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$35M Verdict Awarded in Asbestos Mesothelioma Personal Injury Lawsuit


New York, NY: A $35 million settlement has been reached in an asbestos personal injury lawsuit brought by Ivo John Peraica, an asbestos removal worker who died in December from cancer caused by asbestos. The New York Supreme Court jury that heard Peraica' case returned its verdict Friday, awarding the multi-million dollar settlement to the Croatian-born worker.

Peraica, of Queens, worked for eight years for New York-area contractors removing asbestos insulation from boilers, pumps, and other equipment. He died from complications related to Mesothelioma, a cancer whose only known cause is exposure to toxic asbestos fibers.

The lawsuit claimed that Peraica' disease was caused by years of inhaling the asbestos dust stirred up each time he stripped asbestos insulation from the equipment at his jobsites--equipment which, according to testimony, was devoid of any warnings about the dangers of asbestos.

The sole defendant at the time of the verdict--industrial products manufacturer Crane Co.--argued that other companies and even Peraica himself were responsible for his exposure to asbestos, but the jury ultimately heaped blame on the Stamford, CT-based company, saying it had acted with reckless disregard for consumers' safety.

Peraica, a Local 12 Heat and Frost Insulators union member, worked removing asbestos for almost a decade: from the week he moved his family to New York from Croatia in 1978 until he stopped doing asbestos removal work in 1986. Peraica' widow, Milica, survives him, as do three daughters, one of whom testified at trial to her father' pain and suffering.

Peraica was unable to testify in person, but before he died on December 28, provided four days' worth of deposition testimony that was read into evidence.

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Published on Mar-7-13


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