Mesothelioma Medical

The widow of a former shipyard worker who died from exposure to asbestos while building U.S. Navy aircraft carriers will be compensated with $5.55 million, a Newport News Circuit Court jury announced Wednesday.

Vaughn Oney, the husband of Kay Oney, died last year after diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare cancer, usually found in those exposed to asbestos, in the form of a malignant tumor in the mesothelium of the lungs and or abdomen. He was a machinist who worked at Newport News Shipbuilding for 31 years from 1963 to 1994. Kay Oney, 43, had to watch her husband struggling with the cancer for two years between the time he was first diagnosed in 2004 until he died in November.

Referring to a nurse's testimony at the trial, Robert Hatten, a Newport News attorney who handled the case said that was some of the worst suffering that he had ever listened to.

"He needed an incredible amount of narcotics to endure the pain every day. It was intractable pain - pain so high that narcotics can't control it. The last six weeks of his life, he was in horrific condition," Hatten said.

It was in late March the jury trial began. According to the decision of the seven-member jury, John Crane Inc. and Garlock Sealing Technologies, the two suppliers to the shipbuilding industry, have to compensate Kay Oney with $9.25 million. It was decided that 60 percent of the total ($5.55 million) should be paid by John Crane, which manufactured gaskets and sealants made with asbestos and the other 40 percent ($3.7 million) should be borne by Garlock, a Palmyra, N.Y.-based company that competed with John Crane in manufacturing the same products.

However, the jury's decision is actually meant for John Crane only as Garlock had already settled with Kay Oney for an undisclosed amount before the case went to trial. Though the exact settlement amount was not revealed, Hatten said it was definitely less than the amount decided by the Jury.

Hatten told that the case involving Vaughn Oney focused between 1963 and 1973, when he was sometimes in contact with the asbestos daily.

"Vaughn retired in in 1994 in his early 50s and he looked to be in brisk health that time. But the cancer can stay latent in the body for 40 years before being expressed," he said.

"The asbestos industry knew that asbestos fibers could kill you. They knew how to prevent it, they knew how to test for it, they knew how to educate and they knew how to warn, but that was not in their financial interest," He added.