$11.5 Million Awarded in Asbestos Suit

July 17, 2006 - A couple from Longmont, Colorado was awarded $1.5 million in damages in a suit brought against Asbestos Corporation Limited, a Canadian-based company who is the owner and former operator of asbestos mines in the Thetford Mines region of Quebec.  Because the company acted “with malice or oppression”, according to the jury, they added another $10 million in punitive damages against the company.

Plaintiff Joseph Garza, a Navy veteran suffering from asbestosis, was given $1.1 million for pain and suffering.  He worked as a fireman and boiler man on several different ships during his naval career, which spanned the years 1948-1957.  His wife, Mary, who is disabled and relied on her husband to perform everyday tasks, was awarded $400,000 for loss of companionship. 

It has been documented that Mr. Garza personally mixed and applied Eagle Picher Super 66 insulating cements to make repairs aboard the ships.  This substance, of which Asbestos Corporation Limited was the exclusive supplier during Garza’s naval stint, was known to release extremely high levels of asbestos.  According to his attorneys, he was given no respiratory protection nor did the packaging contain any warnings as to the hazards of working with the insulating cement.  The company finally placed warning labels on the bags of cement in 1970. 

Attorneys for the plaintiffs also introduced as evidence sales brochures which failed to indicate the dangers of working with Eagle Picher Super 66 products.  The brochures also did not suggest the use of respirators for employees using the product.