Peritoneal Mesothelioma Compensation Verdict of $7.5 Million Upheld in Take-Home Asbestos Exposure Case

The New Jersey Appellate Division has affirmed Bonnie Anderson's $7.5 million verdict against Exxon Mobil. Bonnie Anderson, who suffers from peritoneal mesothelioma, was exposed to asbestos from laundering the asbestos-contaminated clothing of her husband who worked at the Exxon Bayway Refinery in New Jersey. This is a landmark decision that will serve to protect the rights of anyone who develops an asbestos-related disease caused by take-home asbestos exposure.

TRENTON, New Jersey, August 20, 2010 – Today, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey upheld the $7.5 million verdict¹ rendered in May, 2008, for Bonnie Anderson's pain and suffering and loss of consortium claims arising from her peritoneal mesothelioma. Bonnie Anderson developed this cancer as a result of "take home" exposure to asbestos fibers unknowingly brought home on the work clothes of her husband John Anderson during the decades that he worked at the Exxon Bayway Refinery in New Jersey. Bonnie was exposed to these cancer-causing fibers while washing her husband's contaminated work clothes. Bonnie also worked at the Exxon Bayway Refinery from 1975 to 1985.

Bonnie Anderson, a former librarian and avid horseback rider from Linden, NJ (now a resident of Berkeley Heights, NJ), was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in 2002 when she was 53 years old. So far, Bonnie has battled through two abdominal surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation in an effort to fight her mesothelioma. She also helps other mesothelioma victims through her advocacy with the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, a national organization dedicated to helping those suffering from mesothelioma and seeking to cure this cancer.

The trial, which was solely to determine the issue of damages, began on May 21, 2008. Previously, in November 2007, a separate Middlesex County jury rendered a verdict in favor of the Andersons in the amount of $500,000 following a six week trial. That jury determined that Bonnie Anderson suffers from peritoneal mesothelioma; that ExxonMobil Corporation breached its duty in failing to protect or warn the Andersons of the hazards of asbestos brought home on the clothes of John Anderson to which Bonnie Anderson was exposed; and that Exxon Mobil Corporation's breach of its duty proximately caused Bonnie Anderson's cancer. Because the 2007 jury only returned a verdict of $500,000 for pain and suffering, and awarded no recovery for the loss of consortium claim, Judge Ann McCormick ordered a new trial on the issue of damages.

The case was tried by Moshe Maimon, who acted as lead counsel, and assisted by John Guinan, both mesothelioma attorneys from Levy Phillips & Konigsberg, LLP.

The defendant at trial was Exxon Mobil Corporation, represented by Christopher Keale of Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold LLP, and Tom Radcliffe of DeHay & Elliston LLP.

For over a quarter of a century, mesothelioma lawyers at Levy Phillips & Konigsberg, LLP, have been among the pioneers of asbestos litigation in America. The firm’s attorneys have been recognized as nationwide leaders in representing the rights of mesothelioma victims and their families. Their clients have received some of the largest mesothelioma compensation verdicts in the country.

For more information about this or other mesothelioma lawsuits, please contact Levy Phillips & Konigsberg, LLP, at 212-605-6200 or 1-800-MESO-LAW (1-800-637-6529), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

¹ Bonnie Anderson and John R. Anderson vs. Exxon Mobil Corporation et al., No. A-5892-07T1 (N.J. Super. App. Div.).

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