Florida Mesothelioma Lawyer and Legal Information

The Florida courts have been generally favorable toward victims in asbestos and mesothelioma cases. Awards to mesothelioma victims who have brought suit against manufacturers and distributors in Florida have included some of the highest plaintiff awards in the nation. In 1997, for instance, a Florida jury made a $31 million award to Deward Ballard in his case against Owens-Corning Fiberglas Co.

In addition, the Florida bankruptcy courts have made rulings that require companies to pay on asbestos claims despite having filed for bankruptcy, in contrast to most states which allow all claims against a company to be put on hold while a bankruptcy agreement is hammered out. In a 2003 case, the Florida Bankruptcy Court ruled that the Celotex Asbestos Settlement Trust must pay over 400 asbestos-related claims that had been filed in 1990, despite the fact that the company had filed for bankruptcy.

However, the Asbestos and Silica Compensation Fairness Act of 2005 placed specific requirements on those bringing asbestos lawsuits in the state of Florida. Effective July 1, 2005, plaintiffs in Florida asbestosis suits must present medical proof of their impairment before being allowed to file suit. The same bill also guarantees some of the victim's rights in asbestosis cases, and essentially extends the time that a victim has to file suit in an asbestos-related disease.

Determination of Liability

Florida courts follow a pure comparative negligence system in determining whether to award compensation for damages in a personal injury lawsuit. Under a comparative negligence system, the judge or jury assigns a portion of the responsibility for the injury in question to each party in the action. The injured party may recover partial damages even if they are as much as 99% at fault for their own injury. The award under a pure comparative negligence system is reduced proportionate to the fault of the plaintiff. In other words, if the plaintiff is judged to be 20% at fault and the jury decides that damages in the case amount to $100,000, the plaintiff will be awarded $80,000.

In April 2006, the Florida legislature adopted a pure several liability system in cases with multiple defendants. Under a pure several liability system, the jury or judge determines which portion of liability lies with each defendant, and responsibility for the award is assigned proportionate to the amount of liability. In other words, the defendant that caused the most damage will be responsible for paying the largest portion of the judgment.

Asbestos-Related Litigation

Individual mesothelioma cases in the Florida courts have frequently resulted in large awards to the plaintiffs. Among the most important and well-known Florida mesothelioma cases are the following.

2008 Guilder v. Honeywell International: A Miami-Dade jury awarded over $24 million to the family of a doctor diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos in brake parts in the 1970s and 1980s. The 2008 award is the largest compensatory jury verdict in a case involving a single defendant. Honeywell owns Bendix, the company that manufactured the brake parts, which it acquired in a merger with Allied-Signal in 1999. Allied-Signal merged with Bendix in 1982. Honeywell Industries estimates that its outstanding asbestos cases total about $518 million in possible liabilities. Nine other defendants in the case reached confidential settlements with the family.

A Broward County jury awarded $2,000,000 to a 71 year old retired air conditioning electrician who contracted mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos in products manufactured by Armstrong Contracting and Supply Company. The plaintiff alleged that the supplier failed to warn him about the possible ill effects of using the products as intended.

Numerous Florida jury awards have been entered against Owens-Corning Fiberglas Company, makers of Kaylo pipe covering. The judgments range in size from $357,000 plus punitive damages to $6.25 million awarded to a 46 year old man who sued for reduced life expectancy along.

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