A family reached a mesothelioma lawsuit settlement with Honeywell International before the jury returned with an $18 million verdict for the family.

Plaintiff Ronald T. filed the lawsuit in August 2017 alleging 11 companies had sold asbestos-based products that caused him to develop fatal mesothelioma. When Ronald died in December 2017, his son Michael became the plaintiff.

Michael’s father had said that Honeywell and Ford Motor Co. were to blame for his disease because they had made asbestos-based brakes that he worked with for years. Honeywell took over +Bendix Corp., which allegedly manufactured the dangerous brakes.

The jury determined that even though Ford wasn’t the bearer of any responsibility for the mesothelioma diagnosis, Honeywell was 18.75 percent responsible. The late plaintiff was found to be five percent responsible for his own injuries, while the other 76.25 percent of the blame was determined to belong to entities that were not involved in the lawsuit. (Pneumo Abex LLC was one of those entities, which allegedly settled claims made against it during the lawsuit’s jury selection.)

If the asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit had not been settled, the jury determined $5.55 million was due to the plaintiff for pain and suffering and $1 million each was due to each of his three children. The jury said another $10 million in their judgment was for punitive damages to be paid by Honeywell.

Neither party’s attorneys would disclose the amount of the settlement, according to Law360.

Michael’s pretrial statement alleged that his father was exposed to asbestos in brake materials and vehicles while working at two brake facilities in Arkansas in the 1970s and early 1980s. Thankfully no family members suffered secondhand asbestos exposure.

Mesothelioma Exposure to Asbestos Claims

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that was widely used in the areas of construction, shipbuilding and automotive work. The material became popular because it’s lightweight, fire resistant, heat resistant and makes a great insulator.

Unfortunately, asbestos also is a carcinogen. Tiny asbestos fibers and asbestos dust easily become airborne, where people nearby can swallow or inhale the particles. If proper masks are not used, those working in and around asbestos are in danger of developing potentially fatal asbestos-related diseases, like lung cancer and mesothelioma.

The U.S. federal government has largely banned asbestos, to protect the public, except in cases where there are not viable alternatives.

Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of a bodily organ. In most cases, asbestos exposure causes pleural mesothelioma, which is a cancer of the lining of the lungs. According to the American Cancer Society, nearly eight out of 10 people diagnosed with mesothelioma can trace their disease to asbestos exposure.

Like other cancers, mesothelioma begins when DNA in the cells becomes damaged. It can take decades of tiny particles of asbestos festering deep in the lung lining tissue before mesothelioma actually occurs.  The latency period can be up to 50 years from asbestos exposure to diagnosis.

The Mesothelioma Lawsuit is Case No. 4:17-cv-00522, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.