Bryant Law Center Files Lawsuit Alleging Vinyl Chloride Emissions Caused Rare Liver Cancer
Complaint in Marshall Circuit Court alleges decades of carcinogenic emissions from the Westlake and former Goodrich operations — and the concealment of private air-monitoring data from regulators and the public
PADUCAH, Ky. — June 15, 2026 — A complaint filed today in Marshall Circuit Court alleges that the rare liver cancer of former Calvert City resident, Rhonda Fratzke, was caused by years of exposure to vinyl chloride, ethylene dichloride (EDC), and other hazardous substances released into the air from the chemical plants in Calvert City, Kentucky.
According to the complaint, Ms. Fratzke lived within one mile of the Westlake chemical complex and a neighboring hazardous-waste incineration site from 1989 to 1997 and was chronically exposed to airborne emissions throughout those years. She was later diagnosed with hepatic angiosarcoma — a cancer so closely tied to vinyl chloride that, the complaint states, the medical community regards it as a recognized “signature tumor” of vinyl chloride exposure.
The complaint names Westlake Vinyls, Inc., Westlake PVC Corporation, and Westlake Chemical Corporation (now Westlake Corporation) as the current owners and operators of the plants. It also names Goodrich Corporation, which the complaint alleges built and operated the Calvert City complex for decades before selling its vinyl chloride and EDC manufacturing operations in 1990, and LWD, Inc. and Bluegrass Incineration Services, LLC in connection with a nearby hazardous-waste incineration property that is now a federal Superfund site.
The complaint alleges that emissions from the facilities placed the Calvert City complex among the largest sources of vinyl chloride and EDC air pollution in the United States, and it points to federal air-monitoring results that identified elevated community cancer risk in the area. The complaint further alleges that the companies understated the magnitude and health risks of their emissions — including, it claims, through a private fenceline air-monitoring program for vinyl chloride and EDC whose results were never disclosed to regulators, to the residents of Calvert City, or to Ms. Fratzke.
The complaint asserts claims for negligence, gross negligence, negligence per se, and strict liability, and it seeks compensatory and punitive damages and a trial by jury.
“The families of Calvert City had a right to know what they were breathing. This case is about holding these companies accountable for the harm their emissions caused Ms. Fratzke — and for what they have kept from the community.”
— Mark Bryant, counsel for Ms. Fratzke.
The case is Fratzke v. Westlake Vinyls, Inc., et al. filed in Marshall Circuit Court. The plaintiff is represented by Mark Bryant, Emily Roark, and David Bryant of Bryant Law Center, PSC in Paducah; Ron Parry of Thomas Law Offices, PLLC in Cincinnati; and Gary Davis and Billy Ringger of Davis, Johnston & Ringger, PC in Asheville, North Carolina.