A New York judge recently decided the fate of major mesothelioma lawsuit, severely cutting a $190 million asbestos injuries award to $30 million, which would have been given to a group of plaintiffs. The defendants, Cleaver-Brooks Inc. and Burnham LLC are boiler manufacturers who will be expected to pay five tradesmen after they developed mesothelioma lung cancer while on the job.

Each of the tradesmen were originally awarded between $20 million to $60 million each, after the judge ruled that their failing health conditions were due to the defendants negligently exposing their employees to asbestos. At this time, three of the plaintiffs have reportedly died of complications from asbestos mesothelioma, which is a rare form of lung cancer that is directly linked to asbestos exposure.

Asbestos mesothelioma lung cancer attacks the thin layer of tissue surrounding the lungs, heart, or abdominal cavity, often taking up to 50 years before showing any signs or symptoms in patients. According to medical experts, approximately 3,000 cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed per year in the United States with almost all of them being linked solely to asbestos exposure. With the reduction of asbestos use over the years, it is expected that the number of asbestos-related injury cases would go down; unfortunately, this is not the case as many companies continued to use or produce asbestos-containing products.

Overview of Mesothelioma Lawsuit

Despite the initial outcome, New York Supreme Court Judge Joan Madden stated that all five of the damage awards were too high to be considered reasonable compensation. This has granted the defendants to motion a new damages trial unless the plaintiffs agree to reduce the award amount to $30 million. For example, one of the awards for $20 million will cut be to $3.2 million under the court’s ruling, while a $60 million judgment would be reduced to $7.5 million; the total amount of in the proposed awards totals $29.9 million.

Judge Madden cited past decisions from similar cases, stating that the pain and suffering awards were not binding. According to the ruling, New York courts have sustained $8 million awards for past and future suffering for 33 months and 51 months. In one of the boiler lawsuits, the jury awards $20 million for 20 months of suffering, but Judge Madden had cut that award to $5.5 million. According to the mesothelioma lawsuit, the plaintiff’s widow had received $10 million, but her award had been reduced to $500,000.

During the court proceedings, Judge Madden rejected several arguments from the defendants, denying liability, negligence, and that the asbestos mesothelioma cases had been improperly prepared for a joint trial. Judge Madden responded by stating that the evidence shown at the trial proved the companies had been aware of the dangers sounding asbestos and that they also knew their boilers were composed of this carcinogenic substance. Furthermore, the judge found the defendants had allowed the asbestos products to be in close proximity of their workers and had allowed direct exposure, despite state and federal regulations.

“Burnham knew of the dangers of asbestos; it had a history of selling boilers for over one hundred years … it failed to perform any testing with respect to exposure to asbestos and it failed to warn about dangers of asbestos,” Judge Madden wrote.

The legal representatives of Burnham stated that they were considering appeal, and that they do not agree with Judge Madden’s decision. As for the plaintiffs, they have not yet decided to accept the proposed reduced awards or seek new damages trials.

It is important to note that each of the five plaintiffs had worked for the defendants for decades, from the 1950’s and 1960’s, in steamfitting, plumbing, and other construction jobs. They filed legal action against these companies and other companies in 2012, alleging that the companies had exposed them to asbestos.

Many of the companies settled with the plaintiffs before the joint trial with the original awards amount being $190 million. It was though to be the largest consolidated asbestos verdict in New York City. The various asbestos mesothelioma lawsuits are all housed in the New York Supreme Court.