Liability, awards and settlements

28.11, asbestos induced illness, award

US: a retired police officer and brake repairman whose right lung was removed because of cancer caused by asbestos won a $20.0mn verdict from car marker, the DaimlerChrysler Corporation. A jury in Manhattan’s state Supreme Court awarded the money to the plaintiff plus $5.0mn to his wife for past and future loss of his companionship. Daimler Chrysler, which makes cars under the Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler brands, issued a statement saying the case was built on “junk science.” The company said it was confident the verdict would be reversed on appeal. The jury found DaimlerChrysler, the world’s fifth largest maker of motor vehicles, 10 percent liable for the cancer, mesothelioma. Surgeons removed the plaintiff’s right lung in 2004. Two now-defunct companies were each found to be 35% liable for the plaintiff’s cancer. Two other car manufacturers, found 10% liable by the jury, settled with the plaintiff before trial for undisclosed amounts. The jury also found that DaimlerChrysler acted with reckless disregard for the safety of others. New York law for money owed by any non-settling defendant determines that DaimlerChrysler owes its 10% plus the combined 70% of the two defunct companies, which were makers of asbestos compounds, for a total of $20.0mn of the $25.0mn.