SCHENECTADY, New York (PRWEB) December 16, 2014
Jury’s verdict finds Ford Motor Company reckless and 99% liable in a mesothelioma lawsuit (1) deriving from take-home exposure to asbestos, which was rendered by the Supreme Court of Schenectady County after years of litigation and a 3 week trial before the Honorable Richard T. Aulisi.
The plaintiff from Houston, TX, represented by New York mesothelioma attorneys from Levy Konigsberg LLP ("LK"), filed a lawsuit against Ford Motor Company alleging the asbestos-containing brakes that it sold in its cars through the mid-1990s, which proximately caused her mesothelioma, a lethal cancer caused by asbestos exposure.
According to the complaint and evidence, plaintiff was allegedly exposed to asbestos-contaminated clothing as a result of her husband’s work at a Ford Dealership from 1994 to 1995. The plaintiff also alleged that no one at an upstate Ford Dealership knew that Genuine Ford Brakes contained asbestos in the 1990s. Consequently, the plaintiff was unknowingly exposed to asbestos from laundering her husband’s clothing that became contaminated with asbestos due to the brake work he performed as a mechanic at the Ford dealership.
On November 17, 2014, trial against the Ford Motor Company started. The plaintiff was represented at trial by Jerome H. Block and Arthur Prystowsky of LK, and testimony of the plaintiff, her family, and expert witnesses concluded on December 1, 2014. After deliberating upon the evidence, the jury found the Ford Motor Company was reckless and 99% liable for her injury. The jury awarded damages to the plaintiff for her past and future pain and suffering. “It is a pleasure and an honor to represent the plaintiff, who demonstrates each and every day of her life her amazing perseverance and strong spirit in her fight against this terminal disease," said Prystowsky.
According to the court documents, the Ford Motor Company began selling asbestos-containing brakes in the early 1900s. Ford continued to sell replacement asbestos brakes through 2001 despite its ability to design vehicles without asbestos in brakes since 1982. Additionally, during the 1970s and 1980s Ford received notice that asbestos could be brought home on clothing worn while working on brakes. Despite this, Ford never warned its dealers about the dangers of asbestos being transmitted home to spouses and family members.
LK is a nationally recognized asbestos litigation firm specializing in the representation of mesothelioma and lung cancer victims for close to 30 years.
For more information about the verdicts, please contact Jerome H. Block or Arthur Prystowsky at 1-800-637-6529 or submit an online inquiry at the firm's website.
(1) Drufuka v. AGCO CORP, et al., No. 2010-2558 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., Schenectady County).