$3.5 Million Mesothelioma Verdict Against Old Spice For Asbestos in the Product

Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, Inc. is being sued by a man who was exposed to asbestos through several products they supplied talc for. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2017 after being exposed to asbestos-laced talc in an Old Spice product that Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, Inc. supplied the talc for.

The plaintiff said that the company’s officers and directors knew of the dangerous effects relating to talc but deliberately failed to prevent consumers’ exposure to asbestos.

The company’s past vice president testified at trial about the company’s business and its distribution of talc. It was discovered that high-level employees were aware of asbestos contamination in talc from a meeting with the EPA in 1972.

During the trial, it was proven that the plaintiff’s asbestos exposure included his daily use of Old Spice for most of the period from 1958 to 1980. The company was charged to be 42 percent responsible for his mesothelioma; It should therefore pay compensatory damages of $448,761.10, plus punitive damages of $3 million for acting with malice, oppression, or fraud.

It was also found that the company’s officer, director, or managing agent acted with malice, oppression, and fraud by knowing about the probable dangerous consequences of their conduct and by willfully failing to avoid these consequences. They also deliberately hid from the FDA its test results in 1972 and 1973 showing asbestos in its talc samples.