A trial that started last Tuesday in the 22nd Judicial District Court in St. Louis will determine if a man’s installing brake drums on Ford autos during the 1960s caused him to develop deadly mesothelioma 52 years later.
Attorneys for William Trokey, 76, contend that Ford officials knew the asbestos-laden brake drums the plaintiff was installing contained asbestos and were hazardous, but ignored the danger. Attorneys for Ford will contend that Trokey’s illness was contracted by some other means, that he wasn’t an employee of Ford nor even a professional mechanic, but a printer, and thus the car company is not liable.
Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lungs caused by long-term exposure to asbestos and is almost always fatal. Trokey was diagnosed with the disease in 2020.
The trial William Trokey v. Chesterton Co., being heard by Judge Christopher McGraugh, is streamed live courtesy of Courtroom View Network.
“The evidence is about Ford’s choices,” Daniel Blouin, plaintiff attorney of Simmons Hanley Conroy law firm, told a jury during opening statements. “None of it had to happen. Mesothelioma is a 100% preventable disease. Don’t put it in a product that makes it dangerous. These were choices Ford could have made and chose not to. There will be tons of evidence and what Ford will tell you is not true. Asbestos in brakes creates dust that causes cancer when breathed in over time.”
Defense attorney Janika Polk with the New Orleans law firm of Kuchler Polk Weiner said the case has nothing to do with Ford.
“The question before you is not whose fault it is,” she said. “It’s more specific. Is it Ford’s fault that Mr. Trokey has cancer? The answer will be no.”
Polk said Trokey never worked for Ford, at a Ford dealership, and was not a career mechanic.
“Epidemiology studies have consistently concluded that among mechanics there is not an incurred risk of cancer,” she said.
Trokey appeared as a witness called by Blouin on Wednesday and told the court that during the 1960s he had worked at two auto repair stations doing brake installations, tune-ups and clutch work.
“We did a lot of work on Fords at my dad’s (repair) station,” Trokey said.
“What is it like being sick?” Blouin asked.
“It’s not good,” Trokey said. “I take one day at a time. I go in for treatment every three weeks and the treatment messes the system up, though I’m alright the rest of the time. I can’t get around like I did. You don’t feel good most of the time. If I can make it a year (survive), I can make it a few more months.”
During Friday’s session Dr. Richard Cohen, a plaintiff witness specializing in occupational medicine, told the jury asbestos causes cancer. He said Trokey during his work had breathed in amounts way above a level of ambient air, the low-level amount people normally breathe while outside (not considered hazardous).
“How much more than urban ambient air did Mr. Trokey breathe?” Blouin asked.
“An amount 100,000 to a million times greater,” Cohen answered. “The brake drums give a huge level of exposure and Mr. Trokey would sweep up the (auto repair shop) floor. You can’t see this (asbestos) dust with your eyes.”
“He breathes this amount every time he does the brake work?”
“That’s right,” Cohen said.
Blouin exhibited a video that showed an auto worker in a protective suit and mask grinding a brake drum. Special lighting illuminated clouds of dust rising from the work.
“Was this a substantial factor?” Blouin asked.
“There’s no doubt in my mind,” Cohen said. “That was a lot of exposure over a number of years. That is the cause of his mesothelioma. He did 700 brake changes in his lifetime, that’s a lot of dust.”
On cross examination Polk asked Cohen if he was an expert on car brakes.
“I’m not an expert,” Cohen said.
“You have made no studies on (asbestos) fibers from brakes?”
“True.”
“You’ve been serving as a (plaintiff) expert witness since 1980.”
“About 38 years,” Cohen agreed.
“You’ve made at least a million dollars (as an expert witness).”
“I would hope so,” Cohen said.
“Last year it was $200,000 to $300,000?”
“That sounds right,” Cohen said.
“You understand that Trokey is not a career mechanic?”
“Correct.”
Polk said a number of people can get mesothelioma for no known reason, and that thousands of products contain asbestos. She added that Trokey’s work as a printer could have caused his exposure to asbestos.