$25 Million Trial Win for W&L Client with Cancer From Asbestos

Weitz & Luxenberg attorneys secured a $25 million trial win for our client who was exposed to asbestos in a variety of ways, including his work installing and removing Amtico brand asbestos-containing floor tile, manufactured by American Biltrite, Inc.

W&L partner Brittany A. Russell tried the case with Pierre Ratzki, another partner on  W&L’s team of mesothelioma and asbestos attorneys.

The defendant in the trial was the tile manufacturer, American Biltrite. Our client developed mesothelioma due to his exposure to asbestos.

Jury Found American Biltrite Responsible

The jury awarded our client $25 million in compensatory damages. The award specified $10 million for past pain and suffering, and another $10 million for future pain and suffering. The jury also found that American Biltrite acted with a wanton, reckless, and malicious disregard for human life and awarded our client an additional $5 million in punitive damages.

“I’m incredibly grateful to the members of the jury who dedicated their time and attention to listening so carefully to the case we presented. After hearing the testimony, they recognized how much our client has suffered as a result of American Biltrite’s wanton misconduct,” Ms. Russell says.

The trial was held in New York City, with The Honorable Judy J. Kim presiding. The verdict was reached in mid-April.

The jury found American Biltrite negligent in failing to warn of the dangers of its tiles, and that American Biltrite defectively designed its asbestos-containing tiles. The jury also found that exposure from removal and installation of the defendant’s tiles was a substantial contributing factor in causing our client’s mesothelioma.

American Biltrite Floor Tiles Contained Asbestos

American Biltrite began manufacturing flooring products in 1917. From 1917 through 1960, it manufactured only non-asbestos containing flooring. It didn’t begin to manufacture vinyl asbestos tiles until in 1961.

Inexplicably, American Biltrite decided to begin manufacturing asbestos-containing tiles just one year after a seminal epidemiological study conclusively established that asbestos causes mesothelioma. American Biltrite continued to manufacture asbestos-containing floor tiles until 1985.

The company also manufactured non-asbestos vinyl tiles the entire time it was manufacturing asbestos-containing tiles. American Biltrite admitted that the reason it manufactured asbestos tiles is because these tiles were two to three times cheaper to make than the non-asbestos vinyl tiles.

Manufacturer Chose Cheap Over Safe

“By 1981, American Biltrite had developed a patent to manufacture a non-asbestos tile using the same manufacturing process and equipment it used for asbestos tiles. Instead of discontinuing its asbestos-containing tiles, the company chose not to use that patent for five years,” Ms. Russell explains.

Its reason: American Biltrite felt that continuing to sell asbestos tiles was best for its financial bottom line. Additionally, it joined an industry lobbying group dedicated to preventing and limiting government regulation of asbestos and concealing the dangers of asbestos from the general public.

American Biltrite knew that asbestos caused death before it ever sold a single asbestos-containing floor tile. It protected its own manufacturing employees with respirators, but did nothing to warn end-users that its product contained a deadly carcinogen.

W&L Has a Strong Record of Winning Asbestos Exposure Cases

Weitz & Luxenberg was founded in the mid-1980s with one main goal in mind: To help people harmed by the negligent actions, and sometimes inactions, of large corporations. Typically, these large companies care more about their financial success than safeguarding people’s health.

This is particularly true when it comes to asbestos. We have known for decades asbestos causes cancers such as mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is one of the worst forms of cancer and is highly aggressive. However, mesothelioma is also highly preventable, if only companies would choose to make right and responsible decisions.

When they don’t, Weitz & Luxenberg holds them accountable. We are there, front and center, every time our clients are harmed by a corporate giant’s inexcusable conduct. We use every legal tool we have at our disposal to secure a just and fair outcome for our clients.

Across almost four decades, we have won $13 billion on behalf of our clients who were exposed to asbestos. Here are a few examples:

• $117 million in a trial victory for our client, who developed mesothelioma as a sheet metal worker.
• $75 million in a trial victory for a woman who developed mesothelioma through her husband’s work clothing.
• $43 million in a trial victory for a client who developed mesothelioma due to secondary exposure from her husband’s work around asbestos dust.