Last week in northwest Washington State, NAPA Auto Parts (NAPA) and Genuine Parts Corporation (GPC) were found liable to the tune of $81.5 million for the manufacturing or sale of parts containing asbestos.

A jury delivered the asbestos award to the family of the late Jerry C. of Kettle Falls, Washington. Jerry was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare type of lung cancer that begins in the mesothelium or thin layers of membrane tissue that surround organs. It is commonly caused by exposure to asbestos, but often doesn’t show up until 20-50 years after exposure to the deadly substance.

Assessing liability and making an asbestos award becomes more complicated if there are multiple opportunities for exposure over the course of a lifetime as is the case with Jerry, who succumbed to complications of the disease in 2015.

Jerry was a professional excavator that both maintained and repaired as well as ran construction equipment such as backhoe loaders, bulldozers, trenchers, and cranes throughout his life. Large motorized equipment with friction parts such as brakes, clutches, and gaskets frequently contain asbestos.

The family of the deceased also revealed that Jerry loved to work on restoring hot rods and classic-type cars as a hobby when he was not working. This pastime gave him even more asbestos exposure as he sought parts at the local NAPA and General Parts store in Kettle Falls, Wash., where he lived.

This asbestos award of $81.5 million to Jerry’s family is one of the largest a jury has ever made in Washington State. After over 12 weeks of trial in Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma, although it only took the jury five hours to deliberate.

The jury’s unanimous decision to hold NAPA and GPC liable was a big step in the direction of getting sellers of asbestos-containing products to acknowledge their responsibility for the suffering and death of those exposed to asbestos.

Have You Been Diagnosed with an Asbestos-Related Disease?

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with a serious asbestos-related disease, such as mesothelioma, you could benefit from a free consultation with an experienced asbestos attorney.

You deserve to get the compensation you need to offset your pain and suffering, medical costs, and lost wages.  Most of all, the companies that knowingly put these dangerous asbestos-containing products on the market need to be held accountable for their actions.

The Asbestos Mesothelioma Lawsuit is Case No. 15-2-09504-3 in Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma, Wash.