The Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court has ruled in favor of John Panza, a 40-year-old man from Cleveland Heights, and his wife, Jane, who sued Michigan-based company Kelsey-Hayes Co. after Mr. Panza was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2012. The verdict awards $27.5 million to the Panzas, which is the largest amount ever for this kind of case in Ohio.
The $27.5 million breaks down to $515,000 in economic damages, $12 million in non-economic damages, and $15 million to Mrs. Panza for loss of consortium. The previous largest award of this type in Ohio was $6.4 million, but it was reversed after an appeal.
Mr. Panza, relatively young for a mesothelioma victim, contracted the disease from second-hand exposure to asbestos. Mr. Panza’s father was employed for 31 years by the Eaton Airflex brake company, and he would bring home asbestos fibers on his clothing. The brake pads that contained asbestos were manufactured by National Friction Products Corp., of which Kelsey-Hayes Co. is a successor. The jury’s verdict attributed 60% of the liability to Kelsey-Hayes and 40% to Eaton Airflex, which is immune to the verdict under Ohio law. As a result, Kelsey-Hayes is responsible for the entire amount; the company is expected to appeal.
Asbestos exposure is the leading cause of mesothelioma, and its harmful properties led to its ban in the 1970s. The disease is most commonly diagnosed in people considerably older than Mr. Panza, due to its lengthy latency period and the fact that most victims contract it first-hand in adulthood. Mr. Panza, who has already had his right lung removed, continues to teach at Cuyahoga Community College, where he has been an English professor for eleven years.