Asbestos Litigation Today & History- Verdicts & Settlement

Asbestos has been known as the largest mass tort in American history. Legal liability from exposure to asbestos has completely bankrupted many companies while many other businesses have had to pay out multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements to those who were sickened by the substance.

Asbestos litigation has been around for nearly a century, even before mesothelioma was conclusively tied to asbestos exposure.  The first asbestos litigation was brought in the United States in the 1920s. The same attorney filed 15 different asbestos lawsuits, but early victims of asbestos related illnesses were not able to obtain compensation for their injuries. Many of the dangers of asbestos remained hidden from the public for decades. As a result, there were not many lawsuits filed with regard to mesothelioma from asbestos. However, changes to federal class action lawsuit rule allowed for an increase in the number of lawsuits at the end of the 1960s.

Early litigation was against the miners and manufacturers of asbestos

Much of the early litigation was against the miners and manufacturers of asbestos. For example Johns Manville Corporation was closely associated with asbestos in the United States as one of the largest companies that did an extensive asbestos-based business.  Johns Manville was the defendant in thousands of asbestos claims from the 1960s through the 1980s.  The company was allegedly aware of the connection between asbestos and mesothelioma but suppressed the report in order to keep using the dangerous product. Eventually, the company was able to seek bankruptcy protection as federal bankruptcy rules were changed to allow those with significant asbestos liability to preemptively file for bankruptcy.

Landmark decision that served as a precedent for decades

One of the major early asbestos cases that set the tone for later litigation was the case of Borel v. Fireboard Paper Products Corporation.  In this case, the jury issued a landmark decision that served as a precedent for decades.  The plaintiff in this case was a man by the name of Clarence Borel. He had worked for decades at shipyards and refineries as an insulator. In this job, he was exposed to asbestos that was prominently contained in the insulation with which he worked every day.

Strict liability

The Borel case was an example of a successful use of product liability laws to target the companies that made the products that contained asbestos.  The lawsuit argued that asbestos manufacturers should be strictly liable for the harm that their products caused. In other words, if someone was sickened by a product containing asbestos, it would be the end of the case and the maker would be responsible with no further questions asked.  The court established the precedent of strict liability for asbestos manufacturers although the family of the plaintiff did not receive much in the way of compensation.

With the Borel case decided, the floodgates for asbestos lawsuits were opened as families sought justice and compensation for mesothelioma and other asbestos related illnesses.  By the end of the twentieth century, approximately 600,000 asbestos claims had been filed. These lawsuits were brought against a total of roughly 6,000 defendants. At that point, over $50 billion had been spent to settle claims and pay jury verdicts.

Companies were required to set aside trust funds to pay out asbestos claims

Almost five decades later, asbestos and mesothelioma cases are still being filed today as new cases of the disease are still being diagnosed even after the use of asbestos has been reduced.  The costs of asbestos litigation now are into the hundreds of billions of dollars. Even the companies who have gone bankrupt as a result of asbestos litigation were not able to escape their liability.  As part of their bankruptcy, these companies were required to set aside trust funds to pay out asbestos claims.  Decades later, these trust funds are still paying claimants for their injuries from asbestos, and this includes mesothelioma claims.

Mesothelioma Litigation Today

From 2016 to 2018, the number of mesothelioma filings on an annual basis has average roughly 1,700. The amount of filings has decreased slightly in recent years.  Over half of the mesothelioma filings are made in one jurisdiction. Approximately one thousand cases each year are filed in Madison County, IL  Even plaintiff who do not reside in the county has filed their lawsuits there.

Lawsuits are filed in  Illinois- has laws that are favorable

The reason why so many lawsuits are filed in Madison County is because Illinois has laws that are favorable to mesothelioma victims.  There is an expedited docket in this jurisdiction that may allow mesothelioma victims to get the money from their lawsuit while they are still alive. In addition, Illinois has certain forum laws that allows non-residents to sue any company so long as the company has conducted some business in the state. This is an incredibly expansive jurisdiction and allows practically any mesothelioma lawsuit to be filed here.  Most of the cases that are filed in Madison County settle quickly without a trial. The county’s jurisdiction serves the interests of plaintiffs and defendants alike since there are relatively quick and predictable settlements.

