Allegheny County Courthouse
PITTSBURGH – A company hit with a nearly $4 million verdict by Allegheny County jurors in an asbestos case is appealing to the Pennsylvania Superior Court.
Foster Wheeler filed its appeal last month after post-trial motions failed to reduce the $3.8 million verdict reached a year ago. Harry Chirdon, who was diagnosed with mesothelioma, and his wife Rae sued several companies, but only Foster Wheeler remained for trial.
Judge Arnold Klein’s June order rejecting a call to strike or reduce the verdict will be the subject of the appeal. Chirdon worked for Foster Wheeler repairing boilers for only two months, but evidence at trial alleged major health concerns at that time.
“During the roughly eight-to-10 weeks that Chirdon worked for Foster Wheeler, his shifts were typically 10-12 hours for six or seven days per week, and he was frequently covered in asbestos dust and other debris,” Klein wrote.
“Asbestos fibers were airborne all around Chirdon, and the air was so thick with dust that face masks provided to workers in his area frequently turned black in less than an hour of use.”
Jurors heard Foster Wheeler knew of the risks of asbestos but failed to provide monitoring or warnings to protect Chirdon. A doctor used as an expert witness for Chirdon testified that this exposure caused his mesothelioma.
Foster Wheeler said the state’s statute of repose prevented Chirdon from suing. That law imposes a 12-year deadline for some legal claims and in 2014 was found to apply to asbestos cases.
But the Chirdons didn’t make claims over the safety and maintenance of the boilers, only that Foster Wheeler failed to provide a safe workplace. Because of this, Klein wrote, the statute of repose didn’t apply.
Foster Wheeler also argued evidence didn’t show a breach of the duty to provide a safe workplace.
“(T)he testimony at trial… established that Foster Wheeler knew about the dangers of exposure to asbestos, knew that Harry Chirdon was working around products containing asbestos, knew of steps that could be taken to protect workers such as steps outlined by OSHA, and failed to take those steps,” Klein wrote.
“Foster Wheeler’s duty was straightforward, and there was nothing about that duty or the OSHA regulations mentioned at trial that were beyond the understanding of ordinary jurors. Therefore, expert testimony was not needed to establish Foster Wheeler’s duty.”
Jurors awarded $1.95 million in compensatory damages, $350,000 for Rae Chirdon’s loss of consortium and $1.5 million in punitive damages that Foster Wheeler said were unwarranted. Again, Klein disagreed.
Foster Wheeler “took little or no steps to protect him,” Klein wrote, leading to jurors reasonably finding its conduct was “outrageous.”
Asbestos cases in Allegheny County continue to grow, with 78 filed in 2024. Lawyers suing in Pittsburgh named the second-highest number of defendants on average – 152 per case.
David Bruce Halpern of The Halpern Law Firm represents the Chirdons.
