Jury Awards $20 Million to Mesothelioma-Stricken Mechanic and his Wife

A St. Louis jury listened intently as Bill Trokey and his wife Cathy detailed his mesothelioma journey. They heard how the man had been exposed to asbestos, of his diagnosis, and of the impact on the family’s life. After two weeks they’d heard enough: They agreed that asbestos in Ford Motor Company’s brakes had caused his illness and ordered the company to pay the couple $20 million.

Man’s Mesothelioma Blamed on Asbestos in Ford Motor Co. Brakes

Years before Mr. Trokey was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, he’d spent years working as a mechanic, repairing and replacing brakes in Ford vehicles. The 76-year-old had worked at his father’ auto shop during the 1960s, and recalled for the jury the amount of dust that had been generated as he removed, replaced, and repaired brakes using Ford brakes. That dust was contaminated with asbestos.

Ford denied its role in the man’s mesothelioma, arguing that because he only worked part-time at his father’s shop he would not have had enough asbestos exposure to have caused is illness. But an occupational medicine specialist who testified on the victim’s behalf explained that Mr. Trokey would have inhaled “an amount 100,000 to a million times greater” than what is found in urban ambient air.  He said that there was enough asbestos in the air when Mr. Trokey swept the floor that it would have resulted in a “huge level of exposure.”

Jury Finds Ford’s Negligence Caused Man’s Mesothelioma

The jury returned a guilty verdict in the mesothelioma case in just three hours, and ordered the automotive manufacturer to pay Mr. Trokey $10 million in compensation and his wife another $10 million for loss of consortium.  The remarkable award sends a strong message to asbestos companies but does little to alleviate the pain that the family is suffering.  Said Cathy Trokey, “I lose a little bit of him every day, and every day he loses a little bit of himself.”