Bridgestone Firestone Ordered to Pay $30 Million Following 65-Year-Old’s Mesothelioma Death
Malignant mesothelioma claims the lives of thousands of people every year, and though every victim is different, they all share a history of having been exposed to asbestos. In the case of 65-year-old Thomas Jackson, that exposure came from the clothing his father wore to work every day. On hearing details of Mr. Jackson’s life, sickness, and death, a Chicago jury awarded his widow $30 million in damages.
Jury Hears Details of Mesothelioma Victim’s Childhood Asbestos Exposure
Over the course of a nine-day trial, a jury learned of the many years that the mesothelioma victim’s father had worked for a Bridgestone Firestone tire manufacturing facility in Decatur, Illinois, and how the company had used talc to prevent the components of their tire and rubber products from sticking to each other. Mr. Jackson’s attorneys submitted almost 100 separate documents that proved that the talc the company used had been sourced from Vermont and New York mines whose talc was contaminated with asbestos.
Mr. Jackson died of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma just five weeks after being diagnosed, and his family’s attorneys drew a straight line from his exposure to his father’s work clothes to his illness. “For years, this Firestone facility allowed hardworking men to go home to their families covered in raw asbestos materials, endangering the next generation and, in Mr. Jackson’s case, causing a sudden and painful death,” one said.
Jury Takes Less than Two Hours to Reach $30 Million Mesothelioma Decision
In addition to presenting the jury with proof of the mesothelioma victim’s exposure to asbestos from the Bridgestone Firestone plant, Mr. Jackson’s attorneys made clear the depth of loss caused by his death. Mr. Jackson had been married to his high school sweetheart and had been the successful owner of a wealth management company he’d started after having put himself through school. The jury ordered the tire company to pay the widow $13.6 million in survivor damages, $11.14 million in wrongful death damages, and $5.25 million in economic losses.
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