Large Reward Goes to Asbestos-Exposed Navy Machinist

March 28, 2006 - On March 24, a San Francisco jury awarded a $1.9 million settlement to mesothelioma victim and retired Navy machinist, Charlton Clemmer, and his wife, Kay.  The suit named John Crane, Inc., a former manufacturer of asbestos–containing valve and pump packing, and Thorpe Insulation Company, a former supplier and distributor of asbestos thermal insulation.  The jury stated that “the companies were negligent and failed to warn about defects in their products, which were defectively designed.”  Specifically, the jury assessed over $550,000 in economic damages, $1.1 million in non–economic damages and $250,000 for loss of consortium.

During more than two decades of service in the U.S. Navy, Clemmer worked aboard both destroyers and aircraft carriers, including the USS Yorktown, where he was usually in charge of equipment maintenance and repair.  Mr. Clemmer has stated that he worked around a variety of asbestos-containing projects. 

Clemmer retired from the Navy in 1972 and was diagnosed with mesothelioma in June 2004, more than 3 decades later.  Plaintiffs demonstrated that the hazards of asbestos have been evident since the 1920s, and that by the 1950s, it was apparent that the naturally-mined substance causes cancer.  Many companies, over the years, have endeavored to conceal the danger of asbestos exposure from its employees and have failed to provide proper protective equipment to those working with the substance.

According to press releases, “John Crane, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of industrial packings, gaskets and seals. It supplied asbestos–containing packings to the Navy throughout Mr. Clemmer’s career. Since 1957, Thorpe Insulation Company was the main supplier of Johns–Manville thermal insulation products in Southern California and in particular to the Long Beach Naval Shipyard where the ships that Clemmer served aboard were repaired. The products included pipe and boiler insulation, asbestos cloth and insulating mud.”