Philip Morris, B&W Pay Sick Smoker $4.5 Million — A First for PM

Philip Morris USA Inc. and Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. paid a total of $4.5 million to a Florida man with emphysema in November — Philip Morris' first-ever payment to an injured individual smoker. The plaintiff's lawyer made no statement about the event until the time for a last-resort appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court passed in January.

A jury in St. Petersburg, Fla., found in 2003 that the two tobacco companies should pay $3.26 million to John Eastman because they were partially liable for causing his addiction to cigarettes, which led to his health problems.

The jury awarded $6.5 million in compensatory damages and $38,000 for medical expenses but found that Eastman was 50 percent responsible for his own injuries, so the damage award was halved.

Philip Morris was 40 percent liable and B&W was found 10 percent at fault.

Philip Morris made no public comment around the time of the November 2004 payment, but in October the company said it was "taking the steps necessary" to pay about $2.6 million to Eastman.

Lisa Gonzalez, a spokesperson for Philip Morris' parent company Altria Group Inc., said the defendant paid Eastman $3,334,955. She said this reflected the $2.6 million judgment entered against Philip Morris and "$415,000 for attorneys' fees and $20,00 for costs, plus interest at the statutory rate."

Gonzalez said it is the first time Philip Morris paid damages to a smoker in a product liability case.

Eastman started smoking in 1940, when he was 12 years old. He said he smoked Lucky Strikes, Pall Malls, Camels and some Philip Morris brands.

After a decades-long four-pack-a-day habit, he quit smoking in 1995, after being diagnosed with emphysema.

Howard M. Acosta of St. Petersburg, Fla., who represents Eastman, said the defendants probably spent about $5 million to defend the case, which was filed in 1997.

Eastman is going to use much of the award to pay for needed health care and surgeries, Acosta said.