Career Painter Awarded $11 Million in Asbestos Mesothelioma Suit

Dallas, TX: A jury has awarded roughly $11 million to a Dallas family in settlement of their asbestos lawsuit. The suit was brought on behalf of mesothelioma patient and career painter Vernon Walker and wife Patsy Walker, after Mr. Walker was diagnosed with asbestos mesothelioma allegedly resulting from his exposure to asbestos during his working life.

Mr. Walker, 67, worked as a union painter early on, and as a painter he worked in the construction of skyscrapers, strip malls and homes. Through his work, he came in contact with numerous asbestos containing painting products, including texturing paints, block fillers and drywall compounds, some of which were banned by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) in 1978 as being "unreasonably dangerous" and likely to cause cancers such as mesothelioma in users.

While the CPSC advised the asbestos industry that use of these products as little as four times would result in thousands of excess cancers, commercial painters like Mr. Walker worked with the contaminated products most work days before the products were banned.

The jury apportioned 40 percent of the blame to asbestos mining company Union Carbide Corporation, and the remaining liability to product manufacturers Kelly Moore, Georgia Pacific and Bondex. Many of the manufacturers chose to settle before or during trial. Bondex was the only remaining defendant at the time of the verdict.