An Illinois maker of asbestos-laden shipboard parts was hit with a $2.99 million verdict brought by the spouse of a former Navy sailor who died a year ago of asbestos-related cancer.
After a 12-day trial in Newport News Circuit Court, a seven-member jury sided with the wife of Robert Hardick, a former Navy petty officer who was exposed to asbestos on Navy ships between the 1950s and the 1970s.
He died of mesothelioma in March 2009.
His death came decades after he breathed in millions of invisible asbestos fibers at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and while serving on the USS Newport News, a cruiser built at Newport News Shipbuilding.
Mesothelioma can lie latent for decades before being expressed.
The jury’s verdict of $5.98 million will be divided in payment between two companies — John Crane Inc. and Garlock Sealing Technologies.
But Garlock, of Palmyra, N.Y., settled out of court for an undisclosed amount, meaning only John Crane, of Morton Grove, Ill., is on the hook to pay its half.
In arriving at the $5.98 million verdict, the jury awarded $2 million for pain and suffering; $1.15 million for the loss suffered by his wife, Diane Hardick; $2.5 million for the loss of Hardick’s future income; and $327,000 in medical and funeral expenses.
The sides agreed to the lost income portion of the verdict before trial — that should the jury side in favor of Hardick’s wife, that his death translated into $2.5 million in lost income.
Hardick worked as a ship fitter during his time in the Navy. During that work, Hardick took pumps and valves into a shop area, using brushes and hammers to remove asbestos sealants. The particles then became airborne and were breathed in by Hardick.
Asbestos, with heat-resistant properties, was used heavily on ships for decades, for such things as insulation, gaskets, seals and pumps.
If you or a family member has been injured because of the fault of someone else; by negligence, personal injury, slip and fall, car accident, medical malpractice, trucking accident, drunk driving, dangerous drugs, bad product, toxic injury etc then please contact the Dallas Texas Mesothelioma Attorney Dr. Shezad Malik. For a no obligation, free case analysis, please call 214-390-3189 or Contact Me Online.
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