MESOTHELIOMA VERDICT
Illinois jury finds companies liable in three asbestos-related factory deaths

$5.5M ASBESTOS MESOTHELIOMA VERDICT

Industries that have placed workers most at risk for asbestos exposure are the: automobile, construction, electrical, power plant and shipyard industries.

NEWS BRIEF

October 23, 2009 - A McLean County, Ill., jury awarded three widows $5.5 million Wednesday in a lawsuit alleging their husbands were exposed to asbestos at a Bloomington factory.

The men, Merlon Dukes, Bob Blessing and John Watkins, worked at Union Asbestos & Rubber Co., later called UNARCO Industries Inc., during the 1950s and 1960s. All three workers died of the asbestos-related disease mesothelioma, according to claims filed in civil court.

After deliberating five hours, the jury found that Honeywell International Inc., through its corporate predecessor Bendix, conspired with other companies (including UNARCO, Johns-Manville, Raybestos-Manhattan, Owens-Illinois, Owens Corning and Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.) to withhold information from workers about the hazards of asbestos.

Time to seek justice

Weitz & Luxenberg has protected the legal rights of 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 job-related asbestos exposure.

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. Because the firm works on a contingency basis, there is no cost to you until we win a settlement or a verdict.