Five cancer victims won a $190 million verdict in an asbestos case against two boiler companies.
Sadly, only two of the five plaintiffs lived to see their victory. The three other tradesmen died from mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer caused by asbestos exposure.
The law firm that represented the men, Weitz & Luxenberg, says the judgment is the largest ever of its type in New York City.
After an 11-week trial, a Manhattan Supreme Court jury reached the verdict Tuesday, having found that the national companies — Burnham and Cleaver-Brooks — acted with reckless disregard for human life.
The men — steamfitters, plumbers and construction workers — were not warned of the dangers related to the exposure to the deadly material, said attorney Daniel Kraft Jr.
One of the surviving victims, Paul Levy, of New Jersey, was exposed to asbestos while fitting pipes on aircraft carriers like the USS Constellation in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He and his wife, Roslyn Levy, won a $60 million portion of the verdict. Lawyers and reps for the companies did not return messages for comment.