A jury in Schenectady, New York awarded $10.55 million to the family of an Indiana resident who died of mesothelioma as the result of his exposure to asbestos from talc mined and sold by R.T. Vanderbilt Inc. (Vanderbilt).

The jury found that Richard C., who died at the age of 52, was exposed to asbestos from Vanderbilt talc that was mined in Gouverneur, N.Y. in St. Lawrence County.

According to theasbestos mesothelioma lawsuit, Richard had been exposed to the talc during a summer job in high school working for an Ohio ceramics factory in the 1970s.

The company allegedly used Vanderbilt talc as one of the raw materials to make ceramic products. Richard’s job was to pour the talc and mix the ingredients. He inhaled the talc dust containing the asbestos, the asbestos lawsuit said. His asbestos mesothelioma cancer was diagnosed three decades later.

Evidence presented in court revealed that Vanderbilt had received test results — before Richard’s contact with the product — showing that its talc was contaminated with substantial amounts of asbestos fibers.

The jury found that Vanderbilt acted negligently by failing to provide warnings about asbestos on its bags of talc and determined that Richard’s mesothelioma was caused by the asbestos from the talc.

An expert witness for the defendant testified that Richard’s lung tissue — examined after he developed mesothelioma — contained the same type of asbestos found in the company’s talc.

According to court documents, Vanderbilt mined the asbestos-contaminated talc beginning in 1948 through 2007 when it closed the mine. Numerous workers who also mined and milled the talc later developed mesothelioma.

The jury’s award of $10.55 million to Richard’s family is the largest jury verdict in the history of asbestos mesothelioma lawsuits in Upstate New York.

What is Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a cancer that attacks the lining of the lungs, heart or stomach. It is caused by the inhalation of asbestos dust, created as asbestos degrades into small fibers from being mined, milled, and processed.

It is both almost entirely preventable and extremely fatal when contracted. In a growing number of countries, the use of asbestos has been banned or severely restricted.

Workplace Asbestos Exposure

It is estimated that 3,000 people contract mesothelioma in the United States every year. By 2030, asbestos exposure is estimated to have caused 60,000 instances of mesothelioma, along with 250,000 instances of other forms of deadly cancer.

People the most at risk for contracting mesothelioma have worked with asbestos in the past 30 to 50 years. Most commonly, they worked as:

• Shipyard workers
• Producers of asbestos products
• Asbestos mine and mill workers
• Heating and construction industry workers
• Trades people

At the time, many workers were exposed to asbestos dust without protection. But several of their family members were also affected as workers trailed asbestos dust back home in their clothes.

The latency period for mesothelioma, or time from exposure until the patient falls ill, is 20 to 30 years, making the disease difficult to diagnose.