The New York Court of Appeals is set to hear arguments this week on whether expert testimony on the potential link between certain asbestos-containing products and a mechanic’s mesothelioma was enough for a jury to find Ford Motor Co. partly liable for the worker’s illness. The arguments are on an appeal from the Appellate Division, First … [Read more...]
Appellate court requires Reynolds to disclose lists linked to asbestos lawsuit
A three-judge appellate court panel in Pennsylvania ruled Thursday that R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. must release lists of smokers and employees who sued Lorillard Inc. related to cigarette filters that contained asbestos. Reynolds inherited the legal liability as part of its $29.25 billion purchase of Lorillard in July 2015. Reynolds could not be … [Read more...]
Killed by a cuddle: Woman died after exposure to second-hand asbestos on husband’s overalls
Babcock International Ltd has been ordered to pay compensation to the children, grandchildren and siblings of Adrienne Sweeney, who lost her battle with mesothelioma – an extremely aggressive form of lung cancer – in August 2015 [after her exposures to second-hand asbestos years earlier]. The mother-of-three, from Paisley in Renfrewshire, had … [Read more...]
Mack Trucks Wins Appeal of $6 Million Asbestos Verdict
Mack Trucks Inc. and Ford Motor Co. won a new trial in an asbestos exposure suit after Maryland’s top court threw out a Baltimore man’s $6 million jury award. The trial court improperly instructed the jury on what is needed to show the companies negligently exposed him to asbestos-containing brake parts that he worked around. The elements of … [Read more...]
J&J defends itself in trial over baby powder asbestos claims
A trial for a lawsuit alleging that Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder was responsible for the death of a woman due to her exposure to cancer-causing asbestos began in South Carolina on Monday in the latest case against the healthcare conglomerate and a supplier over their talc-based products. The case also names as a defendant a local unit of … [Read more...]
Court: No company liability for asbestos exposure by family of worker
Arizona companies have no duty to protect family members from exposure to toxic materials their employees bring home on their work clothes, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Friday. In the first ruling of its kind in Arizona, a majority of the justices rejected arguments by of survivors of Ernest Quiroz that Reynolds Metal Co. should be held … [Read more...]
J&J, Imerys unit must pay $117 million in N.J. asbestos cancer case
Johnson & Johnson and Imerys Talc America, a unit of Imerys SA, must pay $117 million in damages in a case involving a man who said he developed cancer due to his exposure to asbestos in talc-based products, a New Jersey state court jury said on Wednesday. The jury ordered the companies to pay an additional $80 million in punitive damages to … [Read more...]
Foster Wheeler Can’t Sink Ship Worker’s Asbestos Claim
Foster Wheeler LLC failed to shake asbestos exposure claims by the estate of a shipyard worker who allegedly worked in close proximity to the company’s boilers. Because the ships were new when machinist Robert Hilt worked in the boiler rooms, the estate’s claim that he was exposed to the original asbestos-containing materials in the boilers, … [Read more...]
Court Grants New Chance for Suit Linking Lawn Fertilizer, Mesothelioma
A New Jersey appeals court has reopened a wrongful death suit on behalf of a man who, plaintiffs claim, developed mesothelioma as a result of using Scotts lawn fertilizer. The appeals court, reversing the trial judge, said newly discovered evidence required reopening the case. Scotts had secured dismissal of the lawsuit on summary judgment in … [Read more...]
Johnson & Johnson says talc products have always been asbestos-free. Court documents suggest otherwise
Facing thousands of lawsuits claiming its talcum powders have caused harm, Johnson & Johnson has argued that science is on its side and that its products do not contain asbestos. But documents filed in the ongoing legal saga, provided to FiercePharma, suggest some tests found asbestos and that the company debated internally about the … [Read more...]