March 26th, 2008

After a three week trial, a Maryland jury awarded a man more than $15 million in a verdict against his former employer. The man suffers from mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer linked with asbestos exposure.

A trial lasting three weeks ended with a verdict in favor of a mesothelioma victim. The verdict ordered a former employer to pay the 73-year-old man $15.3 million in damages for exposing the man to asbestos, resulting in the deadly form of lung cancer. The man worked at a shipyard in Maryland during the 1950s lining valves with the assistance of ropes made by the responsible company. The ropes contained asbestos, which broke down over time exposing the man to airborne asbestos particles.

Asbestos is a normally safe material that is only dangerous when it breaks apart and becomes airborne. Fibers can be inhaled, leading to respiratory diseases and forms of cancer like mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is the result of asbestos fibers becoming trapped in the lungs, where it keeps the tissue from absorbing oxygen and slowly suffocates the victim. Though the trial ended in just three weeks for this victim, time is normally against mesothelioma sufferers engaged in lawsuits. The cancer is usually terminal and can take just a year or two from the time of diagnosis to kill the victim.