Long-term workplace exposure to asbestos led to mesothelioma — $2,727,417.87 verdict

Injuries alleged: Mesothelioma

Name of case: Forehand v. VEPCO

Court: Newport News Circuit Court

Case no.: CL2202483H-00

Name of judge: Judge Mathew Hoffman

Date resolved: March 5, 2025

Special damages: $727,417.87 in medical expenses

Attorney for plaintiff: Robert R. Hatten and Hugh B. McCormick, Newport News, Patten, Wornom, Hatten & Diamonstein; Nathan D. Finch, Washington, D.C., Motley Rice

Description of case: The plaintiff testified that from 1965 to 1971, he drove a delivery truck and worked in the warehouse of Caudle-Hyatt, a former distributor of Johns-Manville asbestos insulation in Hopewell. In that work, he delivered thousands of cartons of asbestos insulation to VEPCO’s Chesterfield Power Plant.

The cartons were delivered to the loading dock and contractors at VEPCO, who were installing and removing asbestos insulation on the premises of the plant.

The expert testimony of a materials scientist from Atlanta demonstrated with videotaped testing that the plaintiff would have had significant high exposures to airborne asbestos fibers. The exposures came from opening the cartons on VEPCO’s premises and delivering them to areas where asbestos insulators were creating airborne asbestos dust from their work.

A pathologist who worked at a Newport News hospital for 36 years and has seen over 500 mesothelioma cases in Newport News and thousands more as a consultant, testified that the exposures received by the plaintiff at VEPCO were sufficient to cause mesothelioma and were a proximate cause of his disease.

A medical historian from Columbia University in New York City testified that VEPCO should have known about mesothelioma and how to prevent asbestos exposure since at least 1964. This opinion was based upon thousands of widely published medical articles from the 1930s through the 1950s concerning asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. His opinion that VEPCO should have known that asbestos was dangerous and should have warned the plaintiff when he was on company premises was supported by the fact that asbestosis has been recognized under Virginia’s workers compensation laws since 1944. He further testified that safety procedures for handling asbestos were published in 1943, long before OSHA was enacted in 1972.

The plaintiff’s testimony was supported by Caudle-Hyatt’s secretary from 1966 to 1972. She testified that VEPCO routinely purchased asbestos insulation from Caudle-Hyatt and 75% of the deliveries were made by the plaintiff.

The plaintiff testified to receiving extensive medical treatment and to his prognosis that mesothelioma will eventually cause his death.

The plaintiff has received settlements with some other parties and, under Virginia’s joint and several liability rules, the defendant will get a “dollar-for-dollar credit for any past settlements against the amount of the verdict.”

Plaintiff’s counsel Robert R. “Bobby” Hatten provided case information.

[025-T-037]