BA: Yes. We had a case that dealt with workers who come home with asbestos on their clothes and their spouses or other family members are exposed. The employer, a refinery, argued, “We have no duty to protect people outside the refinery from toxic chemicals we know are dangerous.” In other words the refinery was saying, “We can take these toxic chemicals and spread them throughout the environment.”
We had to take that all the way to the California Supreme Court and the ruling came down in our favor. The court basically said to these employers, “No, you can’t just send toxic fumes, dust, asbestos – whatever it is – off your premises and say ‘good riddance.’” The court told them if you know of dangers, you have to take precautions.
Winning that case was very satisfying for our legal team, and more importantly, for our clients. They don’t want to see other families go through the nightmares that they have had to suffer.
AS: It sounds cliché, but I go home every day and I feel like I’ve done something good. Because we’re helping people who really need the help – they’re victims.
We’re working for people who worked hard all their lives to support their families. They had no idea they’d be dying from these horrible diseases that result from asbestos exposure through their jobs.
The companies they worked for knew from early-on the dangers of asbestos, but they put profits over the safety of others.
We’re fighting for good guys and we’re fighting the good fight.