Asbestos Lawsuit Gets Plaintiff $1 Million

Syracuse, NYThe family of a man who died after he was exposed to asbestos has been awarded $1 million by a New York jury. The family of Richard Schuderer filed a wrongful death lawsuit, after Schruderer died as a result of mesothelioma in June 2009. Other asbestos lawsuits have been filed against various companies, alleging injury to people who were exposed to asbestos throughout their employment.

Schruderer worked on tugboats for approximately 35 years and was exposed to asbestos when he repacked valves and fabricated gaskets. A jury found that John Crane, Inc., the company that manufactured the gaskets, was 60 percent responsible for Schruderer's death. Other defendants had already settled with the Schruderer family.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit was filed in St. Clair County alleging that a man who used to work as a machinist mate for the US Navy was exposed to asbestos, which ultimately resulted in his lung cancer. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants should have known about the harmful effects of asbestos but did not exercise reasonable care and caution in allowing the plaintiff to be around the asbestos. The St. Clair Record (11/29/10), notes that the plaintiff seeks punitive and exemplary damages as well as compensatory damages.

Although asbestos use has declined in the US since the 1970s—many applications of asbestos were banned in the 1980s—the number of cases of asbestos-related mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer are increasing. Mesothelioma, a rare cancer that occurs in the lining of the patient's chest and lungs, has been linked only to asbestos—meaning exposure to asbestos is the only known cause of mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma can take years, and even decades, to develop. Some patients are not diagnosed with mesothelioma until 20 years or more after exposure to asbestos. Because it can take so long to diagnose, however, patients tend to have a short life expectancy following diagnosis. There is no known cure for mesothelioma.

Also of concern is that a person does not have to have worked with asbestos directly to be at risk of developing mesothelioma. Some lawsuits allege that wives of men who worked with asbestos were exposed to asbestos fibers that were brought home on their husbands' clothing, resulting in mesothelioma.

Many lawsuits have been filed by victims and their loved ones who say they were exposed to asbestos and not given proper protection, resulting in their development of fatal diseases.