Watters v. Department of Social Services

849 So. 2d 724, 2003 La.App. 4 Cir. 0703, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 2582, 2003 WL 21204624
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 14, 2003
DocketNo. 2003-C-0703
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 849 So. 2d 724 (Watters v. Department of Social Services) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Watters v. Department of Social Services, 849 So. 2d 724, 2003 La.App. 4 Cir. 0703, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 2582, 2003 WL 21204624 (La. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

Judge DENNIS R. BAGNERIS, SR.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

In this mesothelioma-personal injury action, plaintiff-relator Christine Songy seeks supervisory review of the denial of her motion for partial summary judgment. Plaintiff Christine Songy and approximately 679 others filed this class action on October 25, 2001, seeking damages for exposure to mold and asbestos in the Plaza Towers office building.

Plaintiff Songy filed a motion for summary judgment on a number of issues. The matter came for hearing on March 28, 2003, and a written judgment denying plaintiffs motion was signed on April 4, 2003.

FACTS

Plaintiff sought summary judgment finding that: (1) she has malignant mesothelio-ma; (2) exposure to asbestos was “a” cause of her mesothelioma; (3) she was exposed to asbestos in the Plaza Tower office building; (4) she was exposed to mold in the Plaza Tower office building; (5) her exposure to mold, mold spores and the by-products of mold spores at the Plaza Tower was a “promoter and a substantial contributing factor to her injuries;” (6) she did not have malignant mesothelioma in 1997; and (7) she had no other direct occupational exposure to asbestos except the Plaza Towers.

A number of exhibits are attached to plaintiffs writ application, and were submitted to and considered by the trial court.

Exhibit 1 is a May 20, 2002 Meadow-crest Hospital tissue report from Dr. Don Hemelt, a pathologist, concluding that plaintiffs pleural biopsy showed “probable” malignant mesothelioma. Dr. Hemelt confirmed Dr. Ronald Welsh’s ^diagnosis of “probable” malignant mesothelioma, which diagnosis is reflected in a May 20, 2002 letter from Dr. Welsh to Dr. Hemelt. Dr. Welsh, also a pathologist, stated that the results he saw “do not make a positive diagnosis of mesothelioma, but do make it the most likely one at this time.” He noted that additional proof would come by electron microscopy, and further noted that “[i]f there is the possibility of litigation it would be well to inform the patient and family of the need for autopsy verification of the diagnosis to exclude other primary malignant neoplasms.” Dr. Welsh thanked Dr. Hemelt for the opportunity to “study this most interesting case.”

Exhibit 2 is an office note from Dr. N. Chandrasekaran, an oncologist, referenc[727]*727ing a June 10, 2002 office visit by plaintiff. The note is copied to Drs. Lillibeth Ro-chon, Mark Kappelman and William Bor-rón. The note refers to plaintiff being aware of the diagnosis of mesothelioma, an incurable disease, and mentions possible chemo-treatment options, and the possibility of enrolling in a treatment trial at LSU.

Exhibit 3 is a July 3, 2002 letter from Dr. William Borron to Dr. Lillibeth Ro-chon, noting that he had seen plaintiff previously in Meadowcrest Hospital for “recurrent pleural effusion.” He reported that the results of her pleural biopsy were “consistent with malignant mesothelioma.”

Exhibit 4 consists of excerpts from a January 13, 2003 deposition of Dr. Tim Oury, a pathologist, who said that the stain test in plaintiffs case was “not definitive for mesothelioma, but is most consistent with mesothelioma.” He said “[w]ith what I have right now, my opinion is it is more probable than not that this is mesothelio-ma.” He could not rule out asbestos as a cause, but said the slides he viewed showed no asbestos bodies, which made him “consider this as a possibility Uof being an idiopathic mesothelioma.” He implicitly confirmed that asbestos causes almost 9 out of 10 cases of mesothelioma.

Exhibit 5 is the October 21, 2002 deposition of Dr. Paul Schwarzenberger, who said he believed plaintiff had malignant mesothelioma. He found it unlikely that she had a pleural effusion in 1997, or that if she did, that it would be related in any way to her present malignant mesothelio-ma. He said most studies support a latency period for mesothelioma of between 10 and 40 years, but that it could be less, depending on the level of asbestos exposure. With regard to plaintiff, he could not exclude exposure to asbestos when she was five years old, or exposure six years ago.

Exhibit 6 is the March 12, 2003 affidavit of Dr. Howard Sandler, president of San-dler Occupational Medicine Associates, Inc. in New York State, who was aware that plaintiff was diagnosed with mesothe-lioma in May 2002, and had worked in Plaza Tower three and one-half years, beginning in October 1998. The latency period for asbestos-induced mesothelioma is a minimum of 15 years, with the maximum exceeding 50 years. 10-20% of all mesothe-liomas are idiopathic, meaning they cannot be linked to any specific exposure or circumstances. There was no scientific evidence demonstrating that inhalation exposure to mold or mold by-products are causally related to the initiation, promotion or progression of mesothelioma. There was no evidence that any molds present in the Plaza Tower building produced any mycotoxins (mold produces mycotoxins) at appreciable levels. Dr. Sandler found that the “likely etiologic factor” for plaintiffs mesothelioma was her exposure to asbestos approximately 45 years ago during her weekly visits to her uncle’s home. Plaintiffs uncle worked at a Johns-Manville asbestos-products manufacturing plant and died of an asbestos-related disease. His Uwife was also diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, indicating the presence of environmental or paraoccupational asbestos exposure.

Exhibit 7 consists of excerpts from the October 24, 2002 deposition of Dr. Mark Kappelman, a thoracic surgeon, who first saw plaintiff April 23, 2002 on a referral for a recurrent pleural effusion for which an etiology had not been established. He confirmed that one of the causes of pleural mesothelioma is asbestos exposure, but that there are also some unknown causes. During a May 14, 2002 thoracoscopy, he observed multiple nodules in her chest cavity, which he said is what you see most of the time with mesotheliomas. The pathology in plaintiffs case was reported as a [728]*728malignant mesothelioma. He said that virtually all the mesotheliomas that one sees are related to asbestos exposure, especially in “this” part of the country. He recalled plaintiffs history as being treated in 1997 for what was described as pneumonia. Dr. Kappleman talked about the latency periods for mesothelioma — 10 to 20 years, but as short a period as 5 to 10 years.

Exhibit 8 consists of excerpts from the December 10, 2002 deposition of Danny Joyce, an industrial hygienist, who believed that plaintiff, just from working in the Plaza Tower building, “certainly had exposure to asbestos as she traversed the building, went in stairwells, worked in office settings on those floors and on other floors where asbestos was present.” He said the Plaza Tower building had water problems that facilitated mold growth, and that the removal of dry materials without adequate containment measures increased the amount of spores dispersed in the air. With regard to asbestos, he said a combination of things led to asbestos insulation on steam pipes disintegrating and falling into machinery spaces, with an increased likelihood that the heating and air conditioning system would pick up and disperse asbestos fibers throughout the building. He believed there was a | ¡¡significant likelihood that the symptoms alleged by the plaintiffs, including Mrs. Songy, were caused by the mold in the Plaza Tower building.

Exhibit 9

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849 So. 2d 724, 2003 La.App. 4 Cir. 0703, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 2582, 2003 WL 21204624, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/watters-v-department-of-social-services-lactapp-2003.