Asbestos Exposure at John Crane Leads to $1,200,000 Verdict for Worker

By: Chris Placitella @ Jun 06, 2011

A jury verdict of $1,200,000 was awarded to Richard Nybeck, an elderly man who claimed he suffered shortness of breath because of asbestos-related conditions, against John Crane; for allegedly being exposed to an asbestos-containing product while at work. I would like to congratulate plaintiff’s attorney Eliot Present for his hard work securing this verdict on behalf of Mr. Nybeck.

At issue was whether an asbestos related condition, called Symptomatic Pleural Disease, contracted by the plaintiff, was the factual cause behind their respective shortness of breath.

The trial originated from a mass tort asbestos docket with dozens upon dozens of complaints, but was eventually narrowed down to a handful of defendants, one being the Nybeck case.

The summary judgment which was handed down by the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas was reversed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court which ordered the case to go to trial, despite claims that the defendant had not been “sick enough,” according to the courts, or that his smoking may have contributed to his illness.

Nybeck is on oxygen and lives in Arizona so he was unable to attend the proceedings. The verdict could impact many cases beyond asbestos litigation by setting the standard of review of summary judgments as a de novo review.