Mesothelioma Victim Awarded $5 Million After Summer Job Exposed him to Asbestos
As a teenager, Joseph Muir never dreamed that his summer job at the plastics plant where his father worked would lead to a diagnosis with malignant mesothelioma. But between his two years working at Durez Plastics in North Tonawanda, plus exposure to asbestos carried home on his father’s work clothes, he was stricken with the fatal disease. A New York jury awarded him over $5 million from the mining company that had supplied the plant with the carcinogenic material.
Asbestos Mining Company is No-Show at Mesothelioma Trial
Malignant mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos, and many of those who are diagnosed with the rare and fatal form of cancer take legal action against the asbestos companies that they accuse of negligently exposing them to the toxic substance. In Mr. Muir’s case, the asbestos used by the plant where he and his father worked came from Hedman Resources Limited.
The Canadian company has been named in hundreds of mesothelioma and asbestos-related lawsuits, and has paid out millions to victims. By the time Mr. Muir was diagnosed they had exhausted their primary insurance coverage and released their secondary insurers from liability for outstanding and future asbestos claims. This action did nothing to prevent Hedman from being named a defendant by victims, or from their own responsibility for failing to protect or warn Mr. Muir or others from the dangers of their product. But in response to the victim’s claims, the company did not appear at its own trial
Jury Assigns $5 Million in Mesothelioma Damages to Absent Asbestos Company
Though Hedman had previously litigated many asbestos lawsuits, the company opted out of defending itself against the mesothelioma victim’s claim. The plaintiff was there with his attorneys and the jury heard plenty of evidence about the exposure and damage that Muir suffered and of Hedman’s knowledge of the dangers of asbestos. After hearing testimony and noting that Hedman had not bothered to defend itself or even to show up, the jury ordered the absent company to pay the victim $2,795,103 for his future lost wages and anticipated medical expenses, $500,000 for his anticipated medical expenses, and $1.75 million for his past pain and suffering.
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