Jury Awards $13.5 Million in Retrial of Texas Asbestos Case
Attorneys from Dallas-based Baron & Budd told jurors that Timothy Shawn Bostic, who died of mesothelioma on Sept. 5, 2003, had been exposed to the fire-retardant mineral as a child and teen working with his father. According to Baron & Budd lawyers Charla G. Aldous and Chris Panatier, evidence at trial included documents showing that Georgia-Pacific officials knew of the health hazards caused by asbestos as early as 1966, but the company continued to manufacture asbestos-containing products until 1977.
Bostic’s wife and child had been awarded $9.3 million in March 2005 in the case. But, said Aldous, because the trial judge expressed concern over the way the jury had calculated punitive damages, she offered the plaintiffs the opportunity to either accept a reduced award or face a new trial.
'We decided to take a chance on a new trial,' said Aldous. 'As it turned out, that was a good decision.'"
Read the full article at Law.com here.
I notice that in this section there's no commentary on Judge Jack's opinion regarding the fraud committed by plaintiff's attorneys in this area. What section of your website is it in?
I imagine that you are talking about the silica litigation. This litigation recently came under scrutiny when it was discovered that the same doctor was making 1000's of diagnoses of silica related injuries, some of them unfounded. This asbestos case, as with most asbestos cases, is unrelated to the silica litigation. True, a small group of plaintiff's attorneys are at the center of the silica mess, and it is a slap in the face to all those truly injured by silica or other negligently manufactured and marketed products.