Rhoda Evans was awarded an astonishing $208.8 million by a California Jury in a recent asbestos industry lawsuit. The prosecution showed that Rhoda developed mesothelioma, a fatal disease linked to asbestos, after being exposed to microscopic asbestos fibers on her husbands clothes. Her husband worked with the substance regularly, in the form of products supplied by the defendant. The $208.8 million award is one of the largest in the state of California’s history for similar lawsuits.
Bobby Evans, Rhoda Evans husband, was an employee of the state for nearly a quarter of a century, during which time his job included cutting cement water pipes to size using an abrasive powder saw. The water pipes were supplied by CertainTeed and contained asbestos fibers acting as a strengthening agent. Bobby’s work often caused him to become coated in thick asbestos containing cement dust, which he then brought home unintentionally on his clothes.
The lawsuit showed that CertainTeed was well aware of the dangers of asbestos as early as the 1960′s, but that they failed to warn their customers about the toxic substance until 1985 when public awareness of the dangers of asbestos was beginning to rise dramatically. The jury declared that 70% of the liability for negligent asbestos contamination lay with CertainTeed, and the other 30% with the Department of Water and Power.
Mesothelioma is a quickly progressing, aggressive and terminal cancer linked exclusively with exposure to asbestos fibers. Due to their unique, needle like shape, microscopic asbestos pass through the body’s defenses against foreign debris with relative ease. After being accidentally inhaled or ingested from a contaminated environment, the tiny particles slip directly through the lung or intestinal walls and become entangled in a protective tissue called the mesothelium. The mesothelium responds by accumulating a type of scar tissue, which over the course of years or even decades can slowly develop into malignant tumors.
Mesothelioma is nearly impossible to diagnose until it’s in its final stages, and victims can take decades to develop symptoms from the time of exposure.
Asbestos litigation has a long history in the United States and around the world. While medical professionals proved that asbestos has hazardous effects on the human respiratory system as early as the 1920′s, it took some sixty to eighty additional years before the fact was widely accepted. Many asbestos companies have been fighting for the last century to downplay the effects of asbestos contamination, despite the more than 90,000 people annually who are diagnosed with fatal asbestos diseases.
The Central District Los Angeles Superior Court jury revealed their decision last week. They awarded Rhoda Evans $8.8 million in compensatory damages and claimed an additional $200 million from CertainTeed in punitive damages. CertainTeed officials claim that they aren’t satisfied with the ruling, and that they’ll continue to fight the verdict and the award.
