MLFCCA

A Mississippi man was recently awarded $322 million as the result of an asbestos lawsuit he brought against his former employers.

Thomas “Tony” Brown Jr. will receive the award from Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. and Union Carbide Corp., according to the Jackson Clarion Ledger. Brown’s asbestos attorney said that he believes it is the largest single plaintiff asbestos verdict in the history of America.

According to the asbestos lawyer, Brown worked in oil fields from the late 1970s until the mid-1980s and was responsible for mixing drilling muds. Brown’s asbestos lawsuit claims that while doing this work in Mississippi and in the Gulf of Mexico, he was exposed to asbestos dust.

As a result of this exposure, Brown, who is now 48, was diagnosed with asbestosis at the age of 30.

Asbestos-related diseases are deadly

According to the Mayo Clinic, asbestosis is “a breathing disorder caused by inhaling asbestos fibers. Prolonged accumulation of these fibers in your lungs can cause scarring of lung tissue and shortness of breath.”

Most people develop asbestosis from their exposure to the naturally occurring mineral, which was used as an insulator and flame retardant, on the job, according to the clinic.

As a result of his asbestosis, Brown needs to be on oxygen 24 hours a day, his asbestos lawyer told the news source.

Asbestosis is just one of a number of diseases that can result from asbestos exposure. Two of the others are lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma, a rare and deadly cancer. The World Health Organization estimates that such asbestos-related illnesses kill 107,000 people each year around the world.

Companies plan to appeal

The news source reports that both companies have said that they would appeal the verdict to the Mississippi Supreme Court.

“The credible medical evidence introduced at trial clearly demonstrates that, while Mr. Brown suffers from shortness of breath, such condition is not attributable to asbestos exposure,” a statement from Union Carbide read, according to The Associated Press.

Asbestos attorneys say client was illiterate

Brown’s lawyers said that when their client entered the asbestos industry at the age of 16 he was not able to read or write, and thus unable to read some asbestos warnings, which the companies used in their defense, reports the news source.

“The jury’s verdict made it clear that the people of Mississippi think that everyone, including the young men entering the work force that can’t read, deserve equal protection under Mississippi law,” one of Brown’s asbestos lawyers told the news provider.