Talc supplier Whittaker Clark & Daniels faced another multi-million-dollar loss this week as a California jury found them guilty of negligence and ordered them to pay a mesothelioma victim $4.8 million in damages. The company supplied its asbestos-contaminated product to the maker of Old Spice for their body powder product.
Vietnam Veteran Confronting Mesothelioma Diagnosis
The lawsuit was filed in 2018 by 78-year-old Vietnam Veteran Willie McNeal, Jr. after he was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma. McNeal’s original suit also named Johnson & Johnson, AutoZone, Inc., Bendix, R.J. Reynolds and Shulton, Inc., the company that manufactures Old Spice Talcum Powder. All of the defendants but Whittaker Clark & Daniels settled the matter out of court for undisclosed amounts of money.
In addition to dealing with the challenges of malignant mesothelioma McNeal’s case was the first to be decided by a civil jury in Los Angeles County for over a year. The courts have been shut down by the pandemic.
Jury Assigns Talc Supplier 42% Responsibility for Man’s Mesothelioma
In addition to providing talc to the maker of Old Spice, the company also extracted and sold talc for use in Revlon products and others. Evidence was presented in this trial and in previous mesothelioma lawsuits that company management was aware that their talc was contaminated with asbestos. As a result, the California jury attributed 42% responsibility for Mr. McNeal’s sickness to them, and assessed $3 million in punitive damages to punish them for their lack of care. They were previously assessed $18 million in damages by a jury hearing a similar lawsuit filed by a longtime aide to former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, and have been named in a case filed by a couple who blames them for the wife’s mesothelioma diagnosis after years of using Revlon products.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, or any other asbestos-related diseases after exposure to asbestos, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net can help. Contact us today at 1-800-692-8608.
