Insurers, Plaintiff, Denied Summary Judgment in Silica Wrongful Death Suit

NEW ORLEANS - The family of a man who developed silicosis after years working as a sandblaster aboard ships docked off the Louisiana coast cannot seek non-pecuniary damages for wrongful death from two manufacturers of sandblasting equipment. Scarborough, et al. v. Clemco Industries, et al., No. 03-0087 (E.D. La.).

According to Judge Helen B. Berrigan's May 16 decision denying summary judgment to both parties, a $650,000 judgment rendered for the plaintiffs more than 20 years ago in a similar matter has a preclusive effect on the wrongful death complaint in that it deprives the plaintiffs of an opportunity to supplement …