In September of 2023, a New York jury ordered Burnham LLC to pay a former boiler worker and his wife $38 million in compensation for negligently exposing him to the asbestos that caused his lung cancer. In July of the following year, the same court and judge hearing the initial case refused to set aside the
When Steve Kotzerke was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma lung cancer, the non-smoker traced his deadly cancer to exposure to asbestos supplied by Canadian supplier Asbestos Corporation Ltd. Following his 2022 death at the age of 67, his widow filed a lawsuit against the company on behalf of their family. Last week, a Washington state Superior Court judge
Last October, a Connecticut jury found Johnson & Johnson (J&J) guilty of negligence and awarded asbestos lung cancer victim Evan Plotkin $15 million in compensatory damages. Now, Plotkin’s attorney is asking a judge to order the company to pay $30 million in punitive damages. In a hearing this week, J&J argued that its actions did
Months after asbestos lung cancer victim Donna Spurling filed her lawsuit against West Virginia’s Fairmont State University, the school has filed a response in its own defense. While the academic institution continues to assert that as an arm of the state, it has sovereign immunity and is immune to personal injury lawsuits where insurance claims
Jacob Lilienthal died of asbestos-related lung cancer after years spent working for the GM&O Railroad (predecessor to the Illinois Central Railroad Company). When his widow filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company, a jury awarded her $2.6 million in damages, cutting the award by 45% because of his smoking history. The company appealed the
When Michael Kappel died in 2018, his family was uncertain about whether the cause was malignant mesothelioma or asbestos-related lung cancer, but they were certain that it was related to the asbestos that the Weyerhaeuser Company’s factory had released into the air of their Marshfield, Wisconsin, community. When they filed suit, the company attempted to
Two of the deadliest consequences of asbestos exposure are malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer. Early detection provides the best chance for improved outcomes for both diseases and now researchers from the University of Cambridge have developed a test that uses urine to spot the first signs of early lung cancer in lab animals. They are
Mallory Ware worked as a welder for decades, and after being diagnosed with asbestos-related lung cancer, he filed a lawsuit in state court against several defendants. All of the companies named were accused of negligence, but some were accused of premises liability, and others were accused of product liability. Though Marathon Oil Company objected to
In 2020, James Petro filed an asbestos lawsuit against multiple defendants that he blamed for his lung cancer and asbestosis diagnoses. After resolving his claims with several defendants out of court, he was awarded $13.5 million in damages for past pain and suffering and $15 million for future pain and suffering. Though the defendants filed
Donna Spurling’s lung cancer diagnosis came as a shock; she had never smoked cigarettes. In searching for a cause for her illness, she determined that she had been exposed to legacy asbestos on the campus of her college, Fairmont State University in West Virginia, as well as in other buildings where she completed educational rotations.