Hoogerwerf v. Honeywell
N/AOUTCOME: $5.5 million verdict for widow of insulation worke
John Hoogerwerf was exposed to asbestos as a union insulator while working at various jobsites in Central Illinois from 1966 to 1972 when asbestos was still an ingredient in the thermal insulation prod ... ucts he used. After OSHA was created in the early 1970s, asbestos was removed from such products. Hoogerwerf was never warned of the dangers of asbestos though the evidence received in the case showed that the companies manufacturing such products had known of the dangers associated with asbestos since at least the 1930s. The jury found Defendant, Honeywell International, Inc. (formerly known as AlliedSignal, Inc., the successor to Bendix Corporation), conspired with other companies including UNARCO, Johns-Mansville, Raybestos-Manhattan, Owens-Illinois, Owens-Corning and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, to suppress information about the hazards of asbestos, including an agreement not to warn their employees and customers about what the conspirators knew (that inhaled asbestos caused serious disease and death including asbestosis and cancer).
