California Jury Returns $70.8 Million Verdict in Navy Asbestos Case

HAYWARD, Calif. — A California jury awarded $70.8 million to a former U.S. Navy nuclear inspector and found defendant John Crane Inc. 3 percent responsible for the asbestos exposure that allegedly caused the plaintiff’s mesothelioma.

Jurors returned the special verdict Oct. 30 in Alameda County Superior Court after determining that John Crane’s failure to warn of hazards associated with its asbestos-containing gasket and packing material was a substantial cause of the plaintiff’s injury.

Judgment on the verdict was entered on Nov. 3.

Robert Whalen worked for more than two decades aboard Navy nuclear submarines, serving as a machinist’s mate …