MOUNDSVILLE – A woman is suing 69 companies she claims are responsible for her father’s death.
Robert Fleetwood Byus died on April 1 and was diagnosed with asbestos-related malignancy by autopsy on April 20, according to a complaint filed Aug. 22 in Marshall Circuit Court.
Susan Thompson claims the defendants failed to provide her father with protective equipment and clothing to guard him from inhalation of asbestos fibers.
The design, construction, maintenance, installation, placement or continued placement by failure to remove or render harmless asbestos products in the defendants’ facilities created an unreasonable risk of harm to Byus, according to the suit.
Thompson claims the defendants violated applicable statutes and regulations controlling the conduct where the exposures occurred.
The defendants failed to take responsible precautions to warn Byus of the dangers to which he was being exposed and caused him to breathe or ingest asbestos dust created by the use of the products and develop an asbestos-related disease, according to the suit.
Thompson claims the defendants’ actions caused her father to develop a serious, permanent and disabling lung disease and caused him great pain of body and mind; embarrassment; inconvenience; loss of wages and wage earning capacity; loss of enjoyment of life; shortening of his life expectancy; permanent and disabling injury; and death.
Thompson is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. She is being represented by Leslie Ann James of Hartley Law Group.
Marshall Circuit Court case number: 17-C-170