PLAINTIFF’S EXPERT RAISED ISSUES OF FACT ABOUT WHETHER EXPOSURE TO ASBESTOS CAUSED THE INJURY TO PLAINTIFF; DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff’s expert raised questions of fact about whether exposure to asbestos injured plaintiff:

“In toxic tort cases, an expert opinion on causation must set forth (1) a plaintiff’s exposure to a toxin, (2) that the toxin is capable of causing the particular injuries plaintiff suffered ](general causation) and (3) that the plaintiff was exposed to sufficient levels of the toxin to cause such injuries (specific causation)” … . “[T]here must be evidence from which the factfinder can conclude that the plaintiff was exposed to levels of the agent that are known to cause the kind of harm that the plaintiff claims to have suffered” … . “[I]t is not always necessary for a plaintiff to quantify exposure levels precisely or use the dose-response relationship, provided that whatever methods an expert uses to establish causation are generally accepted in the scientific community” … .

… [T]he plaintiffs submitted expert affidavits raising triable issues of fact as to both general and specific causation … . The conclusions of the plaintiffs’ experts were sufficiently supported by studies and medical literature, and demonstrated specific causation through a scientific method … . The experts’ conflicting interpretations of the underlying studies and literature presented a credibility battle between the parties’ experts, which is properly left to a jury for its resolution … . Pistone v American Biltrite, Inc., 2021 NY Slip Op 03341, Second Dept 5-26-21