$10-MILLION JURY VERDICT
Seattle paper mill worker diagnosed with mesothelioma triumphs against employers in occupational asbestos exposure lawsuit

Seattle lawsuit charged asbestos exposure caused worker's mesothelioma.

Weitz & Luxenberg has protected the legal rights of asbestos-injured workers since 1986. And in that time the firm's mesothelioma lawyers have won several billion dollars in verdicts and settlements for clients injured by occupational asbestos exposure.

FEATURE STORY

December 4, 2009 – A Seattle jury last month awarded a former paper mill worker and his wife $10.2 million in a mesothelioma lawsuit involving occupational asbestos exposure.

Henry Barabin worked for two companies – former manufacturers of asbestos-laden dryer fabrics used on paper machines – during his nearly 40 year career as a laborer between 1964 and 2001.

Verdict in Seattle asbestos exposure case

The Barabin’s asbestos lawsuit alleged that the dryer fabrics manufactured by the defendants – Scapa Dryer Fabrics, Inc. and Asten Johnson, Inc. – were defectively designed and failed to include warnings about the dangers of asbestos exposure.

After working as a pulp tester, paper tester and in other paper mill positions, Henry Barabin was diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer in 2006.

Henry Barabin was awarded $700,000 for medical expenses, lost income and household services and $8 million in non-economic damages for pain and suffering. His wife was awarded another $1.5 million for her loss of consortium claim.

Paper mill workers historically risk asbestos exposure. A French study of about 163,000 paper mill workers who worked in the industry for less than a year between 1945 and 1996 found that 36 percent of them had been exposed to asbestos. The study found that the rate of mesothelioma deaths was three times higher among paper mill workers who had been exposed to asbestos than for those who had not.

Time to seek justice

If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma and seek a free case review, please notify us through the communication form on this page. We will pursue your claim with vigilance to help you pay for medical bills, lost wages, and suffering.

Please know, the firm works on a contingency basis so there is no cost to you until we obtain a verdict or reach a settlement in your favor.