A San Francisco jury unanimously awarded damages of $1.25 million to a retired pipefitter who developed asbestosis and asbestos pleural disease due to his on-the-job contact with asbestos (Quarles v. Advocate Mines, Ltd; SF Superior Court; #409170). The plaintiff, Geronia Quarles, was represented at trial by James Nevin and Christopher Andreas of Brayton Purcell in Novato, California.

Advocate Mines, Ltd., the defendant, supplied asbestos fiber for Transite asbestos-cement pipe. It did not provide any warning to consumers about the asbestos fiber and continued to sell the product even though its miners had asbestos-related health problems. The jury concluded that the company acted with "malice" or "oppression."

Asbestosis and asbestos pleural disease are serious, debilitating illnesses caused by asbestos exposure. Asbestosis scars the lungs; asbestos pleural disease damages the membrane lining the lungs and chest cavity (the pleura). Both diseases reduce lung capacity, restrict breathing, and reduce the victim's ability to transfer oxygen from the air into the blood. About one in seven people who suffer from asbestosis eventually develop lung cancer.