Dow Chemical Seeks Access to Death Certificates of Plaintiff's First-Degree Relatives

BATON ROUGE, La. –– The Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE:DOW) has filed a motion to obtain the death certificates of a benzene plaintiffs’ mother and siblings, saying that knowing the cause of death of the claimant’s first-degree relatives will help in the resolution of the pending lawsuit.

In the Sept. 6 motion, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, the defendant says that genetic predisposition has been identified as a risk factor for developing multiple myeloma.

The suit, filed by Betty Ventress, says her late husband Ernest's work as a contract laborer for National Maintenance and …