Ill. Jury Finds for Sun Chemical at Conclusion of Benzene Exposure Trial

CHICAGO — An Illinois jury found in favor of Sun Chemical Corp. in a benzene exposure case following a four-week trial, rejecting the plaintiff’s demand for $16.3 million in compensatory damages.

According to sources, the jury deliberated for two hours before returning the March 21 verdict, concluding that plaintiff Martin Ford was not entitled to the damages. Judge Janet A. Brosnahan of the Cook County, Ill., Circuit Court presided over the trial.

Ford worked as a pressman for 28 years and was later diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia, which he alleged was caused by exposure to benzene in Sun Chemical’s …