Asbestos Verdict Against Caterpillar Is a First, Plaintiff Counsel Says

A San Francisco jury says a bulldozer operator with mesothelioma should be paid $2.2 million for his injuries in what a plaintiff attorney calls the first verdict in the nation involving asbestos exposure from Caterpillar Inc. machinery.

Philip A. Harley of Paul, Hanley & Harley said Caterpillar's portion of the judgment should be about $900,000 because the jury found it only partially liable.

According to Harley, plaintiff Daniel Johnson was exposed to asbestos from Caterpillar bulldozers while doing brake work and other maintenance. Harley said in a post-verdict statement that Johnson was diagnosed with mesothelioma in March 2004 and was recently told he will only live another three to six months.

On March 16 a California Superior Court jury found the lone-remaining defendant, Caterpillar, 5 percent liable for Johnson's injuries. The jury said Caterpillar's products were defective and the company failed to properly warn of asbestos hazards, according to Harley.

The verdict held several non-parties and previously settled defendants liable for 95 percent of the plaintiff's injuries.

In all, the jury awarded Johnson $995,000 in lost income and medical expenses and $1 million for pain and suffering; his wife received $250,000 for loss of consortium.

Judge Donald S. Mitchell presided over the 17-day trial.