Failure to Link Shortness of Breath, Asbestosis Grounds for Summary Judgment, Court Holds

PHILADELPHIA - A state appeals court has upheld an award of summary judgment to two defendants where there was no evidence directly linking a plaintiff's shortness of breath to his alleged asbestosis. Ryan v. Asbestos Corporation Ltd., et al., No. 377 EDA 2002 (Pa. Super. Ct.).

In a decision released June 20, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held that summary judgment was proper because an expert report indicating that the plaintiff suffered from asbestosis never made the connection between the alleged symptoms and the plaintiff's diagnosis.

The surviving family members of plaintiff Robert Ryan claimed in the underlying complaint that Ryan …