A court has ordered that ExxonMobil failed to adequately follow asbestos safety regulations as a result of a lawsuit filed on the behalf of a deceased former employee. Bruce Spillman, who worked in ExxonMobil’s Baton Rouge, LA refinery from 1949 to 1986, was diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer in 2005 and passed away that same year. A lawsuit was filed on his behalf by his surviving family members in 2006.
The Spillman family lawsuit cited negligence on behalf of ExxonMobil, who allegedly ignored asbestos safety guidelines in the workplace, even after the company’s industrial hygienist warned ExxonMobil executives about the dangers of asbestos exposure.
The Louisiana Worker’s Compensation Act of 1952 does not mention mesothelioma, thus permitting related lawsuits to be filed by workers who were exposed prior to 1975, when the LA Worker’s Compensation laws were amended.