Madison County made headlines and history in 2003 when it awarded the single largest verdict to date to a plaintiff in an asbestos trial.  The plaintiff was awarded $250 million in a case against United States Steel.  The plaintiff developed mesothelioma after over three decades of working at the defendant’s plant.  Included in the verdict was $200 million in punitive damages.  The fear of punitive damages is generally why mesothelioma lawsuit defendants settle cases out of court.  The company eventually settled the case before it could appeal the verdict.

Awarded $8.4 million by the jury

One recent case in Madison County did not settle and made it all the way to a jury. The plaintiff, who developed mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos while working for at an auto dealership, was awarded $8.4 million by the jury. The plaintiff encountered asbestos that was contained in auto parts.

Recent Mesothelioma Verdicts and Settlements Multimillion

Here are some recent jury verdicts and settlements involving asbestos-related mesothelioma claims:

Plaintiff Verdict for $34 million in California (2019) – The plaintiff, Arthur Putt, contracted mesothelioma after prolonged exposure to asbestos while working as an auto mechanic.  The lawsuit was filed against Ford because Putt claimed that he was exposed to asbestos while working on brakes that contained asbestos. The lawsuit was a product liability suit, claiming that the design of the brakes was unreasonably dangerous since it contained asbestos.  The reason why the verdict was so high was because the juries found that Ford acted with malice, oppression or fraud and awarded the plaintiff over $25 million of punitive damages.  One week before this verdict was issued, a former mechanic who had filed suit in Missouri received a jury award of $8,433,000 against Ford for a lawsuit that alleged similar fact. The compensatory damages in the two verdict were similar although the jury in California assessed much higher punitive damages.

Plaintiff Verdict for $26,619,000 in California (2019) – The plaintiff was exposed to asbestos over the course of 25 years, first in the Navy and then as an HVAC contractor.  The plaintiff was working with asbestos-containing gaskets in compressors.  The lawsuit was against the company that manufactured the compressors. The court reduced the verdict by 40% since some of the fault was apportioned to non-parties to the case. The plaintiff was also exposed to asbestos through living with his father who was an electrician.

Plaintiff Verdict for $70.102 million in Florida (2019) – The plaintiff was working at a biopharmaceutical company as a laboratory technician. He was tasked with changing the brake and clutch shoes on laboratory equipment.  This equipment contained asbestos, and the plaintiff was sickened with mesothelioma. The lawsuit was filed against the company that manufactured the laboratory equipment, claiming that the company was negligent for distributing, selling and supplying products that contained asbestos and by failing to provide adequate warnings of the potential hazards of asbestos in the products it distributed. The defendant had claimed that it was unaware that the products that it manufactured contained asbestos.

Plaintiff Verdict for $25 million in California (2019) – The plaintiff had worked as a technician for an Iranian oil company. He had visited refineries and was exposed to products containing asbestos that were manufactured by the defendants. The judge apportioned 80 percent of the liability to the named party defendants and assigned the Iranian oil company 20 percent of the responsibility and reduced the verdict accordingly.  Included in the verdict was an $11 million award to the spouse for loss of services.

Plaintiff Verdict for $30,270,501 in California (2018) – The plaintiff worked as a construction supervisor at various projects around the Los Angeles area for approximately 20 years. While the plaintiff did not perform the work himself, he was a bystander in close proximity to work where asbestos containing pipe was cut. He filed suit against the company that manufactured the pipe claiming that the business chose to use asbestos in its pipe even though it knew or should have known that it was dangerous to do so. Roughly half of the verdict against the defendant was in the form of punitive damages.

Plaintiff Verdict for $60 million in New York (2018) – This was a wrongful death suit brought by the surviving twin daughter of a man who died from mesothelioma. He had been working in demolition of single family homes and was assigned to tear out boilers that were filled with asbestos. He was sickened and died at the age of 56. The lawsuit claimed that the boiler companies knew the risks of asbestos but kept manufacturing their products with the substance and failed to warn the public.

These are some of the more notable settlements and verdicts in mesothelioma cases from the past year. These are some of the larger verdicts. Some settlements and verdicts are for lesser amounts than these listed above. Mesothelioma tends to strike those who are in their 70s so the natural value of a case may tend to be lower. However, if a mesothelioma attorney is able to prove that the defendant’s actions were reckless and meriting punishment, additional damages can be assessed by the jury. (3)