Former Automotive Painter Files Benzene Lawsuit in Texas

BEAUMONT, Texas -- A former automotive painter and refinisher has filed a benzene complaint in Texas, contending that his 26-year career in the business required him to work with benzene-containing products that caused his leukemia. Smith, et al., v. E.I. Du Pont De Nemours, et al., No. 08-00385 (E.D. Texas).

In the July 11 lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the plaintiffs invoked the discovery rule, saying that they did not learn the cause of the plaintiff's acute myelogenous leukemia until less than two years prior to filing the complaint.

The plaintiffs …