Mesothelioma Victim Awarded $7.25 Million in Lawsuit

By: CPR @ Mar 21, 2014

Some modicum of justice was served on March 12 in Philadelphia, when a jury awarded the estate of a mesothelioma victim $7.25 million. The jury found on the job exposure to asbestos caused the late plaintiff to contract the deadly disease.

Richard Merwitz worked in a Philadelphia shipyard during the late 1960s. According to the family’s legal counsel, Merwitz was exposed to asbestos working around gaskets, motors, pumps and turbines. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2010 and died six months later. His family then filed a wrongful death suit.

The defendants included General Electric Co., Westinghouse Electric Co. and RSCC Wire & Cable LLC, which is formerly known as Rockbestos-Supernant Cable Corp. There were nine defendants in this case, and according to the lawsuit, eight of the nine were willing to settle for undisclosed amounts.

Rockbestos was the one defendant who did not settle, using the defense that Merwitz did not come into enough contact with electric wiring enough to establish causation, and that their wiring did not give off respirable fibers which would’ve caused mesothelioma. The jurors ultimately found the company liable for its share of the $7.25 million.

Cohen Placitella & Roth PC has distinguished itself as proven leaders in class action litigation, and has won multi-million dollar recoveries in a variety of these suits. We invite you to contact Chris Placitella, Esq., today for a consultation at 215-567-3500 and discuss your case. 

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