Potter’s Widow Gets $3 Million in Asbestos Case

November 20, 2006 - The widow of a central New Jersey man, who spent years working as a potter, was awarded $3 million in damages earlier this week.  Bonnie L. Parker claims her husband died because he contracted a fatal disease from asbestos fibers inhaled while working with a material he used for glazes.

The Associated Press reports that this verdict is the first in the nation dealing with asbestos in industrial talc, according to Carmen St. George, a lawyer for Ms. Parker.  Two defendants were named in the suit - R.T. Vanderbilt Inc., which mined the industrial talc, and Hammill & Gillespie Inc., its distributor, St. George said. 

Parker’s husband, Peter Stanley Hirsch, owned three pottery studios; one each in the towns of Skillman, Lambertville, and Lawrenceville, located near Princeton.  Hirsch was diagnosed with mesothelioma in September 2002 and died in April 2004 at the age of 53.

"He had his life taken away prematurely," Parker, 58, of Pennington, said in a phone interview. "This verdict is where he is vindicated, where he does beat it."

Vanderbilt denied any wrongdoing, saying the talc contained fibers that "looked similar to but were not a lethal form of asbestos."  Hammill and Gillespie had no comment.

Vanderbilt mines the industrial talc in St. Lawrence County, N.Y., and the material is used in a variety of products, including plastics, rubber and ceramics, noted the Associated Press article.  The company is also facing additional lawsuits from miners and others who’ve died due to on-site asbestos exposure.

Many believe Vanderbilt has been negligent in caring for the health of their employees. "Not only must their own workers be protected from lung disease, end users and others who come into contact with the product must be warned properly of the carcinogenic fibers lurking in this dusty powder used in so many manufacturing applications," said Moshe Maimon, a partner in the firm that represented Bonnie Parker.