Mrs. Kay Labate, is the widow of a former EC official who worked for the Commission for 29 years and then died of lung cancer. His widow claims he was exposed to a large amount of secondhand tobacco smoke. The appropriate committee acknowledged this exposure and could not find any other cause for his lung cancer but "could not establish with certainty the connection with his professional activities". The Commission accordingly rejected the widow's request for compensation. She is now appealing to the ECJ.