Appeals Court Affirms $3 Million Verdict, Finds Low Dose Exposure Could Have Caused Disease

NEW ORLEANS - An appeals court in Louisiana has upheld a verdict of more than $3 million awarded to the family of a former deckhand who developed mesothelioma and died after years of exposure to asbestos on board a fleet of derrick barges. Hennegan v. Cooper/T. Smith Stevedoring Company, Inc., No. 2002-CA-0282 (La. Ct. App., Fourth Cir.)

In its opinion issued Dec. 30, the Fourth Circuit Louisiana Court of Appeals said there was enough evidence presented during trial to conclude that asbestos fibers from Garlock Inc.'s chrysotile-containing products caused the mesothelioma that eventually killed James Michael Hennegan.

The appeals court …