Fairmont State University was named in an asbestos-related lawsuit

FAIRMONT, W.Va. – A lawsuit alleges that Fairmont State University and others knowingly refused to carry out asbestos abatement for decades, and a former student has been diagnosed with lung cancer as a result.

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 in college and other clinical training centers from 1998 to 2004. His time was 14. years after a survey confirmed that campus buildings were contaminated with asbestos and 12 years after state litigation resulted in a $20 million recovery of dollars to remove material from several state buildings, including those at Fairmont State University.

“The truth is, the campus is full of asbestos and the allegations are not just mine,” Robb said. “They were the attorney general (Charlie Brown) of the state of West Virginia in 1986, claiming that there was friable asbestos in the buildings at Fairmont State.”

Robb said not only was Fairmont State University’s leadership aware of the problem for many years and did nothing to mitigate it, it also refused to warn students, employees and visitors about the contamination. of decades at the time his client was there. .

“Fairmont State knew its buildings were contaminated with asbestos, but failed to warn or tell anyone, and our client, a lifelong non-smoker and avid hiker, developed lung cancer caused by the ‘asbestos’.

According to Robb, only the high-profile statewide facilities and those at the Capitol Complex in Charleston received the abatement relief that was granted in the 1986 lawsuit.

“The attorney general, they get the special treatment, their building shrinks,” Robb said. “The WVU Coliseum is coming down, 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 issued the following statement:

Fairmont State University is proud to have served north-central West Virginia since 1865, measuring our impact by the remarkable contributions our alumni have made to businesses, industries and organizations across the world To continue this proud tradition, we reinvest in the facilities, programs and experiences that add value to our students and communities. These include improvements 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 that these baseless allegations will be dismissed and look forward to continuing to focus on providing a supportive and safe environment for our entire campus community.

Robb acknowledged that the lawsuit was filed after cash settlement negotiations fell through.

“We are asking that the schools and hospitals responsible come to the table and compensate our client for all the pain, suffering and all the injuries she has had to deal with by not doing 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 the university has completed was only when opportunities presented themselves to expand the campus. He said when campus expansion was an issue, the university spent or applied for grants to study properties before they could be legally demolished to increase the university’s footprint.

“They’re going to remove the asbestos from these buildings so they can tear them down and turn them into parking lots and more space for the university, but they’re not removing the asbestos from their actual buildings.”

Robb is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, prejudgment and postjudgment interest, court costs, attorneys’ fees and other relief.