MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments in a multi-million-dollar lawsuit between Pabst Brewing Company and the family of a contractor who died from mesothelioma.

Justices are being asked to decide not only whether Pabst can be held liable for the death of pipefitter Gerald Lorbiecki but also how lower courts should calculate the damages companies must pay in similar cases going forward.

“Remind the public that workers matter, that worker safety matters,” attorney Mark Thomsen, who is representing the Lorbiecki family, urged justices.

Lorbiecki, who was exposed to asbestos while working as an independent contractor at Pabst’s Milwaukee bottling facility in the 1970s, filed the lawsuit in 2017 after being diagnosed with mesothelioma.

He died shortly after s

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