Mississippi Litigation Review & Commentary : Mississippi Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Phillip W. Thomas Law Firm : MS Litigation Review & Commentary

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Today a Warren County jury awarded a plaintiff $7.6 million in a silica trial before Judge Isadore Patrick. The verdict included $4.6 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages. The trial started last week. It is unclear how Mississippi's damages caps may affect the amount of the verdict.

There is a photograph of silica to the right. Without proper masks sandblasters can suffer lung damage from breathing silica dust.

The defendant was a sand manufacturer. The plaintiff was a former sandblaster who developed silicosis after working for 25 years at a Marathon Letourneau facility. There were other defendants in the case who settled before trial. It's my understanding that the losing defendant made no real offer to settle.

Plaintiff's counsel were Tim Porter and Allen Smith of Jackson. Defense counsel was Chaney Nichols of Scott Sullivan Streetman in Ridgeland and, I believe, John Galloway of New Orleans.

This is not the first large verdict in Warren County this year. I discussed earlier verdicts here and here.

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There are reports of a $7 million plus jury verdict this week in a Jefferson County lead paint trial. The case was Pollard vs. Sherwin-Williams Company. It's my understanding that Plaintiff's counsel included Tim Porter and Dennis Sweet of Jackson and Michael Casano of Gulfport. Defense counsel were John Corlew and Kathy Smith of Jackson.

The trial was of a case where Circuit Court Judge Lamar Pickard granted summary judgment for the Defendant and the Court of Appeals affirmed. On appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case for a trial on the merits. Here is the Supreme Court's opinion. Barring a settlement, look for this verdict to be appealed.