FELA Settlement Release for Asbestosis Claim Does Not Bar Subsequent Meso Survival Action, Court Rules

CLEVELAND - A FELA release signed in exchange for a $50,000 settlement stemming from a former rail worker's asbestosis does not relieve defendants of liability arising from the plaintiff's subsequent development of mesothelioma, a state appeals court has ruled. Anderson v. ACandS, Inc., et al., No. 82304 & 82426 (Ohio Ct. App., Eighth Dist.).

The Eighth District Ohio Court of Appeals said Sept. 18 that the FELA release does not bar the mesothelioma-related wrongful death and survivor claims filed by the worker's widow because the disease had not yet accrued at the time the release was signed.

Shirley Anderson sued …