Substantial mesothelioma award upheld by New Jersey appeals court
Bonnie Anderson worked at Exxon’s Linden Bayway Refinery as an electrician from 1974 to 1986 and her husband worked repairing pipes, pumps and filters. She maintains that she did not work around the pipe insulation that contained deadly asbestos, but her husband did, and she laundered his clothes. When she contracted mesothelioma, she sued and the jury awarded her a sum of money. She appealed the decision on the grounds that no punitive damages were included, and the judge granted a new damages trial. This time, the verdict came in for a far more substantial amount.
Exxon appealed the decision, but a three-judge panel upheld the verdict, leaving Exxon on the hook for the full amount of the damages. Nine years after diagnosis of fatal and incurable mesothelioma, Bonnie Anderson is lucky to be alive to see the verdict. The average life expectancy of a patient diagnosed with mesothelioma is less than six months, but she is proof that people can beat the odds.
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