Federal Court Awards $3.2 Million for Shipyard Worker's Jones Act Claim

BEAUMONT, Texas - A federal judge has issued findings of fact to conclude a bench trial in a benzene case, awarding $3,218,845.11 to a former shipyard worker who blamed workplace exposure to benzene for his development of acute myelogenous leukemia. Clark, et al. v. Kellogg Brown & Root, LLC, et al., No. 2:07-CV-191 (E.D. Texas).

Judge T. John Ward of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas said on Sept. 23 that he did not credit the entirety of opinion supporting plaintiff Aubrey Clark, but that Clark presented sufficient evidence under the Jones Act standards governing maritime …