Asbestos victim's Family Wins $2.3 Million Suit
SAN FRANCISCO -- The family of a Santa Clara man who died of mesothelioma, will be compensated with $2.3 million.
Mr. Charlie Piazza, who was an electrician, was exposed to asbestos from the products of Houston-based Union Carbide Corp.; Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific Corp.; San Carlos, California-based Kelly-Moore Paint Co. Inc.; Orange, California-based Hamilton Materials Inc.; Oakland, California-based Kaiser Gypsum Co. Inc.; and Valley Forge, Pennsylvania-based CertainTeed Corp.
"This is a significant settlement, and the attorneys are very pleased to be able to secure this award for the Piazza family," says Russell W. Budd, co- founder and managing partner of Baron & Budd. "Charlie Piazza was a hard worker who provided for his wife and grandson, and we hope today's settlement will help them move forward with their lives," said the victim's attorney.
Mr. Piazza, the son of an electrician, accepted the same job. He worked as an electrician as well as a construction subcontractor in the Santa Clara area for more than 40 years.
The main source of income for his family was the payment he was receiving for this job.
Mr. Piazza started experiencing various health issues in March 2005 and consulted his doctor who diagnosed that the symptoms were of mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is 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 passed away in May 2005 when he was 62 even before completing six weeks after he was diagnosed with the deadly cancer.
