Court Allows Claim for Fear of Cancer Related to Silica, Asbestos Exposure

NEW ORLEANS - A federal judge has denied a defendant's motion for summary judgment in a case filed by a former seaman who alleged a fear of developing cancer after he was diagnosed with asbestosis and silicosis. Cohn v. Diamond Offshore Management Co., et al., No. 02-2204 (E.D. La.).

Judge Jay C. Zainey of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana rendered the decision July 28, determining that a jury must decide the extent of plaintiff Howard Cohn's fear of developing cancer from his exposure to asbestos and silica dust on board a vessel owned by Diamond …