Illinois Jury Awards $16 Million in Living Mesothelioma Case

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - An Illinois jury has awarded $16 million to an ex-Owens-Illinois fork lift operator after finding that exposure to asbestos while working for the bottle manufacturer caused him to develop mesothelioma. Crawford v. ACandS, et al., No. 01L781 (Ill. Cir., Madison Cty.).

The award, handed up Dec. 4 in Madison County Circuit Court, includes $8 million in compensatory damages for Plaintiff James Crawford and $1 million for his wife, Terry. The jury also awarded $7 million in damages against ACandS, the only defendant remaining at trial.

While ACandS did not dispute claims that Crawford suffered from mesothelioma, or …