The family of a deceased Navy shipyard worker has won a $17 million jury award in a lawsuit over asbestos exposure.

The claim was brought by the family of the late George C., who died of asbestos related cancers in August 2013.

Of all defendants, the jury found the U.S. Navy most liable, carrying 47 percent of the responsibility for George’s asbestos exposure.

Defendants Crane Co. and William Powell Co. will bear the bulk of the financial liability. The jury placed 20% of the responsibility on Crane and 5% on William Powell.

Other named defendants were also found liable, but only at 1% each.

Punitive damages accounted for $8 million of the total award, with Crane having to pay $5 million and William Powell having to pay $3 million. The remaining $9 million was awarded as compensatory damages.

Establishing Liability for Asbestos Exposure

Before he died, George provided testimony showing he had worked for the U.S. Navy as a machinist from 1959 to 1966, in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Virginia.

His duties had included removing asbestos-based packing and gaskets, putting him at risk for asbestos exposure.

He was able to name the manufacturers of the asbestos products he had been handling, manufacturers that included named defendants or their predecessors.

George retired after nearly 37 years as a civilian employee of the Navy. He was ultimately diagnosed with mesothelioma, and he died of his asbestos cancer in 2012 at age 73.

Mesothelioma is a type of asbestos cancer that affects the double-layered membrane surrounding the lungs. It is always fatal within one to four years after diagnosis.

In the United States, asbestos exposure is the only known cause of mesothelioma. The disease often takes decades to develop to the point of being diagnosed, so mesothelioma diagnosed today may have resulted from asbestos exposure that happened 30 to 50 years ago.

In their wrongful death lawsuit, George’s family argued that the manufacturers of the asbestos products George had worked with failed to properly warn about the hazards associated with asbestos exposure.

An attorney for the family commented that companies like Crane and William Powell have known since the 1930s about the dangers associated with asbestos exposure, yet have for decades denied those hazards.

The attorney said that these companies failed to warn George about the risk of asbestos related cancers, and that George’s death was attributable to their negligence.

William Powell Co. is a valve manufacturer based in Cincinnati. Crane Co., based in Connecticut, manufactures industrial products.

Attorneys for Crane expressed dissatisfaction with the jury’s decision, saying the company did not get a full opportunity to present its government contractor defense.

Crane alleges the punitive damages award is misplaced since the company made the asbestos-containing products at issue according to precise military and Navy specifications.

The company’s attorneys also said the punitive damages award should have been barred by Arizona state law.

The Asbestos Exposure Lawsuit is Case No. 3:13-CV-08141 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.