Appeals Court Defers to Jury’s 2.75 Million Dollar Mesothelioma Verdict
When a Louisiana jury ordered Union Carbide to pay $2.75 million each to the daughters of a mesothelioma victim, the company appealed the decision. They argued that the amount, in addition to the $4.85 million survival damage award, was arbitrary and represented an abuse of discretion from the court. After the company lost its appeal it took the case to the state’s Supreme Court, which ordered reconsideration. Upon review, the appeals court again upheld the trial court’s decision.
Company Objects to Large Damages Award to Mesothelioma Victim’s Daughters
David Stauder’s battle against malignant mesothelioma was painful for both him and his daughters Jill and Shelley. The family was exceptionally close, and the suffering that Mr. Stauder experienced was devastating. When he died and the women filed suit against Union Carbide, the jury heard extensive testimony about the pain he had suffered and how traumatized the women were at witnessing his pain, and from his loss. After consideration, the mesothelioma jury awarded the women $4.85 million in survival damages, plus another $2.75 million each for his wrongful death.
Union Carbide’s petition to overturn the mesothelioma verdict was denied by the Louisiana Court of Appeals, but the Louisiana Supreme Court vacated that decision and ordered the appeals court to reconsider. They did that, and upon careful review and attention to the aspects of the case specified by the state’s highest court, they reaffirmed their original decision confirming the award to the women.
Appeals Court Stresses Deference to Jury in Mesothelioma Verdict
After revisiting the facts of the mesothelioma trial, the appeals court stressed that the jury that heard the evidence was “entitled to great deference.” The judges wrote “elements of damages for wrongful death include loss of love and affection, loss of services, loss of support, medical expenses, and funeral expenses” and that the jury had considered all of that in calculating the damages they’d awarded. They also compared previous awards given to mesothelioma victims and found the amount given was not unreasonable based on the testimony the jury had heard.
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