Court affirms employer workers’ comp lien on full asbestos tort settlement

The case centered on Stephen M. Dodge, a longtime state employee who was exposed to airborne asbestos fibers both on the job and at home over the course of several decades. Dodge worked as a custodian for the Town of Manchester during the summer of 1967, sweeping and buffing asbestos-containing flooring. He then spent 30 years, from 1973 to 2003, as an analyst at the Department of Motor Vehicles headquarters in Wethersfield, a building that contained asbestos material throughout and had elevated concentrations of asbestos fibers in the air. Outside of work, Dodge had also been exposed to asbestos through products including grinding wheels, joint compounds, drywall, and insulation during his childhood and early adulthood.