Testimony of Co-Worker Sufficient to Defeat Summary Judgment in Asbestos Case

PHILADELPHIA - A state appeals court in Pennsylvania has reversed summary judgment in an asbestos case, finding that testimony from co-workers exposed to fibers under similar circumstances as alleged by a deceased plaintiff is sufficient to create a genuine issue of fact. McNeal v. Eaton Corp., et al., No. 3 EDA 2002 (Pa. Super. Ct.).

The Pennsylvania Superior Court, in an opinion issued Sept. 3, said that recent case law clarifying the burden an asbestos plaintiff must shoulder in order to survive summary judgment indicates that where a plaintiff cannot serve as his own product identification witness, the testimony of …