Brisboy v. Fibreboard Paper Products Corporation
Supreme Court of Michigan
429 Mich. 540 (1988)
Charles Rand worked as an insulator for nine companies over 26 years, including roughly nine months at Fibreboard Paper Products (defendant), breathing asbestos fibers without protective equipment; he also smoked two packs of cigarettes daily for nearly 30 years. After Rand died of lung cancer, his wife Charlotte (plaintiff) sued Fibreboard, the last remaining defendant after others settled, for negligently failing to warn him about asbestos dangers; medical experts disputed at trial whether smoking or asbestos exposure caused his cancer, but the jury found Fibreboard negligent and its negligence the proximate cause of Rand's death, and Fibreboard's motion for a directed verdict was denied.
Whether negligent conduct is the proximate cause of a plaintiff's injury when that conduct was a substantial factor in bringing about the harm, even though another factor, like heavy smoking, may have also contributed.