A former laboratory chemist from New York recently won $2.5 million in compensation after he was reportedly exposed to asbestos on the job and subsequently diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in March 2010.
According to the Buffalo News, James Ginter was employed at manufacturer Durez Plastics in North Tanawanda, New York, starting in the late 1970s where he was charged with utilizing resins and molding compounds.
Specifically, Ginter was responsible for working with a Ford Motor Company-manufactured machine with which he was forced to grind asbestos-containing products that were later utilized in the brakes of vehicles, the news source said.
In his lawsuit, Ginter claimed that such work resulted in asbestos-containing dust being released into the environment, which ultimately led to his mesothelioma diagnoses decades later.
Ginter also accused Ford of manufacturing the machine without warning employees about the possible risks that came with asbestos exposure.
Ford was reportedly the only defendant involved in the trial and was assigned 15 percent responsibility for the damages awarded to Ginter. Other defendants named in the suit reportedly settled before it reached the state Supreme Court, the news source said.
Ginter’s Asbestos Lawsuit One of Many in the U.S.
The multi-million dollar award granted to Ginter represents just one of the many asbestos cases being heard in courtrooms around the country.
In one other such case, the widow of a Louisiana seaman recently filed an asbestos lawsuit against a number of companies who she claims are responsible for her late husband’s asbestos exposure and subsequent death.
According to the Louisiana Record, Katrine Davalie filed the asbestos lawsuit on July 9 in federal court in New Orleans. She claims companies such as Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Black & Decker Corporation and North American Refractories Company were negligent in allowing her husband to be exposed to asbestos-related products while working on ships.
Davalie is seeking damages for loss of earnings, pain and suffering, according to the news source.