Mesothelioma Case Awarded $1.1M from Milwaukee Judge

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Richard Sankovitz recently decided that the estate of a former Milwaukee man is now entitled to a $1.1 million award. The award was originally made by a jury in July of 2007.

Sankovitz, who has presided over 200 trials, said this instance marked the first time he had had to modify a verdict previously made by a jury.

Sankovitz said, “It is unusual for a court to overturn or even tinker with a jury verdict because if there is any credible evidence in the record, even if it appears to us from our own vantage points that most of the evidence supports a different verdict, the jury’s verdict must be upheld.”

In this case, however, the instructions made to the jury weren’t clear. Because of this, Sankovitz said, “The lawyers and I should take the blame, not the jury.”

The case involved 55-year-old Steven Lemberger, who passed away from mesothelioma in September, 2005. Lemberger claimed he developed the disease after being exposed to asbestos at places where he had worked.

The defendants in the trial were General Motors and Honeywell International, who were the makers of brake linings that were ground in his workplace.

The trial was complicated by the fact that in addition to pleural mesothelioma, Lemberger also suffered from lung cancer, which could have been attributed to him being a heavy smoker.

Because the issue of lung cancer clouded Lemberger’s illness from malignant mesothelioma, the jury debated over two questions. The first being whether his death was due to mesothelioma, and second, whether Lemberger was 95 percent responsible for having developed the illness that killed him. If Lemberger had been found to be responsible, the case would not have been decided in favor of his widow, Colleen.

In his ruling, Sankovitz said, “There is no evidence that he [Lemberger] was negligent in the way that he handled asbestos products or worked in their vicinity. The evidence reveals no reason he ever would have had to suspect that he was breathing in a carcinogen.”

According to Sankovitz, the jury made a distinction between medical expenses and lost wages caused by mesothelioma, and those caused by lung cancer, halving the decided award.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 27th, 2008 at 1:56 pm and is filed under Asbestos Litigation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.