You may see news of a multi-million dollar asbestos/mesothelioma case settlement and wonder, “People get cancer every day. Why does this person deserve $13 million?”
These companies use asbestos in their products knowing that it can devastate the lives of those who are exposed to it and their families. They do this despite the fact that safe adequate alternative materials are available, and they do it just to save a little money. The only thing keeping other companies from doing similar things is the fear of a flood of expensive lawsuits.
Making Victims “Whole”
Anyone who has been severely wronged has a right to be made whole, which is what a lawsuit generally aims to do. But most cases of mesothelioma are fatal. What monetary value can you assign a human life? How much money would one of these companies have to pay your spouse and children to be made whole if you died from mesothelioma?
Punitive Damages
The only way to discourage unscrupulous corporations that ignore their workers’ and customers’ safety in the pursuit of profits is to make it expensive for them to do it. This is the purpose of punitive damages. Punitive damages often make up the vast majority of mesothelioma verdicts because the defendants act so horrendously, and because the defendants are often massive corporations with a lot of money.
Would forcing a multi-billion dollar company to pay $50,000 dollars for a few months’ worth of the victim’s medical expenses and lost wages really discourage that company from acting with wanton disregard for human life in the future? Does it send the signal we want it to send?
