A Miami-Dade jury has awarded a Sarasota man more than $14 million after deciding that the asbestos he inhaled in the 1970s caused his deadly abdominal cancer.
Jurors found that chemical giant Union Carbide was negligent for selling asbestos fibers to other companies, which had used the fibers to make joint compounds used by construction companies -- such as the one William Aubin's family owned.
According to Aubin, his parents, who founded Aubin Construction on Key Biscayne in the 1960s, used the asbestos-laden compounds. Aubin, now 59 and a retired firefighter, worked in his parents' company after they moved it to Sarasota.
That's how his client was exposed to asbestos and eventually developed peritoneal mesothelioma, said Juan Bauta, who argued the case for the Ferraro Law Firm.
``The products weren't labeled as containing asbestos,'' Bauta said.
Jurors also found that four of the compound manufacturers, including Georgia-Pacific, share some of the responsibility for causing Aubin's illness.
Peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare -- and usually fatal -- cancer that attacks the lining of the abdominal cavity and organs. Aubin's lawyers argued that he is ``permanently impaired and will ultimately and unfortunately die from mesothelioma.''
In April 2008, Miami-Dade jurors awarded more than $24 million to a Weston doctor who contracted the same illness.
It was the largest compensatory jury verdict involving a single defendant in a Florida asbestos case.
Bauta said he expects Union Carbide to appeal the verdict.
Michael Terry, a Texas-based attorney who represented the company, could not be reached for comment.
This article was written by Laura Morales of The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/21/1640351/florida-man-awarded-14-million.html
For many years, workers in Louisiana factories, refineries, shipyards and other industrial areas exposed themselves to asbestos, a hazardous material that was often used for insulation purposes. Due to this exposure, many of these workers developed mesothelioma, a deadly form of lung cancer. Companies that knew about the risks associated with asbestos should be held responsible for their injured workers.
Contact the Personal Injury Attorneys at Murphy Law Firm if you have been affected by exposure to asbestos at 225-928-8800.
http://www.batonrougeinjuryaccidentattorney.com/Personal-Injury/Asbestos-Mesothelioma.shtml
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