Along with Lewry, the following individuals testified at the hearing on Lewry's behalf:
Elizabeth Fort;
Rob Fort;
Cory Jorgenson; and,
Hazel Lewry.
The City of Kansas City called Dr. Allen Parmet and Mary Lappin as witnesses.
Based upon the above exhibits and testimony of the witnesses, I make the following findings:
Bill Lewry is 47 years old and was employed by the City of Kansas in the Household Hazardous Waste Department as a Division Manager. He last worked for the City on
December 9, 2007, and then took a medical leave of absence because of the problems that he developed from his work injury. Lewry grew up and attended school in Scotland. He received a degree from the Scottish Technical Education Counsel as an electronic engineer. Lewry came to the United States in 1988 and took course work at Kansas University where he studied environmental and safety issues. Lewry began work for the City of Kansas City in the Household Hazardous Waste Department in 1997, and the series of exposures to chemicals occurred in the years that followed.
Elizabeth Fort, an employee of Heritage Environmental Service, gave testimony concerning her knowledge of Lewry's exposure to toxic chemicals. Heritage contracts with the City of Kansas City to provide services for removal of hazardous wastes and to supplement the services provided by the Kansas City Household Hazardous Waste Unit. Ms. Fort was acquainted with Lewry and had worked side by side with Lewry on previous occasions. She explained that Lewry's job involved disposal of hazardous materials, and that in doing his job, Lewry would be exposed to toxic materials. As an employee of Heritage, Ms. Fort would on occasion be called in to perform the same type of work as Lewry, which included the removal and disposal of toxic materials.
Ms. Fort described a specific incident that occurred in 2006 where she and Lewry were working together at a disposal site in Sugar Creek, Missouri. Residents had been invited to bring their household hazardous waste materials to the site for disposal. At the Sugar Creek location Lewry handled some unmarked bottles of material that let off a gas and odor that caused Lewry to become sick. Ms. Fort was aware from this incident that Lewry had become exposed to toxic fumes and had experienced a reaction to that exposure. Ms. Fort testified that she had become ill as well from exposure to the toxic fumes. Ms. Fort believed the chemicals that she and Lewry had been exposed to were pesticides, because she was familiar with the smell.
Ms. Fort testified that she had known Lewry for many years before the incident in 2006 and knew him to be a very healthy individual. She had occasion to observe his change in appearance and state of health after 2006 and noted that he had developed a problem with hand tremors, fluctuations in his weight and the general appearance of poor health.
The Court heard testimony from Rob Fort, who worked in the Hazardous Household Waste Department under the supervision of Lewry. Fort had known Lewry since 1992. Fort described the functions of the Hazardous Household Waste Department to include closing down meth labs and taking in and disposing of hazardous and toxic materials. The Hazardous Household Waste Department is compensated by other municipalities and other departments, and earns money for the City of Kansas City.
Fort described Lewry as a working supervisor who would typically be involved in the collection and disposal of hazardous chemicals. Although some special equipment was provided by the City for protection from exposure to hazardous chemicals, the protective equipment was not utilized in many cases and respirators were not always used or required when taking in and collecting the disposable material.
Fort testified that Lewry had experienced multiple chemical exposures on the job. One such incident occurred on June 21, 2003 at the hazardous household waste site, 4704 Deramus in Kansas City, Missouri. Lewry was categorizing approximately 68/12 oz. bottles of unknown chemicals in the bay area of the Hazardous Waste Facility. The bottles that Lewry was working with began to emit gases. Fort, while working at a different location in the facility, smelled the chemicals and believed that the chemicals were toxic. Co-workers told Lewry to move the bottles of chemicals outside because of the noxious fumes. Lewry became ill from his exposure to the chemicals vapors and was seen at the North Kansas City Hospital Emergency Room following the incident. The North Kansas City Hospital records indicate that Lewry had experienced a toxic chemical exposure.
Fort testified about another incident involving Lewry and a chemical exposure that occurred after the 2003 occurrence. A customer had driven to the Hazardous Waste Facility and appeared to be impaired from fumes inside their vehicle. There was a child in the backseat of the vehicle, and Fort observed Lewry enter the vehicle to retrieve the child. Fort suggested that Lewry should have obtained a respirator before entering the vehicle, but believed that Lewry chose not to take the time to equip himself with the respirator for fear that the child in the vehicle was at risk. Lewry experienced a chemical exposure upon entering the vehicle and became ill. Fort observed that the customer had brought unknown chemicals to the site for disposal and that fumes were found in the vehicle, which ultimately led to Fort removing the rear carpeting from the vehicle w