LOS ANGELES, Sept. 18 LAWFUEL – Law News, Law Jobs — The law firm of Baron & Budd,
P.C., is announcing a $3.9 million wrongful death verdict handed down in
Los Angeles Superior Court against Stamford, Conn.-based Crane Co. (NYSE:
CR) on behalf of the family of a U.S. Navy veteran who died from his
exposure to asbestos.
Attorneys Chris Panatier and John Langdoc from Dallas’ Baron & Budd
represented the wife and adult children of Joseph Henson Norris, who died
in August 2006 from mesothelioma, an incurable cancer caused by asbestos
exposure. Jurors reached their verdict after regular court hours on Friday, Sept. 15.
“Chris, John and our entire trial team worked hard to show this jury
exactly how the defendants could have prevented this terrible tragedy,”
says Russell W. Budd, managing partner of Baron & Budd. “The jurors
understood this case and their verdict reflects just that.”
The jury of six men and six women heard how Mr. Norris was exposed to
asbestos while working as a gunner’s mate in the U.S. Navy from 1955 to
1957. Crane Co., a manufacturer of industrial products with more than
10,000 employees worldwide, previously manufactured valves with asbestos
gaskets and asbestos packing materials that were used aboard Mr. Norris’
ship, the U.S.S. Bremerton. Crane Co. also sold its own line of
asbestos-containing gasket materials from 1920 until 1972.
Attorneys for the Norris family told jurors how the dangers of asbestos
have been widely known since the early 1900s, but that Crane Co. 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.
Jurors delivered their verdict after five and a half days of
deliberations in the trial before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Victor
E. Chavez.
“Mr. Norris’s family is appreciative of all the hard work put in by the
jury on this case,” Mr. Panatier says. “For them, this verdict provides
some closure.”
The effects of asbestos exposure, including the onset of diseases like mesothelioma and asbestosis, can take years or even decades to surface.
Nearly 50 years passed before Mr. Norris began exhibiting symptoms of
mesothelioma. He was diagnosed in April 2005, and lived only 16 months
after learning he had the disease.
About Baron & Budd, P.C.
Since 1977, the law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C. has championed the
rights of people and communities harmed by corporate misconduct. With more
than 80 attorneys and offices in New York, Ohio, Louisiana, Texas and
California, Baron & Budd enjoys a national reputation as a leader of the
plaintiffs’ bar. The firm represents individuals with mesothelioma and
other diseases caused by asbestos; leukemia caused by benzene; injuries
caused by other toxic substances and unsafe pharmaceuticals; water
authorities seeking clean-up costs for drinking water contamination;
securities investors defrauded by corporate wrongdoing; and consumers in
class actions.
For more information, please contact Bruce Vincent at 800.559.4534.
