A Massachusetts state court jury awarded $ 43.1 million to the family of late former brake worker, to be paid by R.J. Reynolds; Reynolds was ordered to pay $13.1 million as compensatory damages and $30 million in punitive damages for the worker's death in 2015. The jury also returned a defense verdict for the other defendants remaining in the asbestos-tobacco trial at that time.
The decision was made on October 12 by Judge Heidi Brieger in the Massachusetts Superior Court for Suffolk County. The case was the first-ever asbestos-tobacco case tried in Massachusetts. The jury found R. J. Reynolds liable for the man's lung cancer death; however, it cleared Philip Morris and Hampden Automotive Sales Corporation of the responsibility. During the closing ceremony, the man's attorney asserted that the cigarettes sold by Philip Morris and RJR’s menthol brands were made to be highly addictive, and the man's addiction to them started years and years before there were any warnings on the pack. The attorney also argued Hampden was responsible for not warning the workers about asbestos brake lining dangers.
There are over 6,000 companies sued for concealing the hazards of asbestos exposure at the workplace. The two primary asbestos-related diseases are mesothelioma and asbestosis; both are not diagnosed in the early stages. Mesothelioma is detected typically about forty years or more after the asbestos exposure has occurred.
