Thomas J. Lamb Asbestos Litigation Law Blog on Lawyers.com

(Posted by Tom Lamb at AsbestosHUB.com)

The family of a retired Navy sailor who died of asbestos cancer after being exposed on the job years ago was awarded $1.2 million against John Crane, Inc., an Illinois-based manufacturer.

Gerald Gray, a Suffolk resident and previously the second-highest-ranking enlisted man in the Navy, died in late April 2009 after a 16-month struggle with mesothelioma. He was 75 when he met his untimely death, just five weeks before his trial was set to begin in Newport News Circuit Court. John Crane, Inc. made gaskets and other parts used on the ships.

The jury’s verdict was against five manufacturers for a total of $4 million. Prior to the verdict, however, four of the five defendant companies settled out of court, making them immune to the jury’s decision.

The jury was not told of the out-of-court settlements as it assigned a percentage of blame against each company. John Crane, the only defendant left fighting at trial, was apportioned 30 percent of the blame for the damages, or $1.2 million.

During the trial, Gray appeared to the jury in a videotape made before his death.

Gray joined the Navy in 1951 and rose up through the ranks, eventually becoming the command master chief for the Atlantic fleet. Held by only one person, it’s the Navy’s second-highest enlisted rank.

Gray worked on several ships over the course of his Navy career, breathing in asbestos fibers during ship repairs, as parts were changed.

Asbestos was used heavily on ships for decades, for such things as insulation, gaskets, seals and pumps.

Gray retired from the Navy in 1971, becoming a schoolteacher. Thirty-seven years after he left the Navy, Gray was diagnosed with mesothelioma, which can have a latency period of decades.

Watch Tom Lamb report on the Asbestos News Minute.