BELLEVILLE — A St. Clair County woman is suing dozens of companies, alleging their negligence caused her sister to die of asbestos-related causes.
Fredetta Johnson, individually and as special administrator of the estate of Diane Walton, deceased, filed a lawsuit Aug. 29 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Aurora Pump Co., Borg-Wagner Morse TEC LLC, CBS Corp., Certain-Teed Corp., Cleaver-Brooks, et al, alleging negligence in failing to exercise reasonable care and caution for the safety of people working with asbestos-containing products.
According to the complaint, on Nov. 25, 2015, Diane Walton first became aware she had developed lung cancer, an asbestos-induced disease, which was caused by defendants' negligence. The suit says due to the course and scope of her employment, which began in 1964 as a cleaner at Quality Maintenance, she was exposed to or absorbed great amounts of asbestos fibers that caused her to develop lung cancer. This ultimately led to her death Feb. 21, 2016, the lawsuit states.
The plaintiff alleges the defendants negligently included asbestos in their products and failed to provide adequate warnings and instructions concerning the safe methods of working with products containing asbestos.
Johnson seeks trial by jury, judgment against the defendants of more than $50,000 for economic damages and at least $50,000 to compensate for Walton's injuries. She is represented by attorneys Randy L. Gori and Barry Julian of Gori, Julian & Associates PC in Edwardsville.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 16-L-446