Source: http://www.buffalonews.com, December 10, 2011
By: Patrick LaKamp
A jury this week awarded $2 million to a Niagara Falls man who filed an asbestos lawsuit a year ago in State Supreme Court.
Gerald Failing, 66, was diagnosed in December 2010 with peritoneal mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.
Under state law, Failing was entitled to an expedited trial date because of the nature of his illness, said Keith
R. Vona, an attorney at Lipsitz & Ponterio who, together with attorney Michael A. Ponterio, represented Failing during the two-week trial.
“This verdict is an excellent victory for Mr. Failing and workers like Mr. Failing who were not adequately protected in the workplace,” Vona said.
Retired State Supreme Court Justice John P. Lane, serving as a judicial hearing officer, presided at the trial.
In 1966 Failing began work in the compound department at Durez Plastics in North Tonawanda, a maker of industrial resins and molding compounds. While working in the compound department, Failing used raw asbestos fibers to make granulated plastic molding compounds, his lawyers said.
Hedman Resources Ltd., a Canadian asbestos mining company, supplied some of the raw asbestos that Failing poured and mixed at Durez.
The pouring and mixing led to airborne asbestos contamination, producing a visible dust in his work area, Vona said.
Hedman did not warn workers of the dangers, Vona said.
The jury in this case assigned 100 percent of the responsibility for damages to Hedman, finding that its actions were taken with reckless disregard for the safety of others, Vona said.
Failing worked at the company until 1978. He retired in 1990.