Bergman Draper Oslund: Lone Star Industries to Pay $1.1M in Wrongful Death Suit
Bergman Draper Oslund recently won a significant trial in the wrongful death case of Mr. Andrew Miller. The verdict represents not only a substantial recovery to his survivors but also a reckoning for a company that has long-denied that it furnished asbestos-containing materials that sickened workers.
Andrew Miller died from mesothelioma in November 2016. On July 17, 2018, a jury in King County Superior Court rendered a verdict and award of $1.1 million to Mr. Miller’s survivors. The verdict was ordered against Lone Star Industries, formerly Pioneer Sand and Gravel.
Mr. Miller works from 1967-1980 as a machinist at the Lockheed Shipyard and Puget Sound Naval Shipyards where he was exposed to high levels of asbestos thermal insulation provided by Pioneer Sand and Gravel.
Bergman Draper Oslund attorneys Chandler Udo, Craig Sims, and Kaitlin Wright argued on behalf of Mr. Miller and his loved ones that the company knew its materials contained hazardous asbestos and failed to notify workers handling the insulation, including Andrew Miller.
Lone Star Industries denied culpability and falsely claimed it did not supply the asbestos-containing materials to the shipyards. However, the Bergman team furnished many eyewitnesses that attested to the delivery and installation of insulation branded by the company to refute their claims.
Lone Star Industries denied for more than a decade that it supplied asbestos-containing materials that impacted the health of shipyard workers. The Andrew Miller verdict is a breakthrough because the company must finally answer for failing to protect the health of workers and for its years of denials.
Firm founder Matthew Bergman said, “We view this case as a significant breakthrough, and we are pleased to bring some closure to Mr. Miller’s family.”
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