New Jersey Man with Asbestos-Related Lung Cancer Awarded $10 Million

An eight-member Middlesex County jury awarded a Hawthorne man, suffering with asbestos-related lung cancer, $10 million on August 5. The verdict is among the highest ever for a New Jersey asbestos case.

William Rhodes, 68, and his wife, Doreen, were awarded $10 million as compensation for their pain and suffering caused by the cancer and as punitive damages against Universal Engineering of Montville. The company distributes heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning equipment and supplies, as well as building-automation equipment.

Universal Engineering was allocated 84% responsibility for the $10 million verdict. When the Rhodes' lawsuit was filed last year, several defendants were named but were either dismissed from the case by a judge or settled. Three companies, A.W. Chesterton Co., Air Products and Chemicals and the Burnham Corp. reached out-of-court settlements in the case prior to the trial.

The jury deliberated for approximately five hours before reaching its verdict after a two-week trial before Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Edward Ryan.

The Rhodes were represented by Arnold Lakind from the law firm Szaferman, Lakind, Blumstein, Blader and Lehmann of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and Moshe Maimon of Levy, Phillips and Konigsberg, New York.

Rhodes was diagnosed with mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer of the lungs that is linked to asbestos exposure, two years ago. He retired in 2001 after a career spanning more than 40 years as a boiler repairman. As part of Rhodes' job, he used products containing asbestos to repair the boilers. The jury found that Universal Engineering supplied most of the asbestos-containing products to the company in Bergen County where Rhodes worked for 30 years.

The Rhodes case was filed in Middlesex County because the county has been designated to handle special tort cases, including those from asbestos sufferers.

Asbestos use peaked in popularity around World War II, although it was first used in the United States in the late 1800s. During the 1960s and 1970s, health officials linked the inhalation of asbestos fibers to cancer and other disorders.


In May, 2005, a Senate committee approved long-stalled legislation to shield manufacturers and insurers from asbestos lawsuits. In exchange, people made ill by exposure to the substance once used in insulation and fireproofing material would have access to a $140 billion trust fund. Despite the Senate Judiciary Committee's action, lawmakers from both parties have lined up to make changes to the bill or kill it entirely when it reaches the full Senate.

Szaferman Lakind is a full-service law firm providing representation to a wide array of clients in such areas as litigation, personal injury, commercial and tax law, employment law, family law, land use development and real estate law. Based in Lawrenceville, Szaferman Lakind is one of the Mercer County's largest law firms and recently celebrated its 25th anniversary.

Levy Phillips & Konigsberg, LLP is a nationally recognized trial, litigation and appellate firm well known for its leading role in the field of mass tort and product liability litigation and in developing and handling personal injury and discrimination actions for thousands of individual workers and consumers. The firm has done pioneering work in identifying and developing personal injury and property damage cases relating to asbestos.

Additional information is also available from Arnold Lakind at (609) 275-0400 or via e-mail at: alakind@szaferman.com