Indiana mesothelioma patients call for change in workers’ compensation legislation

Oct 27, 2009

The State of Indiana gives residents a 10-year period in which they can file a lawsuit after being in contact with hazardous materials. There is no exception for people like Dorothy Kuykendall, who contracted mesothelioma from a job she hasn’t held since 1975. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. The problem with Indiana’s time limit on lawsuits is that mesothelioma can take 20 or 40 years or more to manifest following initial asbestos exposure.   

Because Indiana does not make an exception for asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma, Kuykendall cannot sue her former employer, Glas-Col Apparatus Co., nor can she file for workers’ compensation. Now Medicare is responsible for covering the hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical expenses she will accrue to treat this disease. Kuykendall’s family and taxpayers have to cover the bills, when she feels it should be her former employer and the company that sold the asbestos who should pay.

Most states provide exceptions to these time limits for latent diseases like mesothelioma—diseases that take a long time to develop.  These time limits to bring lawsuits are intended to protect companies from having to defend against “stale” claims.  In a latent injury case, though, the injured person doesn’t know they have been injured until much later, so it is generally considered more fair to allow the injured person to sue within a certain amount of time after learning of the injury—even if that time is long after the original contact with the toxin.

Kuykendall urged the Indiana Commission on the Courts to change the law. An attorney who represents asbestos victims called for legislation that would keep the current 10-year window for lawsuits, but provide an exception that would allow people outside that timeframe to sue for compensation within two years of being diagnosed with a latent injury. The exception had been approved by the General Assembly in 1989, but was struck down by a 2003 Supreme Court ruling. The chairwoman of the committee that heard testimony about the proposed legislation change stated that she expects the panel to recommend a bill containing an exception for latent diseases to the General Assembly during the 2010 session.

For the full story, go to Evansville Courier & Press.

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