$24.4 Million Awarded to Chicago Mesothelioma Victim in Avon Talc Trial
Cipriano Ramirez blamed his malignant pleural mesothelioma on asbestos he was exposed to while he worked for Avon in its Morton Grove, Illinois, factory. When he filed suit against the company, they attempted to divert attention to his other employers, but the victim prevailed, and a Chicago jury ordered the cosmetic giant to pay him and his family over $24 million in compensation for the damages he and they have suffered.
Janitor With Mesothelioma Blames Job at Avon for Asbestos Exposure
When Mr. Ramirez was diagnosed with mesothelioma, he and his attorneys reviewed his occupational history and quickly identified Avon Product’s Morton Grove, Illinois factory, where he had worked as a janitor in the 1980s, as the source of his asbestos exposure. Knowing how aggressive the disease could be and that his life expectancy was significantly diminished, he and his wife Maria filed suit against the company just three months after his diagnosis and requested an expedited trial date.
The couple’s mesothelioma lawsuit, which included claims of loss of consortium for Maria, accused the company of both negligence in his on-the-job exposure and product liability, saying he had been exposed occupationally and through his personal use of the asbestos-containing talc. Though the company filed a motion to add third-party claims against Mr. Ramirez’s other employers, the judge hearing the case severed those claims from the Avon trial so that the case could be heard, and the jury quickly decided in the couple’s favor.
Janitor with Mesothelioma Awarded $24.4 Million in Damages
Speaking of the $24.4 award that the Chicago jury ordered Avon to pay after hearing a full month of evidence and testimony in the mesothelioma trial, the victim’s representative said, “After carefully reviewing the facts of the case, the jury rejected Avon’s reprehensible attempts to impugn the dignity and integrity of Cipriano Ramirez and found that Avon was responsible for his cancer diagnosis…. Mr. Ramirez dedicated his life to working hard for his family. He should be enjoying retirement but has been forced to spend his time fighting a cancer that could have been prevented.”
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