Former U.S. Navy Machinist Wins $12M Compensation In Asbestos Lawsuit

May 13, 2009 9:33 p.m. EST

Los Angeles, CA (AHN) - A former U.S. Navy machinist, who became terminally ill due to asbestos exposure while working on a naval ship in the 1960s, has won $12.1 million in damages from two firms.

A Los Angeles County jury ruled on Monday that the manufacturer and supplier of an asbestos product must pay 66-year-old Charles H. Cundiff $10 million for pain and suffering and $506,000 in economic damages for lost wages because he is now afflicted with mesothelioma. His wife was awarded $1.5 million for loss of consortium.

The jury said John Crane, Inc., which made Insulag, and Lone Star Industries, which delivered the asbestos-laced insulating cement to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, made a defective product and failed to warn Cundiff of its health hazard.

Cundiff handled Insulag cement in the overhauling of the USS Kitty Hawk that lasted nine months during his Navy tour from 1962 to 1966.

Cundiff was absent during Monday's hearing and his deposition was used as his testimony.