{"id":2981,"date":"2022-03-03T08:43:46","date_gmt":"2022-03-03T08:43:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.braytonlaw.com\/?page_id=2981"},"modified":"2022-03-03T08:43:46","modified_gmt":"2022-03-03T08:43:46","slug":"jury-awards-to-former-navy-seaman-in-asbestos-case","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.braytonlaw.com\/es\/jury-awards-to-former-navy-seaman-in-asbestos-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Jury Awards $4,648,535 To Former Navy Seaman In Asbestos Case"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jury Verdict for Navy Seaman in Asbestos Case<\/h1>\n
\n

Jury Awards $4,648,535 to a Former Navy Seaman in Asbestos Case<\/h2>\n

SAN FRANCISCO, CA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 May 8, 2000 \u2014 A San Francisco jury awarded $4,648,535 to a former Navy seaman afflicted with malignant mesothelioma caused by his\u00a0occupational exposure to asbestos<\/a>. The plaintiffs were Bernie Chavers and his wife of 25 years, Mary Chavers. The defendants were Owens\u2013Illinois, Inc. and Gatke Corporation, former manufacturers of asbestos\u2013containing insulation and friction products.<\/p>\n

The trial began on January 3, 2000, before San Francisco Superior Court Judge James McBride. A jury was impaneled to hear the case and heard testimony. Closings were presented March 9, 2000. The jury had deliberated over 40 days before reaching their verdicts. During the trial, testimony concerning asbestos, medical diagnosis, epidemiology, corporate knowledge of the danger of asbestos, cell biology and industrial hygiene was presented, as well as evidence regarding Mr. Chavers\u2019 occupational exposure circumstances.<\/p>\n

Evidence at trial demonstrated that defendant Owens\u2013Illinois had known of the dangers associated with asbestos since before 1943 when it first made and sold asbestos\u2013containing products. Thereafter, despite their knowledge, Owens\u2013Illinois misrepresented that their asbestos products were \u201cnon\u2013toxic\u201d and could be used with ordinary tools of the trade, not requiring any special precautions or respiratory protection from the deadly and often invisible microscopic asbestos fibers released whenever their insulation was cut, removed or touched. The jury found Owens\u2013Illinois guilty of negligence, products liability and fraud. They also concluded that Owens\u2013Illinois was involved in a conspiracy dating to the 1930s whereby many manufacturers of asbestos products concealed facts regarding the dangers of their products and misrepresented the true nature of the hazards the products posed to unsuspecting workers.<\/p>\n

The jury further found, by a vote of 9\u20133, that Owens\u2013Illinois committed malice and oppression in its conduct, which finding allows a second phase of trial which is set to begin in May 2000. In that phase of trial, the jury will be asked to assess punitive and exemplary damages against Owens\u2013Illinois, which just announced in their 1999 Annual Report net earnings of $298.3 million on net sales of a record $5.5 billion dollars. Today, Owens\u2013Illinois has extensive presence worldwide as a leading manufacturer of glass containers. Owens\u2013Illinois estimates that one of every two glass containers made worldwide is made by them. It no longer sells asbestos products.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are relieved that the jury found in the plaintiffs\u2019 favor as Mr. and Mrs. Chavers are deserving people who never should have been put through this horrible disease,\u201d said Gilbert Purcell, attorney for the Chavers. \u201cWe hope that the jury will now strive to make a good example of \u2026in their consideration of punitive damages. We believe Owens\u2013Illinois should warn people about the dangers of their products and recall Kaylo, which they have the ability to identify. To date, they refuse to do either.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plaintiffs were represented at trial by\u00a0California mesothelioma attorney<\/a>\u00a0Gilbert Purcell of\u00a0Brayton Purcell LLP<\/a>\u2018s Novato, California office.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jury Verdict for Navy Seaman in Asbestos Case Jury Awards $4,648,535 to a Former Navy Seaman in Asbestos Case SAN FRANCISCO, CA\u00a0\u2014 May 8, 2000 \u2014 A San Francisco jury awarded $4,648,535 to a former Navy seaman afflicted with malignant mesothelioma caused by his\u00a0occupational exposure to asbestos. The plaintiffs were Bernie Chavers and his wife of 25 years, Mary Chavers. The defendants were Owens\u2013Illinois, Inc. and Gatke Corporation, former manufacturers of asbestos\u2013containing insulation and friction products. The trial began on January 3, 2000, before San Francisco Superior Court Judge James McBride. A jury was impaneled to hear the case and [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":18,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2981","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.braytonlaw.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.braytonlaw.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.braytonlaw.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.braytonlaw.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.braytonlaw.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.braytonlaw.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2981\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.braytonlaw.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}