Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

According to a Baltimore City Circuit Court jury Wallace & Gale Company, manufacturers of sheet metal and other building materials, was responsible for the deaths of four workers who were exposed to asbestos and contracted asbestosis and lung cancer.  Surviving family members were awarded $9.6 million in punitive damages in March of 2011 by a jury composed of three men and three women. 

All four of the victims were employed in metal manufacturing industry at factories which liberally used asbestos.  Levester James and Rev. Rufus Carter worked at the American Smelting facility in Baltimore.  Roger Hewitt and Mayso Lawrence were employed at the Bethlehem Steel Sparrows Point mill.  These facilities were both loaded with asbestos at one time (in the form of flame-retardant insulation for the most part) and workers claimed they unknowingly inhaled airborne asbestos fibers years before their diagnoses. 

Cross-defendant, McCormick Asbestos Co., was also found liable but the company chose to settle out of court partially in order to keep the details of that settlement private. 

Wallace & Gale chose to pursue the matter in the open because, as a company spokesperson reiterated, the company refused to admit and liability in the case.  It maintains that the men could have been exposed to asbestos anywhere and no concrete evidence was provided that their cancers were the direct result of any of Wallace & Gale’s safety practices. 

Asbestos can cause various respiratory ailments including asbestosis,lung cancer, and mesothelioma.  Often diagnosis comes only after the diseases have progressed to advanced and incurable stages, leaving victims with only months to live after being diagnosed.  Such was the case with these Baltimore men.  Each was diagnosed with asbestosis as well as asbestos related lung cancer, and  given a prognosis of less than 14 months to live. 

While the total figure of the awards may sound large, the financial breakdown makes it clear just how little some companies value the lives of their employees. 

·          Carter’s family will receive $1.02 million in compensation for his asbestos-related illness and a mere $1 million for the loss of their loved one.  He left behind four children who will split the award equally. 

·          James left behind three children who will be given $1.04 million for their father’s suffering and $1 million  for his loss.

·          Hewitt's three children will split $1.7 million in restitution for his illness and $950,000 for losing their father to the preventable disease. 

·          Lawrence's seven children will receive $530,000 for his suffering and $2.4 million for his death.

Even those small amounts may decrease.  Maryland has instituted a cap on noneconomic damages in asbestos cases which applies only to wrongful-death claims—essentially setting an upper limit on the worth of a person’s life.  This means that Lawrence's family may get even less than the $2.4 million the jury felt that they deserved.

Hundreds of thousands of former mill and refinery workers were unknowingly exposed to unsafe levels of asbestos during the routine activities of their jobs and are just now starting to notice symptoms which may be associated with various asbestos diseases.  It may take up to 50 years before the damage from asbestos exposure is visible enough to be diagnosed.

While mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer is 100% preventable, it is impossible to cure.  Scientists continue to hunt for an effective treatment but the best options currently available are surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.  However, novel approaches are closing on vaccines and treatments for mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases that can slow or even halt the progression of the illness.  Until an alternative is proven safe and reliable, regular CT scans for high-risk patients may be the best alternative for early detection.