Court Says Expert's Causation Opinion Contradictory, Affirms Judgment

SEATTLE - An appellate court has affirmed an award of summary judgment for Ford Motor Co., finding a medical expert's contradictory and conclusory opinions insufficient to raise an issue of fact that exposure to asbestos-containing Ford brake products caused a woman's fatal mesothelioma. McPhee v. Ford Motor Co., No. 55832-3-1 (Wash. Ct. App., Div. 1).

In an Oct. 16 opinion, the Washington Court of Appeals said that plaintiff's expert Dr. Carl Brodkin failed to refute Ford's evidence against causation and did not sufficiently explain his own opinion that Elaine McPhee's exposure to Ford products caused her disease.

Brodkin stated that …