March 20, 2008 - A Minnesota jury this week awarded a former Northern States Power Company employee and his wife a total of $4.6 million as compensation for the mesothelioma he developed as a result of exposure to asbestos.

Dennis Newinski was exposed to asbestos in gaskets and packing materials that had been manufactured by John Crane, Inc. However, Newinski was never employed by John Crane. Instead, he had worked at Northern States Power Company (now a subsidiary of Xcel Energy) in Minnesota between 1968 and 2000. Newinski had been exposed to asbestos contained in products made by John Crane, Inc while working at the power plant.

Founded in 1917, John Crane, Inc, is a manufacturer of mechanical seals and support systems, lubrication systems, and similar items. Asbestos was used in many of its products for several decades, and the company has been involved in several lawsuits relating to asbestos exposure stemming from its products.

Ironically, most of the lawsuits are similar to Dennis Newinski’s case, and involve people who were exposed to asbestos in John Crane products while working for other companies.

Dennis Newinski, a three-time US House of Representatives candidate was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in 2007. This aggressive and highly treatment-resistant cancer is caused only by asbestos exposure.

In the trial, held in the District Court, Second Judicial District, in Ramsey County, Minnesota, the jury in the case heard that Newinski had been exposed to asbestos in products manufactured by John Crane, Inc over the course of several years.

After a ten day trial and several hours of deliberation, the jury found that John Crane, Inc had been negligent, and awarded Newinski and his wife $4.6 million in damages.

Christian Hartley, an attorney representing Newinski, said “the dangers of asbestos in the workplace have been known for many years, yet Crane continued to manufacture and sell products containing asbestos without warning those exposed.”

Similar charges have been made against a long list of companies over the last two decades, ranging from chemical giant DuPont and former mining company W.R. Grace, to railroad company CSX Transportation, which has settled many suits involving exposure of railroad workers to toxic solvents as well as to asbestos.

Another attorney for the plaintiff, Rick Laverdiere, said that the Newinski family is “thankful for a just verdict which fairly reflects John Crane’s share of fault from Mr. Newinski’s exposure to asbestos. . .they sincerely hope that the verdict will help facilitate the resolution of pending claims between other cancer victims and John Crane.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 3rd, 2008 at 4:05 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Asbestos Litigation, Jobsite Exposure, Minnesota. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.