Baron and Budd, P.C. Announces $48 Million Verdict for California Mesothelioma Patient

Jury finds Dow Chemical subsidiary Union Carbide and others responsible

LOS ANGELES –(June 21, 2012)–A Los Angeles Superior Court jury awarded $48 million to the family of a mesothelioma patient after finding Union Carbide Corp., a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, Riverside Cement, CalPortland and others responsible. This is the largest mesothelioma verdict in the nation in 2012.

Baron and Budd mesothelioma lawyers represented the patient at trial.

“The asbestos companies abjectly refused to admit that their products are causing cancer,” said Baron & Budd attorneys. “But we discovered not only that their products caused cancer — but that they also spent millions hiding that fact.”

During the six-week trial, Union Carbide presented numerous paid expert witnesses who argued that its asbestos –trade named “Calidria asbestos” –did not cause cancer. But confidential internal memos revealed that even Union Carbide staff physicians reprimanded the marketing and sales groups for telling customers its asbestos did not cause disease.

Two other defendants, Riverside Cement and CalPortland, also hired expert witnesses to testify that the amount of asbestos released from their products was trivial. However, bags of their construction products were scientifically shown to have quadrillions of fibers of asbestos.

While the jury found blame with all of the defendants, they ascribed $18 million in punitive damages to Dow Chemical’s subsidiary Union Carbide for its corporate cover-up of asbestos dangers. Baron & Budd shareholder explained: “The jury awarded punitive damages against Union Carbide of $1 million for each year that it continued to supply asbestos after a 1967 internal memo where the company admitted that asbestos caused cancers, even after brief exposures.”

Baron and Budd has been spearheading meaningful litigation for consumers for almost 40 years. Baron and Budd was one of the first law firms to take on the asbestos industry and continues to fight today. The firm has an established track record of substantial mesothelioma verdicts, including a $55 million verdict in El Paso, TX; $20 million in San Francisco, CA; $17 million in Philadelphia, PA; $11 million in Dallas, TX; and many others throughout the nation.

To learn more about the mesothelioma attorneys at Baron and Budd, call 1.866.855.1229.

About Baron & Budd, P.C.

The national mesothelioma law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C. has been “Protecting What’s Right” for asbestos sufferers and their families for nearly 40 years. As one of the first law firms to successfully litigate an asbestos lawsuit, Baron & Budd continues to actively represent veterans, industry workers and others who are suffering as a result of exposure to asbestos. Contact Baron and Budd at 1.866.855.1229 for additional information on mesothelioma treatments, mesothelioma cancer doctors and treatment centers and mesothelioma attorneys.