Asbestos Use in South Carolina
South Carolina was home to some major shipyards that exposed thousands of workers to asbestos during the 20th century. The Charleston Navy Shipyard, the Detyens Shipyard in Charleston and the U.S. Naval Base in Buford are all known locations where asbestos exposure occurred. The state has many chemical plants: DuPont, Dow, Monsanto and Stauffer are all located in Anderson and Aiken. DuPont and Monsanto have several other locations. Duke Power and South Carolina Electric & Gas operate the power plants that have allowed employee asbestos exposure. There are some cotton mills and textile firms that are known asbestos sites; military installations in South Carolina with an asbestos history include the Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot.
Mesothelioma & Asbestos Deaths in South Carolina
According to a national survey by a private organization there were 308 deaths due to asbestosis recorded in the state during the period 1979 – 2000. The same analysis found that mesothelioma and asbestos cancer deaths during the same period were from 326 to 556 in number. The National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) began tracking mesothelioma deaths carefully in 1999; their report issued in 2005 noted an additional 200 deaths caused by malignant mesothelioma during that six year period.
Legal Rights of Mesothelioma Victims in South Carolina
The South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Quality regulates the renovation and demolition of structures containing asbestos and provides oversight of federal and state laws concerning worker protection and air quality. South Carolina state law allows residents who develop an asbestos related disease three years after the date of diagnosis to file a product liability or personal injury lawsuit. Families that have lost someone to asbestosis or mesothelioma also have three years after the date of death to file a wrongful death action.
State law in South Carolina follows the traditional form of joint and several liability, meaning that multiple defendants in a liability case are responsible for their apportioned share of the damages. However any defendant judged to have any degree of responsibility may be held financially responsible for the entire judgment if the other defendants are unable to pay. If a plaintiff is partially responsible for the harm, he or she may still recover apportioned damages unless personal responsibility exceeds 50%, at which point they cannot recover damages.
Asbestos Lawsuits in South Carolina
South Carolina has an ongoing history of asbestos litigation. In one precedent-setting case, a woman who was exposed to asbestos from her father’s work clothes while growing up in the state brought suit against Owens Corning and DuPont alleging that the father’s asbestos exposure had caused her mesothelioma. The defendants claimed she had no standing because she was not a current resident of the state and had not developed the disease while living there, thus giving her no standing under state law. That position was upheld and then reversed on appeal, the court finding that exposure while living in the state met the residency requirements.
