Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company is best known for automobile tires but it also manufactured a number of other products, including rubberized gaskets which contained the deadly carcinogen asbestos before its use was outlawed.  That lapse in judgment has cost Goodyear a considerable sum:  a New York Court has ordered the company to pay $20 million.  The payout will go to the families of two men who were afflicted by cancer caused by exposure to asbestos while using Goodyear’s asbestos-laden gaskets.

Eugene “Mac” McCarthy was a heavy equipment engine mechanic in the late 1960s while Walter Koczur worked as a steamfitter in the early seventies.  Both men were repeatedly exposed to asbestos which came from Goodyear’s products during the course of their jobs without ever fully understanding the danger they were putting themselves and their families in.

Asbestos exposure, even in small amounts, can cause a wide variety of diseases.  These include lung cancer, mesothelioma (a type of cancer of the lungs, heart, or abdominal cavity), and asbestosis (scarring of the lung tissue which can cripple victims).  However, the naturally occurring mineral was a common additive in such products as gaskets and seals because it added heat resistance and strength to the mix. 

The process was outlawed in 1985 when the FDA and federal regulators cracked down on the amount of asbestos any commercial or industrial product may contain.  OSHA has taken the matter even further and mandates that air contamination of more than one tenth of one asbestos fiber per liter of air is enough to shut down a jobsite.

Several larger companies have been successfully sued for millions of dollars in damages and reimbursement for medical expenses but Goodyear has previously remained relatively unscathed by the legal fallout. 

Both McCarthy and Koczur died in 1998 and soon after the families teamed up to take on the companies that caused their loved ones harm.  The trial lasted a full five weeks but in the end a jury agreed that Goodyear was responsible for the deaths of the men.

The company was ordered to pay $8.5 million in a cash award to McCarthy’s surviving family members while the Koczur family received $11.6 million.

The case illustrates just how dangerous and pervasive asbestos contamination can be.  People don’t have to be working directly in asbestos mines or with insulation and other asbestos containing materials.  Even mechanics, engineers, and machine operators should be wary about possible exposure that may have occurred before federal regulations were in place.  For those who have worked in occupations with higher risk, regular medical check-ups are recommended.