Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

After smoking Kent cigarettes in the fifties, Donat Lenney developed mesothelioma, a cancer caused by the inhalation or ingestion of asbestos fibers.  In a recent California mesothelioma lawsuit, Lenney alleged that the only asbestos he had been exposed to had been in the filters of the cigarettes he used to smoke.

A jury agreed and awarded Lenney nearly $1.4 million because “the cigarettes did not perform as safely as expected.” 

Manufactured by Lorillard Tobacco, Kent Cigarettes used Micronite filters provided by Hollingsworth & Vose.  Though he only smoked the cigarettes from 1952 to 1956, the levels of asbestos he was exposed to were extremely unsafe and led to the development of tumors in his lungs and chest.

Lenney’s suit alleged that Lorillard and H&V both knew of the dangers of Micronite filters—including the risk of mesothelioma, but kept using the filters until 1956.  One advertisement used as evidence in the trial boasted that "Kent offers you the greatest health protection in cigarette history."  Another expounded on the safety of Micronite filters claiming they were made of "a pure, dust-free, completely harmless material that is so safe, so effective, it actually is used to help filter the air in hospital operating rooms."

As a sign of the times and perhaps the greed of big tobacco companies, cigarettes with Micronite filters were often advertised in medical journals encouraging doctors to recommend them versus those with alternative filter types. 

Even though it has been over fifty years since Lenney smoked and was exposed, he was only recently diagnosed with mesothelioma because the disease has an extremely long latency period.  In fact, the carcinogen may stay within the body for up to fifty years before the patient ever notices anything wrong.  That often makes mesothelioma lawsuits difficult to win because it’s almost impossible to prove beyond doubt that exposure came from one specific source.

After a seven-week trial the jury found Lorillard 35 percent liable and H&V (who provided the asbestos laden filters) 25 percent liable.  Several companies which supplied the asbestos to H&V were ordered to pay the rest of the $1.4 million.  The monetary award included $969,700 for Lenney and $400,000 for his wife. 

While the win is a victory for mesothelioma sufferers everywhere, Lenny faces a hard road ahead.  Mesothelioma is incurable and 100% fatal.  Most patients are given just months to live after being diagnosed, and very few survive past five years.