Walston v. Boeing Co.

¶16 (dissenting) — The majority holds that the deliberate injury provision in the Industrial Insurance Act (IIA), Title 51 RCW, does not apply when an employer knowingly and intentionally exposes an employee to high levels of asbestos causing that employee to develop and eventually die from an asbestos-related disease. I disagree.

Wiggins, J.

¶17 I would hold that while it is a close call, petitioners Gary G. Walston and Donna Walston (Walston) have presented sufficient evidence to survive summary judgment. By 1985, The Boeing Company knew that forcing its workers to inhale asbestos fibers…