A Maryland appeals court recently upheld justice when it affirmed a multi-million dollar plaintiff’s verdict in an asbestos cancer lawsuit brought by a steamfitter who claimed he developed mesothelioma from the defendant’s defectively made products. The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland sided with the jury’s wisdom when it awarded $7.2 million in compensatory damages for the plaintiff’s medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
The case began years before when the victim and his wife filed their mesothelioma cancer lawsuit in Circuit Court for Baltimore City claiming the husband was exposed to asbestos fibers while working on a construction project at Loch Raven High School in Baltimore, Maryland. The claim went on to assert that the plaintiff was exposed to asbestos fibers in insulation products manufactured by Wallace & Gale.
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that was used for decades in a variety of industrial, commercial, and military capacities for its malleability and heat resistant properties. Asbestos has been heavily regulated by federal law since the mid-1970s when the clear connection between exposure and developing serious health conditions like mesothelioma was finally accepted. Even before federal laws effectively banning the use of asbestos, companies knew fully well of the links between the fibers contained in their products and risk of medical conditions.
The jury hearing the case originally awarded the couple $14.5 million in damages but was reduced by the Circuit Court to $7.2 million because the plaintiffs had filed claims against other asbestos manufacturers that sold products used by the victim. Despite a jury of the parties’ peers ruling in favor of the plaintiff and his wife, the defendants chose to continue to deny their liability and appeal the reduced verdict, claiming the trial court erred in allowing the case to proceed at all.
Fortunately, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals upheld the jury’s decision and rejected the defendant’s attempt to overturn the verdict on vague technical grounds that would fail to serve the public’s interest of justice. This case is a classic example of the lengths many defendants will go to skirt their legal responsibility for putting innocent people at risk by knowingly producing dangerous products.
When companies manufacture products they knew or should have known posed a danger to consumers and failed to provide warning, the law gives injured victims the right to hold these entities accountable. By filing an asbestos cancer lawsuit, plaintiffs can recover compensation for their lost wages, medical expenses, future health care costs, and the pain and suffering of going through treatment and living with mesothelioma.
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If you or a loved one was diagnosed with mesothelioma, contact our office to speak to one of our experienced nationwide mesothelioma attorneys about your situation. Our office can help investigate your case and determine if compensation can be sought from negligent parties to help pay for your medical treatment to help you and your family live a more comfortable life.