Wash. Appellate Court Reverses 3M Defense Verdict in Asbestos Case, Orders New Trial on Negligence

SEATTLE –– A Washington appellate court has reversed a defense verdict in favor of 3M Co., concluding that the trial court had erred in issuing jury instructions and that the “erroneous instructions prejudiced the outcome of the trial on the issue of negligence.”

In the May 9 opinion, the Washington Court of Appeals, Division One, remanded the case for a new trial on the issue of negligence.

The plaintiffs contended in their complaint that Larry Roemmich’s work as an insulator at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington exposed him to airborne asbestos. During the alleged period of exposure, Roemmich “sometimes” …