The Lanier Law Firm Announces Asbestos Verdict Against John Crane Inc.

CHARLESTON, W.V. – The Lanier Law Firm is announcing a liability verdict issued late yesterday in Charleston, W.V., against industrial manufacturer John Crane Inc. after jurors found that the company’s asbestos-laden products caused a retired pipefitter to contract the deadly lung disease mesothelioma.

Robert L. Wood and his wife Candice were represented at trial by attorneys from the Houston and Los Angeles offices of The Lanier Law Firm and the Mt. Pleasant, S.C., office of Motley Rice. The Lanier Law Firm team included attorneys Patrick O’Hara, C. Taylor Campbell, J.D. McMullen, and Robert Leone from the firm’s Houston office, and Trey Jones from the Los Angeles office.

“This was a hard-fought verdict won for a deserving family,” says Mark Lanier, founder of The Lanier Law Firm. “Today’s decision can’t restore Mr. Wood’s health, but it will help his family deal with the financial burdens of mesothelioma.”

The unanimous verdict was handed down in the Charleston circuit courtroom of the Hon. Ronald Wilson following two hours of jury deliberations. The case was settled for a confidential amount after the liability verdict was announced based on an earlier agreement between the Wood family and representatives from Morton Grove, Ill.-based John Crane.

Mr. Wood, a resident of Wheeling, W.V., was diagnosed with mesothelioma two weeks before Christmas in 1999. He had worked as a pipefitter for a local union for more than 41 years. Jurors heard how Mr. Wood handled John Crane gaskets that contained dangerous levels of asbestos, the leading cause of mesothelioma, and how company executives knew about the dangers of asbestos as early as the 1930s.

In the verdict, the six-member jury found that John Crane was negligent for failing to warn Mr. Wood about the dangers of its products, and that the company’s gaskets were defective.

The case is Robert L. Wood, et al. v. John Crane, Inc., et al., No. 10-C-91.

For more information, please contact J.D. Cargill at 713-659-5200.

With offices in Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Houston and New York, The Lanier Law Firm is committed to addressing client concerns with effective and innovative solutions in courtrooms across the country. The firm is composed of outstanding trial attorneys with decades of experience handling cases involving asbestos exposure, pharmaceutical liability, intellectual property, business litigation, product liability, toxic exposure, and maritime law.

Bruce Vincent
2501 Oak Lawn #650
Dallas, TX 75219
800-559-4534

This release was published on openPR.