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Alder v. Bayer Corp.11/26/2002
INTRODUCTION
Plaintiffs Leslie Alder, aka Leslie Roberts, and Jackie Jones (Technicians), former radiography technicians at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, brought this action against defendant Bayer Corporation's AGFA division, alleging illness from chemical exposure caused by AGFA's negligent installation and servicing of its x-ray processing machine. The trial court excluded Technicians' expert testimony relative to the cause of their alleged illness and granted summary judgment in favor of AGFA. Technicians appeal.
FACTS
Sometime prior to March 1993, AGFA's field engineer, Tim Murray, installed AGFA's Curix Compact processing machine in LDS Hospital's newly-constructed mammography suite. The machine had been in operation for several years in other locations within the hospital. AGFA's installation guidelines specified a minimum air exchange rate of between ten and fifteen times the room's air volume per hour. Murray communicated this requirement to the hospital, which was responsible for the ventilation as part of the construction of the new mammography suite. Murray had previously received training regarding the hazards of exposure to chemical fumes from the machine and the necessity for adequate ventilation in rooms where the processor was used. At the time of installation, he expressed concern regarding the adequacy of the new mammography suite's ventilation. However, he did not test the ventilation in the new room. Sometime after the installation, he asked LDS Hospital's chief technologist, Patrick Bendall, if the hospital had tested the ventilation. Murray was told that the hospital maintenance department had checked the room and that the ventilation was adequate.
Technicians Leslie Alder and Jackie Jones had operated the Curix x-ray processing machine in its previous locations without experiencing any unusual illnesses. However, after the machine was installed in the mammography suite, Jones complained to Murray that she had lost her voice and experienced tightness in her chest. Hospital minutes for April 12, 1995, stated: "Jackie and Leslie work 10 hour days and are constantly around the processor and suspect the chemicals in the processor are causing the symptoms." Three other individuals also reported symptoms in connection with working in the mammography suite.
Murray became aware that the ceiling vent in the new room was not functioning properly and "wasn't exhausting a lot of air." He also acknowledged that the AGFA installation guidelines required him to "be concerned with the ventilation in the room " where the processors were installed. However, he made no tests of the machine or the ventilation system, even when instructed to do so by AGFA's product specialist George Cervenka. In March of 1995, at the hospital's request, Murray installed AGFA's vent kit, consisting of piping that connected to the machine's hose and ran up the ceiling vent. However, in spite of his concern that inadequate ventilation was causing Technicians' health problems, Murray again did not test the ventilation and did not inquire at that time whether the hospital had recently tested the ventilation of the room, nor did he recall suggesting better ventilation to anyone at the hospital. Bendall testified that AGFA was "in the loop" from the time Technicians made their first complaints regarding the room's ventilation and their own health problems. Bendall further testified that he relied on the expertise of AGFA's people regarding safely ventilating the workplace.
Ultimately, Technicians' symptoms included loss of voice, watery eyes, red skin, nausea, muscle aches, dizziness, joint pain, earaches, runny nose, confusion, memory loss,
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