allow the claim of Frank Quate, a former plumbing supply clerk who now suffers from asbestos-related pleural disease, to go forward. Instead, the court upheld an award of summary judgment to …