Morrison Mahoney Partner Ted Murphy recently obtained a defense verdict in favor of our client, the prime designer and builder of the nation’s submarine fleet, in a wrongful death case brought under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Act.
Plaintiff alleged that her husband’s small bowel cancer and death were caused by his exposure to asbestos formerly used (at the instruction of the Navy) at our client’s shipyard for a portion of his career as a machinist and later inspector. Plaintiff called three well-credentialed medical experts who were involved in the decedent’s care concerning the cause of his cancer, all of whom implicated his asbestos exposure while working for our client.
With good cross-examination and effective use of the medical literature, Ted was able to convince the federal administrative law judge hearing the case to discredit their opinions and adopt the opinion of our medical expert who testified that the cause of the decedent’s cancer was sporadic and/or the result of his cigarette smoking.
