Exxon Mobile to Pay $25 Million in Asbestos Mesothelioma Case

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Newport, VA: A Newport Circuit Court jury has delivered a $25 million verdict to a former shipyard employee as settlement of his asbestos case. The settlement, against Exxon Mobil, represents one of the largest jury verdicts ever handed down in Virginia for a personal injury case.

The jury awarded 72-year old Rubert Minton $12 million in compensatory damages, $12.5 million in punitive damages, and $430,961 in medical bills. The jury awarded interest on the medical bills, bringing the total verdict to $25 million.

Minton worked as a repair supervisor on commercial vessels at the Newport News Shipbuilding between 1966 and 1977, and had previously worked as a ship fitter. Minton worked on 17 Exxon commercial oil tankers while employed at the ship yard.

However, decades later he was diagnosed with mesothelioma which his doctors said he contracted by breathing asbestos fibers at work. He now has a life expectancy of roughly two years and faces a painful death, according to his lawyer.