Jury awards $6.45M to shipyard retiree

A Newport News jury this month awarded $6.45 million to a 71-year-old Navy shipyard retiree diagnosed with asbestos-related cancer.

The March 4 award is the latest in a string of multi-million-dollar mesothelioma verdicts against manufacturer John Crane Inc. in Newport News Circuit Court.

Lawyers for mesothelioma victims blame the company for failing to prevent asbestos exposure from gaskets and seals it made in the ’60s and ’70s.

The frequent success of asbestos plaintiffs has led business advocates to condemn Newport News Circuit Court as a “Judicial Hellhole.”

“Newport News judges routinely issue legal and evidentiary rulings that lower the bar for plaintiffs while tying defendants’ hands,” reads a statement from the American Tort Reform Foundation.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys deny the scales are unbalanced.

The March 4 verdict ended a two-week trial in the case of George Parker. A retired machinist who worked at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Parker repaired shipboard valves and pumps using asbestos gaskets, according to his attorneys.

The gaskets were made by six different manufacturers. Parker settled his claims with several manufacturers, but John Crane has a “no settlement policy,” according to Robert R. Hatten, one of Parker’s lawyers.

The case was tried under Maritime Law and John Crane lawyers reportedly litigated many of the legal and evidentiary issues resolved against defendants in the past.

The jury found that John Crane was strictly liable and negligent under a Maritime “should have known” standard of care, Hatten said.

Hatten said Judge Timothy S. Fisher adopted a more restrictive definition of “substantial contributing factor,” using the Maritime causation standard, but the jury still determined John Crane products were to blame for Parker’s disease.

“The problem is there’s no uniform instruction in Maritime Law for what a substantial contributing factor is,” Hatten said. “There are several different definitions out there,” he added.

The jury awarded $4.5 million to Parker for his pain and suffering and $1.5 to his wife for loss of consortium. An additional $450,000 was awarded for Parker’s medical expenses.

Evidence showed John Crane sold asbestos gaskets to the Navy from 1930 to 1985. Despite a growing body of knowledge about the dangers of asbestos exposure, the company never warned of the hazards of breathing asbestos or working with asbestos gaskets, Hatten said.

John Crane reportedly claimed that the asbestos was encapsulated in its gaskets, limiting or preventing exposure to the fibers. But one of Parker’s experts testified the asbestos fibers were readily released through ordinary use, Hatten said.

Parker reportedly used a ball peen hammer to fashion new gaskets and scrapers and brushes to remove old gaskets. The work caused fibers to fly about, Hatten said.

A Newport News pathologist testified that mesothelioma is a signature disease of asbestos exposure that often appears 30 to 40 years after exposure. The doctor said it was his opinion that Parker’s exposure to John Crane products was a substantial contributing factor to the development of his disease, Hatten said.

Defense experts sought to blame Parker’s disease on exposure to asbestos from sources other than John Crane products, Hatten said. The lawyer said Parker’s experts countered the defense testimony.

John Crane’s legal team did not respond to a request for comment.

The company was represented by Chicago attorney Dan Griffin; Richmond lawyers Eric Reeves, Kate McCauley and Brian Schneider; and Monica Monday of Roanoke.

The tort reform organization has complained in the past about rulings by Newport News judges on the causation yardstick, on standards for proof of exposure to other asbestos products and on the role of the Navy.

Hatten said it seems clear John Crane hopes to gain favorable rulings on those issues from the Supreme Court of Virginia.