Ex Virginia Shipyard Worker Gets Mesothelioma Compensation
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
On September 6, 2008, a former shipyard worker won a $4.39 million jury verdict from an Illinois maker of asbestos-related parts that he asserted gave him a terminal form of cancer.
The plaintiff, a former worker at Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp., was awarded $4 million in compensatory damages and $390,000 in medical expenses from John Crane Inc., a Morton Grove, Illinois company. The verdict came after a two-and-a-half week jury trial and a day of deliberations at Newport News Circuit Court.
The plaintiff, of Norfolk, diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2006, worked with John Crane gaskets, packing material and other asbestos parts between 1967 and 1971 while repairing ships at the Norfolk dockyard.
The plaintiff then went off to other jobs, including working for many years in operations at The Virginian-Pilot. Since being diagnosed, he had a lung removed, and suffers severe fatigue. He can't travel or help his neighbors as he once could. His cancer is in remission, but doctors say he is likely to die a painful death from the disease.
"I'm pleased with the verdict," the plaintiff said. "It just shows the justice system does work. I thank the jury three long weeks, long hours each day and that's a lot of responsibility. I'm happy with the verdict. I'd give it all back for my lung though, that's for sure."
The suit claimed John Crane knew or should have known that breathing asbestos fibers was dangerous, and was negligent in failing to test its products and warn workers.
Officials from John Crane could not be reached for comment and nor could the company's lead defense attorney on the case, Thomas J. Burns.
Another company that the plaintiff sued, Garlock Sealing Technologies, settled its portion of the case out of court. The jurors had the chance to reduce the verdict against John Crane by what Garlock would have had to pay had that case gone forward. But it decided not to do so.
Posted in Toxic Exposure • Asbestos • Mesothelioma