California Appellate Court Upholds “Every Exposure” Theory -

Deferring to the role of a jury in resolving questions of competing scientific theories, a California appeals court upheld a trial court’s ruling allowing expert testimony based on the “every exposure” theory, calling it “the subject of legitimate scientific debate.” See Davis v. Honeywell Int’l Inc., 199 Cal.Rptr.3d 583 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016).

Plaintiff brought suit for wrongful death and negligence, among other claims, alleging decedent’s exposure to asbestos in Defendant’s brake linings during the 1960s and 70s contributed to his development of mesothelioma and subsequent death. After the trial court allowed expert testimony on the “every exposure” theory, which states that even low doses of asbestos are substantial factors contributing to the aggregate dose of asbestos that causes mesothelioma, a jury found for Plaintiff and awarded $2 million in damages.