“Recently, a Middlesex County, N.J., jury awarded $1.6 million to a young man and his wife in an asbestos lawsuit in which he alleged asbestos exposure through cosmetic talc,” write H. Lockwood (Chip) Miller III and Joseph J. Welter, partners in Goldberg Segalla’s Product Liability Practice Group.

“While lawyers on both sides of asbestos litigation may view this verdict as a significant victory for their respective partisan vantage points, who is more correct? Is it plaintiffs’ counsel, who generally may see this result as noteworthy because it is, in their view, a harbinger of more cosmetic talc-asbestos claims? Or is it defense counsel, who may view the relatively modest size of the award as telling, considering a young, living plaintiff with mesothelioma, a sympathetic wife, and four children? Time will tell, but it is likely a little bit of both.”

In this article, Chip and Joe examine the case in detail and explore its potential impact on asbestos litigation.

Read the article here:

• H. Lockwood (Chip) Miller III and Joseph J. Welter, “Plaintiff Win in Asbestos Case May Not Be Defense’s Loss,” Law360, December 18, 2013 (subscription required)