Workers Comp Representative Cases

Franklin had been intensively exposed to asbestos while working for a power company in Eastern Washington in the 1970s. His exposure was only for a few months, but the asbestos fibers he breathed caused significant damages to his lungs. By 2001, he suffered from shortness of breath and required oxygen to help him breathe. His doctors told him his lung condition was terminal and partially due to his exposure to asbestos while on the job. He filed an occupational disease claim which the Department of Labor & Industries rejected. Franklin called the The Walthew Law Firm.

Attorneys at The Walthew Law Firm presented Franklin's case before the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals. The Industrial Appeals Judge ruled against him and upheld the Department's rejection of his claims. Jon Winemiller then tried the rejected claim to a jury in Superior Court, who overturned those decisions in less than one hour. The jury set aside difficult circumstances, including that Franklin had been exposed 25 years before his symptoms began, that the exposure was irregular and lasted less than nine months, and that there was no documentary evidence that the insulation he was exposed to was asbestos insulation.

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