Swanson v. Simpson Timber
In Campbell v. Ford Motor Co. (2012) 206 Cal.App.4th 15 (Campbell), the court applied the Rowland v. Christian (1968) 69 Cal.2d 108 (Rowland) factors, as further clarified in Cabral v. Ralphs Grocery Co. (2011) 51 Cal.4th 764 (Cabral), to hold a “property owner has no duty to protect family members of workers on its premises from secondary exposure to asbestos used during the course of the property owner’s business.â€[1] (Campbell, supra, at p. 34.) In this secondary asbestos case, we must determine whether to follow Campbell in an action against a premises owner brought by its employee who initially was exposed to asbestos used in manufacturing the premises owner’s products, but also allegedly was secondarily exposed off the premises to respirable asbestos on his work clothes or on his son’s work clothes, who also was an employee.
Although the factual circumstances differ here, like Campbell, we conclude that based upon the Rowland public policy factors, a premises owner has no duty to protect an employee from secondary exposure to asbestos off the premises arising from his association with a family member and fellow employee who wore asbestos-contaminated work clothes home. To hold otherwise would impose limitless liability on premises owners. We further conclude an employee’s secondary asbestos exposure when wearing home his own work clothes is a collateral or derivative injury barred by the exclusivity provisions of the Workers Compensation Act. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s judgment of nonsuit.
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