While the attention has been on the state of New Jersey, where a 46-year-old banker was awarded $117 million after accusing consumer giant Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based powder of causing his mesothelioma, another talc mesothelioma case was quietly settled while the jury was deliberating.
The amount that was given to Robert Lord remains confidential, but the former tile worker had originally sought $11.5 million from Vanderbilt Minerals LLC, while accusing the company of hiding the presence of asbestos in the talc in their ceramic products.
The mesothelioma trial was heard in Polk County, Florida. Mr. Lord had worked for Florida Tile Company in the 1970s, and though it differed from the New Jersey case because the talc at the center of the case was industrial rather than cosmetic, questions remained. Was the talc that people were exposed to contaminated with asbestos? Were the companies that provided the talc aware of its presence and its dangers.
According to a spokesman for Mr. Lord, “For many years companies have denied their products contained asbestos, when in fact they did, exposing the hard working people like Mr. Lord to asbestos with no warning.”
The trial in Florida began on February 22 and went to the jury on March 16, when the two parties came to an agreement.
Vanderbilt Minerals defense in the mesothelioma lawsuit tried to deflect attention to other possible sources of Mr. Lord’s illness, claiming that he could have been exposed to asbestos through Bendix automotive brakes after years of servicing his own vehicle.
They also pointed to his years of cigarette smoking, though it has been scientifically established that smoking cigarettes does not cause mesothelioma. Only exposure to asbestos causes the disease. Smoking can make it more likely that a person who has been exposed to asbestos will be diagnosed with the rare and fatal form of cancer.
If you or someone you love has recently been diagnosed with mesothelioma, it can be hard to know what to believe or where to turn for information. The Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net have all the resources you need to put you in control. Call us today at 1-800-692-8608.
