The family of a Tyler man, who died after contracting mesothelioma, after years of exposure working at the Kelly Springfield/Goodyear plant, was awarded $18.6 million by a Dallas County jury last week, and according to their lawyers, Goodyear plainly ignored standards set in place in 1972 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Jurors found Goodyear grossly negligent for allowing Mr. Rogers’ continued exposure to asbestos.
Carl Rogers worked at the plant for 30 years as a tire builder before being diagnosed with mesothelioma, a deadly cancer caused by exposure to asbestos fibers. He was diagnosed with the disease in August 2008 and died in September 2009.
He worked with Goodyear machines that exposed him to asbestos on a constant basis. He was further exposed to asbestos-wrapped piping while maintenance work was being carried out at the plant. The verdict includes $2.7 million in non-economic damages, $900,000 in economic damages and $15 million in punitive damages.
Goodyear admitted during the trial that the levels of asbestos were 10 to 100 times greater than the average person would breathe outside of the plant.
Three other former workers at the plant have been diagnosed with mesothelioma which is a significantly higher rate, some 900%, more that the national average of one case per million people.
