Jury Awards $3.9 Million to Navy Veteran

September 20 , 2006 - Last week, a Los Angeles, California jury found in favor of the family of U.S. Navy Veteran Joseph Henson Norris in a wrongful death suit against Crane Company of Stamford, Connecticut.  The wife and children of Norris, who died in August 2006 of mesothelioma, were awarded $3.9 million in the suit.

Norris, who was a gunner’s mate aboard the U.S.S. Bremerton from 1955 until 1957, was diagnosed with the disease in April 2005.  According to a press release by the attorneys for the Norris family, Crane Company, a manufacturer of industrial products with more than 10,000 employees worldwide, was responsible for his illness.  The company previously manufactured valves with asbestos gaskets and asbestos packing materials that were used aboard Mr. Norris' ship.  The company also sold its own line of asbestos-containing gasket materials from 1920 until 1972.  

A Crane spokesman, however, said that the company used asbestos-containing parts manufactured by third parties in pump valves.  He also explained that the company was the only remaining defendant in the wrongful-death lawsuit because other companies had gone out of business and the U.S. Navy is shielded from liability and stressed that Crane was considering an appeal on the verdict.

During the trial, attorneys alleged that the Crane continued to “manufacture and sell asbestos-containing products throughout the last century without researching asbestos dangers, testing the products for asbestos hazards, or warning end users.”