Insulation Co. Ordered to Pay Mesothelioma Victim’s Widow $6.8 Million
An East Coast insulation company that distributed and installed asbestos insulation material until the 1970s has been ordered to pay $6.8 million to the widow of a former insulator.
The lawsuit, filed by the widow on behalf of herself and as the trustee of her late husband’s estate, claimed that the former insulator was exposed to asbestos dust from the mid-1960s to the 1970s while repairing and replacing asbestos insulation on hot water tanks, pipes, and boilers in the Boston area. The asbestos-containing material, she claimed, was supplied by the East Coast insulation company, among others.
According to a report by Law360, a Middlesex County Superior Court jury returned on Sept. 29 with a finding that the company had “owed a duty” to the worker, and “negligently breached this duty, by supplying an asbestos-containing product to the insulation company (he) worked for.” The jury also found that the insulation company “was liable for breach of warranty, because it knew or should have known at the time it sold the asbestos-containing product that it presented an unreasonable health risk,” and that the company’s “conduct was a substantial contributing factor” to the workers death.
It wasn’t until December 2012 that the former insulator, who installed insulation part-time in middle and high school, and for several years as an adult, began experiencing breathing difficulty. Just one week before Christmas, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma. The former insulator underwent surgery and chemotherapy to treat his mesothelioma but, sadly, the disease took his life just nine months later. He was 60 years old.
Though the jury did not find that the insulation company was grossly negligent, in which case it would have owed punitive damages, it did award $1.05 million for medical expenses, $3.5 million for pain and suffering, and $500,000 for lost earning capacity. An additional $1.25 million was awarded the victims widow for loss of a spouse, and $250,000 was awarded to each of the victim’s two daughters.
If you have been exposed to asbestos, see your doctor right away. Your doctor can refer you to a specialist who can assess your risk of developing mesothelioma or perform special tests to determine if you might already have the disease. Though there is no cure for mesothelioma, if caught early, doctors have a much better chance of helping you live longer.
Sources
"Family of Boston Letter Carrier Receives $6.8M Asbestos Verdict." WBOY. Nexstar Media Group, Inc., WorldNow and WBOY Television, 06 Oct. 2017. Web. 22 Oct. 2017.
GlobeNewswire. GlobeNewswire, Inc., a Nasdaq Company, 2017. Web. 22 Oct. 2017.
Siegal, Daniel. "New England Insulation Hit With $6.8M Asbestos Verdict." Law360. Portfolio Media, Inc., 05 Oct. 2017. Web. 22 Oct. 2017.
