Earlier this month, the Satterfield family was finally successful in receiving a settlement after chasing ALCOA Aluminum for six years concerning the asbestos-related death of Amanda Satterfield, who was only 25 when she succumbed to mesothelioma.
Amanda’s father, Doug Satterfield, worked in an Alcoa plant from the time Amanda was a baby. Each evening when returning home from work he was covered in asbestos dust and fibers. Being exposed to this toxic material took its toll on Amanda and materialized in the disease mesothelioma. She was diagnosed with this rare asbestos-related lung cancer in her early 20′s.
When the court battle began in 2003, the Satterfield’s case was heard in Blount County, Tennessee. The Blount County Circuit Court, however, decided that the case did not have merit due to the fact that Amanda was family, not an employee herself of Alcoa Aluminum. Undeterred, the Satterfield’s lawyers filed directly for an appeal, and an appellate court reversed the decision of the Blount county judge.
Due to the Tennessee Supreme Court’s ruling in 2008 which determined that Alcoa Aluminum has a duty, not only to its employees, but also to its employee’s families, the Satterfield’s case began to gain momentum.
Now, after six years and the tragic death of their daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Satterfield’s case is finally being settled. Amanda’s mother said that it was a “victory on Amanda’s behalf for what she wanted done…but she had to die to make all this happen.”
At a hearing in 2006, Mr. Satterfield put it best, “How many people will have to go through what we went through? It’s not about money — it’s about what’s right. It’s about justice. She didn’t choose to die from this,” he said.
Watch it on Asbestos News Minute.
