Premises liability.

What the Norfolk railroad workers and other asbestosis sufferers fear most is malignant mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer affecting the linings of the chest or the abdominal cavity, or the tissue surrounding the heart. Mesothelioma is usually fatal, and most patients--once diagnosed--are given 8 to 12 months to live.

The only known cause of the disease is exposure to asbestos. Experts say that even relatively small exposures can result in mesothelioma 30 to 40 years later.

Such was the case for Genevieve Gunderson, a 75-year-old retired hairdresser from Torrance, California. She developed the disease from secondary exposure to asbestos fibers after washing her husband's work clothes twice a week from 1948 to 1963. During that time, he worked as a pipefitter at industrial sites, including one owned by Union Oil (Unocal) in Wilmington, California, where he was employed by Fluor Corp. and Bechtel.

In March 2002, Gunderson sued 40 different defendants, including Unocal, Bechtel, Chevron, and Fluor Corp. (Gunderson v. Unocal Corp., No. 406207 (Cal., San Francisco County Super. Ct. Dec. 12, 2002).) All but Unocal settled. Gunderson's illness was so serious that the court put the trial on the "fast track." She died 30 days after the December verdict.

Gunderson's lawyer, Philip Harley of Berkeley, California, argued that the owners of the industrial sites where Gunderson's husband worked were liable because they failed to provide changing rooms, work clothing, and workplace laundry service for workers exposed to asbestos and other harmful dust. The jury found in her favor on separate theories of ordinary negligence, premises liability, and peculiar risk, and awarded her sizable damages.

"It was a significant verdict for a woman in her seventies," said Harley. "She was a very sympathetic lady. She was like everybody's grandmother."

Cases based on secondary exposure to asbestos, including some involving plaintiffs who have developed mesothelioma, are not uncommon, Harley said. He estimated that 10 percent to 20 percent of the mesothelioma cases he has heard about involve people who have had almost no direct contact with asbestos. What was unusual about Gunderson was its use of a premises liability theory to complement the claim of secondary exposure.

"As far as I know, this is one of the very few secondary-exposure premises liability cases," he said. However, in primary-exposure cases, premises liability "is now a part of almost every case."