William Henry Banks died of malignant epithelial mesothelioma after having served as a machinist mate in the U.S. Navy and being exposed to asbestos onboard Navy vessels. His family members filed a wrongful death suit against 26 defendants, accusing them of causing his illness and death and seeking damages for his and their suffering. A federal court recently reviewed several objections the defendants filed to the family’s claims.
Maritime Law Limits Available Mesothelioma Damages
The Banks family’s mesothelioma lawsuit seeks general damages, burial expenses, medical and related expenses, exemplary or punitive damages, prejudgment interest, and costs. They also sought damages for “loss of love, comfort, society, attention, services, and support” following Mr. Banks’ death. One of the named defendants, Air & Liquid Systems Corporation, requested that the court apply maritime law, which has traditionally prohibited damages for pain and suffering, loss of society, loss of future earnings, and punitive damages.
While the family agreed that maritime law applied to their mesothelioma claim, they argued that the court could set aside previous prohibitions against the damages they were seeking because their claim was being brought against third-party defendants instead of Mr. Banks’s employer. The judge ruled against them on this argument, as well as on damages for loss of society, loss of future earnings, and punitive damages, but on looking at their request for damages for the pain and suffering that Mr. Banks suffered before his death, they agreed with the family.
Judge Permits Family to Seek Damages for Mesothelioma Victim’s Pain and Suffering
Though maritime law (which governs many mesothelioma claims from asbestos exposure suffered at sea) prohibits many of the types of damages available under civil law, the court agreed with the family that they could seek compensation for the way their loved one had suffered.
Judge Josephine L. Staton of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, wrote, “The Jones Act provides that, in an action brought by ‘the personal representative of the seaman,’ the ‘laws of the United States regulating recovery for personal injury to, or death of, a railway employee apply,’ and that since the Supreme Court had ruled in a case involving the death of a railway employee that the survival action ‘covers his loss and suffering while he lived,’ the family was permitted recovery for pain and suffering. The case is currently making its way through the federal courts.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with or died from mesothelioma, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net are here to provide you with invaluable resources. Contact us at 1-800-692-8608 to learn more.
