Mesothelioma Patient’s Family Awarded Over $2 Million
Bloomington, IL—A McLean County jury has awarded more than $2 million in a mesothelioma lawsuit. The family of Juanita Rodarmel, who died of the asbestos cancer, received the verdict after three days of jury deliberation.
Mesothelioma is usually contracted after exposure to asbestos, and Rodarmel contracted the disease because of her own exposure to asbestos fibers which were clinging to her husband’s work clothes. Since the asbestos fibers are microscopic, they can cling to fabrics and be transported on clothing or shoes.
Rodarmel’s husband, Leslie Corry, was a worker at the former Union Asbestos & Rubber Company in the 1950s. Rodarmel was exposed to the fibers on a regular basis, when she laundered the contaminated clothes.
Asbestos, which was once widely used in many different industries because of its strength, durability and resistance to fire and heat, has been phased out of use in the United States, although it is still legally allowable in small percentages and remains intact in older structures. When the asbestos-containing material is disturbed, its microscopic fibers are released into the air, where they can be inhaled or ingested. The fibers, which can be curly or needlelike, lodge themselves into the lining of the lungs and chest cavity, known as the mesothelium. They can then develop into malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma has an extremely long latency period, meaning that several decades can elapse before the disease becomes symptomatic. For this reason, it’s often not diagnosed until it has reached the latest and most fatal stages.
The jury in the Rodarmel case also awarded $100,000 in punitive damages against Pneumo Abex, LLC and $400,000 against Honeywell International, Inc., which attorneys for the family argued had conspired with several other firms to suppress information about asbestos’s dangers. The other companies named in this conspiracy include Johns-Manville, Raybestos-Manhatta, Owens-Illinois, Owens Corning and Metropolitan Life Insurance.
Union Asbestos & Rubber Company later changed its name to UNARCO.
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