A former power plant worker and his wife have been awarded $7.55 million in a unique asbestos case that involved indirect exposure to asbestos fibers at work. According to the suit, the plant workers job was to oversee equipment at the facility, which included asbestos-containing insulation sold, distributed, ripped out and installed by a major insulation company. Although the worker did not install asbestos-insulation, contact in a “bystander” capacity was enough to cause his mesothelioma. Keep in mind that even the smallest amount of exposure to asbestos can cause asbestos-related disease.
Doctors diagnosed the worker with mesothelioma in 2015, at which time he and his wife filed suit “against the numerous entities whose conduct allegedly contributed to his exposure to asbestos,” according to a Lexis Legal News release. The case proceeded to trial against the insulation company.
In September 2017, the jury found the company liable “under negligence and breach of warranty claims for its installation of asbestos-containing insulation.” The jury found that the insulation company “had a duty to the worker” per LLN, and “that it breached that duty, that he suffered injury as a result and that the breach was a substantial contributing factor in that injury.”
On the breach of express and implied warranty claim, “the jury also found that the Insulation company supplied and/or installed asbestos products, that the company knew or reasonably should have known that the products posed a risk to users and that the breach of warranty was a substantial factor in the injury.”
The jury awarded the couple $7.55 million dollars, which was to be distributed as follows: $3 million for pain and suffering, $3 million for medical expenses, $50,000 in lost earning capacity and $1.5 million for loss of consortium.
If you have been exposed to asbestos, see your doctor right away. He can refer you to a specialist who can develop a plan to help treat your specific type of mesothelioma. Though there is no cure for the mesothelioma, your doctor will have a much better chance of helping you live longer if the disease is caught in its early stages.
Sources
GlobeNewswire. GlobeNewswire, Inc., a Nasdaq Company, 2017. Web. 22 Oct. 2017.
Kass, Dani. "Power Plant Worker Gets Record $7.55M Asbestos Verdict." Law360. Portfolio Media, Inc., 22 Sep. 2017. Web. 22 Oct. 2017.
"Massachusetts Jury Awards $7.55M In Asbestos-Insulation Case." Lexis Legal News. LexisNexis, 22 Sept. 2017. Web. 26 Oct. 2017.
