Sorenson v. Raymark Industries, Inc.

Defendants, manufacturers of asbestos products, appeal a judgment in favor of Lyle Sorenson, who suffers asbestos-related impairments. Sorenson was employed at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for many years, from the early 1940's through the mid-1970's. Although he did not work with asbestos products personally, he frequently did work in areas where these products were applied or removed, and where asbestos dust filled the air.

In 1980, Sorenson's physician determined that Sorenson had asbestosis, which later worsened, and pulmonary disease related to his habit of smoking cigarettes. A more recent…