Claim for Damages Stemming from Ford Employee's Colon Cancer Abated with Widow's Death, Appeals Court Rules

CANTON, Ohio - An appeals court in Ohio has reversed a trial court that refused to abate the claim of a woman who died after failing to resolve whether she was entitled to benefits stemming from her husband's alleged asbestos-related colon cancer. Rodgers v. Ford Motor Co., et al., No. 2002CA00340 (Ohio App. Ct., Fifth Dist.).

The court said in its March 3 decision that the trial court should have dismissed the claim upon the plaintiff's death because her claim for compensation had been denied at every level, and compensation had never been awarded in the case.

In February 2001, …