$3.9m asbestos verdict upheld after appeal

Eighteen months after winning a wrongful death verdict of $3.9 million, the family of Joseph Norris, a former Navy veteran who died of mesothelioma, have had the verdict upheld at appeal. Joseph Henson Norris was a gunner’s mate in the United States Navy between 1955 and 1957, during which time he was exposed to asbestos. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma almost fifty years later in April 2005, and died from the cancer just sixteen months later in August 2006. Norris worked aboard the navy ship the USS Bremerton, and was exposed to asbestos in asbestos-containing gaskets and packing materials that were used aboard the vessel. These had been produced by Crane Co., a manufacturer of industrial products and a line of asbestos-containing gaskets, which it sold between the 1920s and 1972. Asbestos was commonly used in construction and ship-building in the twentieth century, particularly between the 1940s and 1980s. Its fire-resistance, acid-resistance, strength and durability made it an ideal material to use for insulation and packing materials on board Navy vessels, and it was used very widely in Navy ships for several decades. During the trial, in which the Stamford, Connecticut-based Crane Co. was the principle defendant, the Norris family’s attorneys claimed that Crane Co. had continued to sell its asbestos-containing products long after it was aware that asbestos exposure was a serious health hazard. In addition, the plaintiff’s attorneys showed that Crane Co. manufactured and sold asbestos-containing products without warning users that asbestos was a dangerous substance, and that exposure could cause serious diseases. In addition to causing deadly cancersâ€"including mesothelioma and lung cancerâ€"asbestos exposure causes a chronic lung disease called asbestosis, and other types of lung damage. Mesothelioma is perhaps the most lethal of the asbestos-related diseases. This cancer is difficult to diagnose and treat, and is incurable. The lawsuit was somewhat unique for its time, in that Joseph Norris was exposed as a ‘bystander’ rather than as someone who worked with the asbestos-containing materials and products used aboard the USS Bremerton. Another aspect of the case that was somewhat unusual was that Crane Co. used asbestos components in its gaskets, but did not manufacture the components. The jurors who heard the evidence decided in favor of the Norris family on September 15, 2006, after more than five days of deliberation and approximately one month after the death of Joseph Henson Norris. However, the Crane Co. appealed the verdict, and it has taken almost two years for the case to finally be laid to rest. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)