$25.2 Million Asbestos Verdict in Pennsylvania

Earlier this year, a Philadelphia jury awarded $25.2 million in compensatory and punitive damages in an asbestos related lawsuit.

The case was brought by the estate of James Baccus against the Crane Company and Yarway. James Baccus had served in the United States Navy in Philadelphia, which is how his case came to be heard in the Pennsylvania courts. However, some of his exposure to asbestos occurred in Philadelphia and some occurred in Kentucky.

The court found that the defendant was “grossly negligent for failure to warn of the dangers of asbestos in reckless disregard of the safety of others." The plaintiff was awarded $7 million in compensatory damages and $18.2 million in punitive damages. The compensatory damages were for things such as loss of future income, loss of consortium, and wrongful death. The punitive damages were to punish the defendants for their mistakes.

This case is said to be the first asbestos case in more than 20 years in which punitive damages were awarded in Pennsylvania. This is likely because Kentucky law was applied to the case.

Clearly, the result was a large economic benefit to the family of James Baccus. Was it the right decision? Does Kentucky law which allows for punitive damages to be found earlier in the case than Pennsylvania law result in decisions that are fair for the family or overly punitive?

The award of damages is very likely to be appealed and we won’t know the final outcome for some time. However, the family of James Baccus already knows the outcome. They know that they lost a beloved family member to a preventable disease. That is something that is hard to tie to a dollar amount. It is the court’s obligation to try since it is the only method of compensating the families, imperfect as it may be.