FAIRMONT, W.Va. — A lawsuit alleges Fairmont State University and others knowingly refused to conduct asbestos abatement for decades, and as a result, a former student has been diagnosed with lung cancer.
Named in the lawsuit are the Fairmont State University Board of Governors, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Monongalia County General Hospital, United Hospital Center, West Virginia University Hospitals doing business as Fairmont Medical Center, West Virginia Board of Risk and Insurance Management (BRIM), and West Virginia United Health System dba WVU Health System.
Bailey Glasser LLP attorney Michael Robb said his client, Donna Spurling is a lifelong non-smoker and avid hiker who has been diagnosed with lung cancer caused by her time at the university and other clinical training sites from 1998 to 2004. Her time there was 14 years after a survey confirmed buildings on campus were contaminated with asbestos and 12 years after state litigation resulted in a $20 million recovery to remove the material from several state buildings, including those at Fairmont State University.
“The truth is the campus is full of asbestos, and the allegations aren’t just mine,” Robb said. “They were the Attorney General’s (Charlie Brown) of the state of West Virginia in 1986, claiming there was fryable asbestos in the buildings at Fairmont State.”
Robb said not only was the leadership of Fairmont State University aware of the problem for many years and did nothing to mitigate it, but they also refused to warn students, employees, and visitors about the decades-old contamination by the time his client was there.
“Fairmont State knew their buildings were contaminated with asbestos but failed to warn or tell anyone about it, and our client, a lifelong non-smoker and avid hiker, developed lung cancer caused by asbestos.”
According to Robb, only high-profile facilities statewide and those in the Capitol Complex in Charleston received the abatement relief that was awarded in the 1986 lawsuit.
“The Attorney General’s—they get the special treatment—their building gets abated,” Robb said. “The Coliseum at WVU gets abated, but all the small colleges and universities in West Virginia, like Fairmont State University, didn’t get the money to remove the asbestos.”
Fairmont State University released the following statement:
Fairmont State University is proud to have served North-Central West Virginia since 1865, measuring our impact by the notable contributions our alumni have made in businesses, industries, and organizations across the globe. To continue that proud tradition, we reinvest in the facilities, programs, and experiences that deliver value to our students and communities. These include enhancements to our campus, which dates back to 1915. While it would be inappropriate to comment on pending litigation, our number one priority is, and always has been, the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff. We are confident these unsubstantiated accusations will be dismissed and look forward to continuing our focus on providing an ongoing supportive and safe environment for our entire campus community.
Robb acknowledged the lawsuit was filed after cash settlement negotiations failed.
“We’re asking for the schools and hospitals that are responsible to come to the table and compensate our client for all the pain, suffering, and all the injuries she had to deal with by failing to do what they were supposed to do, which was to provide a safe place for her to go to school and work,” Robb said.
Robb said the asbestos abatement that has been completed by the university has only been when opportunities were presented to expand the campus. He said when expanding the campus was an issue, the university either spent or applied for grant dollars to survey the properties before they could be legally demolished to increase the footprint of the university.
“They’ll remove asbestos from those buildings so they can tear them down and turn them into parking lots and more space for the college, but they don’t remove the asbestos from their actual buildings.”
Robb seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, pre- and post-judgement interest, court costs, attorney fees, and other relief.
Story by Mike Nolting, WAJR