$9.7 Million Awarded in Mesothelioma Case
0 Comments Posted on: August 13, 2008A Los Angeles jury awarded $9.7 million to a Georgia man who said he developed mesothelioma after he was exposed to asbestos while serving as a Navy machinist’s mate aboard the USS Preble. The plaintiff is currently a resident of Georgia, but his ship was based in Long Beach CA when he was assigned to service there. He was diagnosed last year with malignant mesothelioma, which the jury agreed was caused by asbestos.
The plaintiff blamed the disease on exposure to asbestos-packed gaskets while serving aboard the USS Preble from 1961 to 1965. Mesothelioma usually takes twenty to fifty years to appear after the victim has been exposed to asbestos. The fact that this case was instigated on board a navy ship is no surprise. About thirty percent of all mesothelioma sufferers in the U.S. are veterans; the large majority of those are men who worked on board a ship or in a Navy shipyard.
A Los Angeles Superior Court jury returned the verdict in Brewer’s favor on May 16. Doctors testified during Brewer’s trial that he probably has less than a year to live. While jurors awarded Brewer and his wife $9.7 million, the couple will see much less. The suit had named a dozen parts manufacturers but 11 settled before trial. The major offender is immune from prosecution.
Jurors found the remaining defendant, gasket maker Crane Co. of Stamford, Conn., to be 2 percent liable in the case, meaning it is responsible for only a fraction of the award. Jurors found the Navy 50 percent liable for Brewer’s cancer, although it was not named as a defendant in the suit and was immune from any award.
In recent years, California juries have made several large awards in asbestos-related mesothelioma cases.
