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Chaney v. Bayer Corporation,
Marshall Co., W.Va. Civil Action No. 97-C-42M.
Mr. Chaney was employed by Bayer Corporation and its predecessors from 1961 to 1984, as a chemical operator at Bayer's Marshall County,
West Virginia facility. In that capacity, he was exposed to benzene by means of inhalation and dermal absorption. Mr. Chaney developed myelodysplastic syndrome, thrombocytopenia, megaloblastic
erythropoiesis, diminished megakaryocytes, and an 11q14 chromosome abnormality, all of which places him at an increased risk of developing leukemia.
Suit was instituted against Bayer under the intentional tort exception to West Virginia Workers' Compensation Act, W.Va. Code Section
23-4-2. Plaintiff was required to establish (1) a specific unsafe working condition with a strong probability of serious injury or death; (2) subjective realization and appreciation of that
condition by her decedent's employer Bayer; (3) that the condition was a violation, whether cited or not, of a specifically applicable federal or state safety statute or regulation or of a commonly
accepted and specifically applicable safety standard in the employer's type of business or industry; (4) intentional exposure by the employer of the employee to that specific unsafe working condition
subjectively realized and appreciated by the employer; and (5) such exposure to that condition proximately caused the serious injury or death of the employee.
Plaintiff asserted that Bayer required him to perform his job duties in areas where he would be exposed to impermissibly high levels of
benzene, benzene derivatives, and/or benzene-containing products without being warned of the hazards posed by the same, and without being provided adequate safety equipment when, working in, around,
near, with, and being exposed to the benzene.
After suit was instituted, Mr. Chaney died from causes unrelated to his benzene-induced blood and bone marrow disease. Thereafter, the case
settled for a confidential amount.
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