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Ecmweb 6451 Gavel595
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Ecmweb 6451 Gavel595

Jury Rules for Plaintiffs in Asbestos Case

June 30, 2014
The case went against Crane Company, a "diversified manufacturer of highly engineered industrial products."

A New York jury awarded two plaintiffs $25 million in a lawsuit maintaining that two electricians were continually exposed to asbestos throughout their careers. The case went against Crane Company, a "diversified manufacturer of highly engineered industrial products." The plaintiffs were exposed to asbestos products used in connection with Crane’s valves as well as products sold by Cranem, according to a report by the Washington Examiner.

Crane failed to provide adequate warnings regarding asbestos hazards when using its equipment, which the jury agreed was a substantial contributing factor in causing the claimants’ mesothelioma.

Dorcas Hackshaw, executor of the estate of Selwyn A. Hackshaw, was awarded $10 million for past pain and suffering from the onset of his mesothelioma to the date of his death. She stated her husband had worked as an electrician and pipefitter before developing mesothelioma in late 2012, which contributed to his death in August 2013 at the age of 74. Ivan Sweberg will receive $5 million for past pain and suffering from the onset of his mesothelioma to the date of the verdict and $10 million for future pain and suffering.

Part of Hackshaw's tasks as an electrician and pipefitter was making and changing asbestos-containing gaskets to be used in the valves. He would use Crane’s Cranite Asbestos Sheet Gasketing Material to create the gaskets, which contained between 75 percent and 85 percent asbestos. Hackshaw testified that he made the gaskets by beating the material with a ball-peen hammer and then cutting it, a task which typically formed a cloud of asbestos dust. He also had to apply and remove asbestos-containing insulation in order to get to the Crane valves, the Washington Examiner reported.

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