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Time - Man of the Year
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Time_Man_of_the_Year_Compact_Publishing_3YX-Disc-1_Compact_Publishing_1993.iso
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1993-04-08
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THE WEEK, Page 17NATIONA Big Win for Asbestos Workers
Seven firms are found negligent in a complex Maryland trial
With tens of thousands of asbestos cases pending in U.S.
courts, a Maryland judge two years ago sought to ease the
backlog by consolidating more than 8,500 claims of negligence
and liability. Now the first and most significant phase of the
nation's single largest asbestos trial has ended with a big
victory for the plaintiffs. After 12 hours of deliberation, a
jury found seven companies liable for manufacturing asbestos
products that they knew or should have known were dangerous to
workers handling them.
Asbestos, a mineral once widely used for insulation and
fireproofing, has been linked to fatal respiratory illnesses.
The plaintiffs' attorneys argued that information on the health
effects of asbestos was available to the industry decades before
the issue gained attention in the late 1960s.
In the next phase of the trial, the jury will decide
whether the companies are liable for compensatory and punitive
damages; then a series of smaller trials will determine
individual awards. Despite the obstacles ahead, attorneys are
confident that compensation is at last in sight for the 8,500
Maryland plaintiffs. But thousands of others suffering from
asbestos-related diseases may never live to receive the
compensation they have pursued so painfully.