A Kentucky appeals court recently reversed a lower court’s ruling in an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit.

The court ruled in favor of Motorola Solutions Inc. and Zenith Electronics LLC, but the Kentucky Court of Appeals found that a radio repairman’s widow presented sufficient evidence that her husband may have been exposed to asbestos.

According to the widow’s asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit, her husband was exposed to asbestos while working with radios manufactured by the two companies.

The Kentucky Court of Appeals formed a three-judge panel to look at the summary judgment ruling in favor of the two companies, Zenith and Motorola Solutions.

The panel ultimately found that the plaintiff, Thelma A., showed enough proof that her deceased husband had suffered from asbestos exposure and died due to asbestos mesothelioma cancer caused by these companies’ products. Kenneth had worked as a repairman for radio and television for over a decade beginning in the mid-1960s.

Thelma and Kenneth A. filed their asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit against Zenith and Motorola Solutions months after Kenneth was diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer in late 2011.

The plaintiffs brought claims against 20 defendants in total, and quickly either settled or dropped their claims against 18 of them. Their claims against Motorola and Zenith, however, they pursued. Kenneth passed away in 2014.

Originally, the lower court sided with Zenith and Motorola, and found that the plaintiffs had not offered significant evidence showing “what radios Anderson actually repaired, whether those radios contained asbestos, and if so, who manufactured or distributed those asbestos-containing parts,” according to the court’s ruling. The Kentucky Court of Appeals cited this statement when they declared that Kenneth had in fact referenced working with Zenith and Motorola radios that had fiber heat shields.

Both companies have admitted that they have previously manufactured radios with asbestos fiber heat shields, and the appeals court decided that these facts overruled the lower court’s original assessment of the situation.

An industrial hygienist who focuses on asbestos exposure acted as an expert for the plaintiffs, and testified that some studies indicate that Motorola and Zenith radios with heat shields can contain “very high” levels of asbestos, further adding to the plaintiffs’ asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit claim that Kenneth’s cancer was caused by exposure to asbestos from these radios.

While the Kentucky Court of Appeals panel did say they could imagine “stronger cases” than that of Thelma and Kenneth, it also said that “it is not our job to weed out the weaker cases…if they are supported by evidence of some probative value.” In the end, the panel decided that the their asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit deserved a second chance, and left the rest of the issues for the jury to decide.

Many injured parties are coming forward with allegations of asbestos mesothelioma cancer from asbestos exposure, often from construction work or other long-term jobs using asbestos-containing machinery. These people often file asbestos mesothelioma lawsuits in an attempt to regain financial damages for the medical, emotional, and financial pains they have suffered.

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer and believe this can be attributed to asbestos exposure, you may have cause to file an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit.

The Asbestos Mesothelioma Lawsuit is Anderson v. Motorola Solutions Inc., et al., Case No. 2013-MR-001350-MR, in the Court of Appeals of Kentucky.