Court: Co-Workers' Use of Defendant's Product Could Have Caused Plaintiff's Injury

SALEM, Ore. -- A state appellate court has reversed a summary judgment award to an asbestos defendant, rejecting the defendant's contention that there was no substantive proof that the plaintiff used the defendant's product. Austin, et al. v. A.J. Zinda Co., et al., No. 0105-04970 (Ore. Ct. App.).

In an opinion released Nov. 24 by the Oregon Court of Appeals, the court instead determined that evidence indicating that defendant Albina Fuel Co. supplied asbestos-containing flex connectors to the plaintiff's work facility was sufficient enough to establish that the plaintiff could have been exposed to the airborne asbestos particles generated by …