March 13, 2008, Beaumont, Texas – The Whisnat Vs DuPont asbestos trial, now in its fourth week, continues to heat up, with several hours of a single day consumed by discussions between opposing attorneys over whether or not certain evidence and witness testimony would be admissible.

The suit was filed by family of Willis Whisnat, a former B.F. Shaw pipefitter who had worked at DuPont’s Sabine Works facility in Beaumont, Texas, as an independent contractor. One of the principle allegations in the case is that Whisnat’s work as an independent contractor exposed him to asbestos fibers in the 1960s, causing him to later develop fatal mesothelioma cancer.

Mesothelioma is a highly aggressive and treatment resistant type of cancer that is incurable and is only caused by exposure to asbestos.

Whisnat died from mesothelioma in the late 1990s, at the age of 72. His family joined a class-action suit after his death. The members of the suit claim that DuPont exposed workers to asbestos despite knowing that doing so would be a serious health hazard.

Last week, jurors heard testimony from several witnesses who had testified that Whisnat did not wear a respirator to prevent asbestos exposure while at work. DuPont claims that its safety policies required its employees to wear respirators in situations of extreme dust exposure, but an industrial hygienist testifying for the plaintiffs said that workers were not always able to determine what conditions constituted an extreme hazard.

This week, debate over what testimony and evidence should be admissible lasted for most of March 12, as plaintiff and defendant attorneys disagreed over allowing some employee records to be admitted as evidence.

DuPont’s attorneys want to enter as evidence some B.F. Shaw employee records. The defendants say the records show that Whisnat spent most of his time at DuPont working in locations that were not subject to any asbestos exposure.

The records were located at an Alabama warehouse, where they had been stored following the closure of B.F. Shaw in 1988. However, presiding Judge Floyd denied the admissibility of the records, on the grounds that they had not been authenticated.

Judge Floyd also denied the testimony of an independent contractor who had worked at DuPont’s Victoria facility. The witness was prepared to testify that B.F. Shaw had warned workers at that facility to wear dust masks when working with asbestos, to protect themselves from the dangerous dust.

DuPont’s attorneys have complained that the plaintiffs are attempting to have banned any evidence that contradicts their case.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 at 5:05 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Asbestos Litigation, Texas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.