$20 million awarded to Family of Mesothelioma Victim

San Francisco, CAIt was announced today that $20 million dollars has been awarded in a civil suit against Georgia Pacific Corp. on the behalf of 69-year-old Joan Mahoney, a victim of the painful and debilitating form of cancer called mesothelioma. Mesothelioma affects the lining of the lungs.

The lawsuit was also filed on behalf of Joan Mahoney's husband of 42 years, Daniel Mahoney. The jury is holding the defendant, Georgia Pacific Corp., responsible for 30% of the $20 million liability.

This makes this civil win one of the largest asbestos verdicts in the country. The lawyers for the Mahoney's hope that this will send a message to companies that they can and will be held accountable for endangering the lives of innocent people, especially if they have knowledge that a product or ingredient within a product contains a harmful substance that can injure someone or have fatal results.

Mrs. Mahoney was born in San Francisco and has lived there her entire life. She spent a majority of her working life in show business and real estate. She had a 30 year singing career that took her around the world a total of seven times while on USO tours. However, she worked part-time in the family's construction business and was exposed to an asbestos-containing product that was made by Georgia Pacific. The asbestos was contained within a joint compound that she was exposed to on a regular basis, according to the lawsuit. Both Mrs. Mahoney and her husband, who taught math at a local school, remodeled and built over 200 homes in the 70s, 80s, and the 90s. It was a trade that they enjoyed for thirty years and did not think there was any danger in the materials that they were using.

Evidence presented at the trial showed that Georgia Pacific had knowledge from the moment they entered into the asbestos business that diseases could be caused by the harmful material. Years before the Mahoney's began using Georgia' Pacific's joint compound, the company knew that there was a risk to workers exposed to it. However, Georgia Pacific continued making the joint compounds with asbestos as an ingredient for a long period of time after other companies ceased using asbestos in their products.

It is alleged that Georgia Pacific continued using the Asbestos-containing joint compound because it would allow them to benefit financially since other manufacturers stopped manufacturing compounds containing asbestos. It wasn't until 1977 when the government banned specific uses of asbestos that Georgia Pacific stopped selling their joint compound containing asbestos. The Consumer Product Safety Commission had issued a statement saying that asbestos-containing joint compound exposure that lasted for as little as six hours a day for just four times per year could result in lung cancer for thousands of people. This means that those using the joint compound could not be exposed to the asbestos for more than 24 hours per year. The Mahoneys and many others were exposed to it much longer than that.

Joan Mahoney's lawyer has said that she was a hard worker her entire life. She took care of her ailing parents, had to raise her younger sister, and is now having to take care for Mr. Mahoney who was disabled by a stroke in 2007. Mrs. Mahoney's diagnoses occurred in 2006, which is 35 years after her initial exposure to Georgia Pacific's product. The damage that is caused by the exposure of asbestos can take decades to surface and now Mrs. Mahoney is trying to fight this very painful disease that will result in great suffering and will inevitably end her life.

By Ginger Gillenwater