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Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and Goodyear Canada have been hit with $22 million in damages by the families of two deceased employees for asbestos poisoning. Goodyear says it will appeal the suit, which was held in New York County Supreme Court.
Walter Koczur had worked for the company between 1969 and 1973 as a steamfitter in the Buffalo area. Eugene McCarthy worked for them as a heavy equipment engine mechanic around the same time. Both were exposed to asbestos-laden sheet gaskets, made from material manufactured by Goodyear.
Both men died in 1998 of lung cancer. That year, a lawsuit was filed against Goodyear on their behalf. Last week, a jury held Goodyear's gasket policies partly to blame for Mr. Koczur and Mr. McCarthy's lung cancer, although most of the blame was due to their smoking habits. However, Goodyear was 27% accountable and Goodyear Canada was 18% accountable for Mr. Kozur's death. $11.6 million was handed to his family and $1.9 to his ex-wife. For Mr. McCarthy, Goodyear was 7% accountable and Goodyear Canada was 5% accountable. $8.5 million was handed to his family.
Goodyear is appealing the case because they think the deceased's "extensive smoking histories" outweighed what they deemed, "objective evidence of asbestos-related illness."
If you would like more information about how negligence and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.
