Expert Opinion Evidence Necessary To Prove General Causation In Benzene-Exposure Case Involving Gas Station Worker

In a products liability action against oil and gas companies in which the surviving spouse of a gas station worker claimed that the decedent’s exposure to benzene-containing gasoline caused his acute myeloid leukemia (“AML”), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana denied the plaintiff’s partial summary judgment motions on a number of issues last week.  The plaintiff sought summary judgment on general causation that benzene exposure can cause AML, but the court denied this motion because the plaintiff failed to offer expert medical testimony in support of her position.  The court explained that the defendants offered no stipulation regarding the toxicity of gasoline or the toxicity of benzene as a component of gasoline, so the plaintiff had to submit expert opinion evidence on the issue of general causation.  The court did grant summary judgment on the narrow issue that before the late 1970s, the defendants did not warn users that their gasoline products contained benzene or that benzene exposure could cause leukemia, but the court emphasized that at this time, the plaintiff has failed to show that the defendants had a duty to issue such warnings during the years the plaintiff’s husband worked as a gas station attendant.