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Fort Lauderdale, FL— A Florida jury earlier this month concluded asbestos in brake dust was a cause of a woman’s cancer, rendering the maker of a brake grinder liable for $2.7 million of the total $18 million verdict jurors handed down. Cook v. Hennessy Industries, et al. CACE24003818.
The verdict, reached by the 17th Circuit (Florida) state court jury, in Broward County, found Hennessy Industries, the lone defendant at trial, 15% responsible for the mesothelioma Denise Cook, 64, developed. Cook says she developed the cancer after years of exposure to asbestos in dust from work her family did on car brakes.
Jurors apportioned the remaining 85% of responsibility among 15 other entities who were not defendants at trial, including multiple auto parts manufacturers, as well as Johnson & Johnson, whose talc-based Baby Powder was raised as a possible cause for Cook's disease.
The 15% of responsibility apportioned to Hennessy was the highest percentage apportioned by jurors to any entity on the verdict form.
Cook suffers from peritoneal mesothelioma, a cancer that affects the lining of the abdominal cavity. She claims the maker of the brake-grinding tool her father allegedly used for years, Hennessy Industries-owned Ammco, is responsible for her disease by failing to warn of the dangers of asbestos in dust the machine created.
However, a key battle line in the 12-day trial was whether Cook’s specific type of mesothelioma could be caused by the chrysotile asbestos found in brake dust.
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During his closing argument, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani’s Edward Slaughter, representing Hennessy, walked jurors through evidence, including testimony from a pathologist, which he said showed that chrysotile asbestos did not cause peritoneal mesothelioma in women. And in arguing Cook’s mesothelioma developed from genetic risks or other natural causes, he added that evidence showed tests on Cook revealed no tell-tale markers for asbestos disease.
“Ms. Cook’s disease wasn’t caused by chrysotile asbestos,” Slaughter said. “And therefore couldn’t possibly have been caused in any way by anything associated with an Ammco brake grinder.”
But Cook’s attorney, Ryan Sweet, of Maune Raichle Hartley French & Mudd, highlighted evidence, including testimony from an occupational medicine expert, that he said showed exposure to chrysotile asbestos could cause peritoneal mesothelioma. And he pushed back on claims that Cook’s disease could have been caused by genetic factors or occurred naturally.
“Asbestos is the only known cause in the United States,” Sweet said, before highlighting studies across the decades, which he said linked asbestos in brake dust to mesothelioma. “Chrysotile causes peritoneal mesothelioma, no doubt.”
In an emailed statement after the verdict, Sweet told CVN he believed the jury’s conclusion reflected the scientific evidence linking brake dust exposure to Cook’s disease.
“We are proud that the jury resoundingly rejected the false, bought-and-paid-for asbestos industry argument that mechanics and women cannot get peritoneal mesothelioma from exposure to chrysotile asbestos in automotive brakes,” Sweet wrote. ”The jury spoke loudly and definitively, holding these companies liable for knowingly exposing Ms. Cook, and many others in her position, to a complete carcinogen for years without any warning.”
CVN has reached out to attorneys for Hennessy and will update this article with any comments.
Email Arlin Crisco at acrisco@cvn.com.
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