UK Mesothelioma Widow Awarded $18 Million in Damages by Florida Jury

Following years of legal wrangling, mesothelioma widow Roseann Donovan finally got the legal justice she’d fought for. Mrs. Donovan’s late husband Michael had died of the rare asbestos-related disease in 2015, and ever since she has been on a quest to make the American companies she blamed for his death pay.

Mesothelioma Victim Had Been an RFA Engineer

Michael Donovan’s mesothelioma was traced back to the years he had worked as an engineer for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Though a UK citizen, some of the work that he performed was conducted in American ports along the Florida coast, and many of the parts and equipment that he worked with while rebuilding, repairing, and maintaining the RFA ships were contaminated with asbestos.

Though the asbestos companies attempted to evade responsibility for Mr. Donovan’s mesothelioma by objecting on grounds of jurisdiction, the widow eventually defeated those legal arguments and was able to have her case heard in a Florida court.

Multiple Witnesses Support Widow’s Mesothelioma Claim

Though there had been concerns that a Florida jury might hesitate to order American companies to pay damages to a UK citizen, Mrs. Donovan’s mesothelioma claim was supported by testimony from eleven witnesses. They spoke to Mr. Donovan’s work environment while in the Florida ports, the amount of asbestos exposure he would have suffered, and the impact that the asbestos would have had on his health.

Florida law places limits on the damages that can be awarded in a wrongful death claim, but the mesothelioma widow’s legal team offered the jury a way to give her the significant $18 million award. Rather than labeling the damages as compensation for pain and suffering, the jury awarded Mrs. Donovan $1 million for each year of her own life they estimated she would lose due to the mental pain she’d suffered as a result of her husband’s death.