Ten Million Dollar Compensation Package for Victim’s Family -- MesoLink.org -- 06-28-04

The family of a woman who died at the age of 2000 from mesothelioma have been awarded a ten million dollar compensation package from Ford Motor Company.

Carolyn Miller from Michigan died after acquiring the cancer from washing her father’s asbestos covered clothes as a child. Her father, John Roland, worked at a Ford plant for eleven years until 1964. Mr Roland also suffers from pleural plaques, a condition which is again related to asbestos and could put him at risk of developing mesothelioma cancer as well.

Mesothelioma is a cancer that results from the ingestion of asbestos fibres, and Carolyn used to dust off and hand wash her father’s clothes as a child which is how she fell victim to the disease. Having worked at the Ford Plant in the blast furnaces, Mr Roland often used to arrive home with asbestos covered clothes.

The money was awarded by a Texas jury to compensate the family for their loss. Disbursement included $4.5 million to the deceased’s estate, $500,000 to her father, $750,000 to her mother, $1.5 million to her daughter and $2.75 million to her husband.

The jury, operating under Michigan law, took eight hours to reach their decision about the compensation figure, and the family’s attorney stressed that the damages were to compensate the family for loss and grievance not as a punishment to the Ford Motor Group.