Asbestos suit goes to Tennessee high court

By Rick Laney
of The Daily Times Staff

For Maryville resident Doug Satterfield, Tuesday’s court hearing has been a long time coming. On Tuesday morning, the Tennessee Supreme Court will finally hear a suit filed in 2003 by his daughter, Amanda Satterfield, against ALCOA Inc.
It’s been a tough battle for Satterfield — with dismissals, appeals and reversals — that has dragged on in the legal system for more than four years. By far, the hardest part of the battle was losing his daughter to a rare cancer, which is usually associated with asbestos exposure, in January 2005.
Amanda Satterfield filed the lawsuit against ALCOA Inc., and Breeding Insulation Co. Inc., of Nashville, on Dec. 8, 2003. In the suit, she alleged ALCOA didn’t warn her father of the dangers of asbestos exposure.
“Amanda Satterfield was exposed to harmful asbestos dust and fibers from the day of her birth from her father’s use of asbestos products and inadvertent introduction of dust and fibers into their home and personal environments,’’ she alleged in the 2003 suit, initially filed in Blount County Circuit Court.
Doug Satterfield previously told The Daily Times that he hauled asbestos for ALCOA, starting his career with the company in 1973. He served in the military from 1975 to 1978 and then returned to work at ALCOA.
Amanda Satterfield’s lawsuit sought $10 million in compensatory and $10 million in punitive damages.
This case isn’t about money, Doug Satterfield said at a hearing in 2006.
“How many people will have to go through what we went through? It’s not about money — it’s about what’s right. It’s about justice. She didn’t choose to die from this,” he said.
Blount County Circuit Court Judge W. Dale Young dismissed the suit in March 2006, but Satterfield’s attorneys immediately filed an appeal. In April 2007, the Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed Young’s decision, reinstated the lawsuit and charged ALCOA with the cost of the appeal.
Satterfield’s lawyers have maintained that Doug Satterfield was exposed to asbestos at ALCOA Tennessee Operations and that he brought home harmful dust and fibers on his clothes, resulting in Amanda Satterfield contracting mesothelioma, a rare cancer.
Amanda Satterfield died Jan. 1, 2005, at age 25, after her losing her battle with cancer. Following her death, her father was named representative of her estate and the lawsuit continued.
According to the suit:
— Asbestos material Doug Satterfield was exposed to was sold by Breeding Insulation.
— In February 1983, ALCOA implemented a policy at all its plants to keep exposure information out of its employees’ medical records.
— A 1995 ALCOA Asbestos Awareness Training Instructor Manual indicates that “significant exposures to the families of asbestos workers have occurred as a result of contaminated clothing brought home from the workplace.”
— Doug Satterfield began work at ALCOA’s North Plant in 1973 and in 1975. After three years in the U.S. Army, he returned to work at the ALCOA South Plant in 1978.
“During his time at that capacity, he was daily exposed to asbestos dust and asbestos-containing products, including asbestos-containing insulation.” After each workday, Satterfield returned home in clothes covered in dust from ALCOA.
— On Sept. 7, 1979, Amanda Nicole Satterfield was prematurely born to Doug and Donna Satterfield. During every day of her three months at the University of Tennessee Medical Center, Doug Satterfield visited directly from work and stayed with her every evening.
— In June, 1980, Doug Satterfield moved to the North Plant where his job included the use of asbestos-containing thermo-coupling wire and furnace insulation.
— Amanda Satterfield was exposed to harmful asbestos dust and fibers from the day of her birth from her father’s use of asbestos products and inadvertent introduction of dust and fibers into their home and personal environments.
— Even though Doug Satterfield worked in potrooms, around furnace insulation and as a maintenance worker, he was never warned of the risks of asbestos-exposure or the risks of taking asbestos dust home on his clothes.
— As a result of the defendants’ negligence, Amanda Satterfield developed asbestos-related lung disease due to her exposure to the defendants’ asbestos products.
The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday morning at the Tennessee Supreme Court Building at 505 Main Street in Knoxville. The case is on the 9 a.m. docket.
When contacted by The Daily Times Friday, Doug Satterfield said that he has many things he’d like to say, but prefers not to comment until after the hearing.
ALCOA Community Relations Manager Melissa Copelan deferred comment until after Tuesday’s hearing.