Vt. High Court Reinstates Mortuary Worker's Suit Against Building Owners

MONTPELIER, Vt. - The Vermont Supreme Court has reinstated a wrongful death lawsuit filed against an employer's landlord by the estate of a mortuary worker whose cancer was allegedly caused by workplace exposure to formaldehyde. A_rnold v. Palmer, et al._, No. 2011 VT 8 (Vt. Sup. Ct.).

By a 3-2 vote, the high court reinstated the lawsuit brought by the estate of Steven Arnold, saying the claim was not barred by workers' compensation law because the owners of the building leased to Arnold's employer were not Arnold's statutory employers.

Steven Arnold contracted cancer while employed as the funeral director …