New York Appellate Court Affirms Nine Million Dollar Verdict in Duty to Warn Grinder Case

NEW YORK — The plaintiff filed suit against various defendants, including Hennessy Industries’ subsidiary, Ammco, alleging that the plaintiff’s use of Ammco’s grinder on asbestos-containing brake linings exposed him to asbestos. The plaintiff’s expert testimony was sufficient to establish exposure to asbestos via use of the grinder in sufficient quantities to cause the plaintiff’s mesothelioma. Further, “because the asbestos-laden dust was created by plaintiff’s use of defendant’s grinder and defendant knew its grinder would be used on asbestos-containing products, defendant had a duty to warn plaintiff of the latent danger arising from the foreseeable use of its product.” The court unanimously upheld the award, reduced by the trial court and stipulated to by the plaintiff, of $5 million for past pain and suffering and $4 million for future pain and suffering.

Read the full decision here.