Opinion ID: 2175808
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Establishing Proximate Cause in This Case Direct Expert Testimony was Required

Text: In the case sub judice, as in other previous cases involving claims for asbestos-related diseases, the record reflects that multiple suppliers of asbestos products are involved either as defendants or subject to an apportionment of fault under the Uniform Contribution Among Tort-Feasors Law, 10 Del.C. Ch. 63. The record also reflects that the nature of the asbestos product of each defendant differs with respect to its physical characteristics and the tendency of the product to release asbestos fibers when used. Consequently, neither the defendant's asbestos products nor the extent of release of fibers from those asbestos products can be viewed as generic. Moreover, the record in this case reflects that human beings do not react uniformly following their exposure to a toxic substance. Specifically, the record reflects that exposure to asbestos products results in the manifestation of asbestos-related diseases which, like the diseases of the plaintiffs in this case, vary in different individuals. The plaintiff always has the burden of proving by competent evidence that there was a reasonable probability of a causal connection between each defendant's negligence and the plaintiff's injury. Weiner v. Wisniewski, 213 A.2d at 858. When the issue of causation is presented in a context which is not a matter of common knowledge, such a reasonable probability can only be proven by the testimony of a competent expert witness. Id. Accord Laskowski v. Wallis, 205 A.2d at 826. In the context of the case sub judice, the ratio decidendi of the Superior Court's decision in Lee on the issue of causation is persuasive and consistent with this Court's prior precedents. Mountaire of Delmarva, Inc. v. Glacken, Del.Supr., 487 A.2d 1137 (1984); Weiner v. Wisniewski, Del. Supr., 213 A.2d 857 (1965); Laskowski v. Wallis, Del.Supr., 205 A.2d 825 (1964). The causal nexus between exposure to an asbestos product or various asbestos products and a particular asbestos-related disease is not a matter of common knowledge. Lee v. A.C. & S. Co., 542 A.2d at 355. We hold that to make a prima facie showing with respect to the cause of an asbestos-related disease, a plaintiff must introduce direct competent expert medical testimony that a defendant's asbestos product was a proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury. Id. Compare Mountaire of Delmarva, Inc. v. Glacken, 487 A.2d at 1141. This holding requires the plaintiff's expert medical witness to state, in terms of reasonable medical probability, that there was a causal relationship between the defendant's product and the plaintiff's physical injury, i.e., that but for the plaintiff's exposure to the defendant's asbestos product, the plaintiff's injury would not have occurred. Compare Mountaire of Delmarva, Inc. v. Glacken, 487 A.2d at 1141; Laskowski v. Wallis, 205 A.2d at 826. Without such expert medical testimony in an action which alleges that a plaintiff's asbestos-related disease was the result of exposure to a particular defendant's asbestos-containing product, the issue of proximate cause cannot be submitted to the jury. In the case sub judice, the plaintiffs presented expert medical testimony that each of them is suffering from a disease which was caused by exposure to asbestos products. However, the plaintiffs did not introduce direct expert medical testimony into evidence which established a causal nexus between each defendant's asbestos product and each plaintiff's asbestos-related disease. In this case, in the absence of such direct expert medical testimony, a lay jury's finding that exposure to each defendant's asbestos product was a proximate cause of each plaintiff's asbestos-related disease would necessarily have been speculation. Laskowski v. Wallis, 205 A.2d at 827. Therefore, the Superior Court properly ruled that the plaintiffs' evidence failed to satisfy the burden of proof which was required to establish a prima facie case on the issue of causation and directed the entry of judgments in favor of the defendants following the presentation of the plaintiffs' case. Lee v. A.C. & S. Co., 542 A.2d at 355.