PA Asbestos Update – Jury Awards $3.8M Verdict in Local Asbestos Suit
Recently, a Pittsburgh jury awarded a multi-million dollar verdict to plaintiffs asserting mesothelioma-based asbestos claims. On September 26, 2024, in the matter of Harry Chirdon and Rae Chirdon v. 3M Company, et al (GD 22-016244), the jury awarded a verdict of $3.8 million for the plaintiffs, including a significant $1.5 million in punitive damages.
Plaintiff Harry Chirdon had been employed as a union boilermaker with various contractors from approximately 1967-1988. Following his retirement, it is reported that Chirdon was involved in volunteer work, driving children from Amish communities to hospitals in Philadelphia. Chirdon alleged that in November of 2022, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma, alerting him to the possibility that he had been exposed to asbestos during his boilermaker work. Following his diagnosis, Chirdon and his wife, Rae, filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, alleging asbestos exposure against over 50 defendants.
As the litigation progressed, claims against nearly all of the defendants were dismissed or settled, leaving engineering firm Foster Wheeler, LLC as the sole defendant. Chirdon had worked with Foster Wheeler for approximately 10 weeks during his time as a boilermaker and alleged that his exposure to asbestos at this time had caused his mesothelioma. After nearly two years of litigation, the case went to trial from September 16-27.
The trial purportedly did not favor Foster Wheeler. Where the Chirdons presented testimony from retained expert Dr. Daniel Dupont and Chirdon’s treating surgeon, Dr. Ryan Levy, Foster Wheeler did not present expert testimony in opposition. Further, while defense counsel has not spoken on the matter, public comment from plaintiff’s counsel implies a fatal misstep in testimony. Foster Wheeler had taken the position that they had not been responsible for managing safety at Chirdon’s worksite. When presented with impeachment evidence showing the opposite, however, plaintiff’s counsel reports that Foster Wheeler’s corporate designee “pretended he couldn’t read the date in the federal register.” The jurors purportedly took exception to this and “rolled their eyes” in response.
Whatever their reasoning, the jury found in the Chirdons’ favor, awarding a $3.8 million verdict broken down as follows:
- Past and present pain and suffering: $500,000
- Future pain and suffering: $500,000
- Past and present embarrassment and humiliation: $100,000
- Future embarrassment and humiliation: $100,000
- Past and present loss of enjoyment of life: $250,000
- Future loss of enjoyment of life: $500,000
- Loss of consortium (Mrs. Chirdon): $350,000
- Punitive damages: $1,500,000
Particularly noteworthy was the jury’s award of $1.5 million (roughly 40% of the final verdict) in punitive damages, a type of damages that plaintiff’s counsel reportedly had never seen awarded before in an employer liability case. Although we only have one side of the story so far, this case may be a cautionary tale about the importance of maintaining a jury’s trust—losing it could cost you.
