U.S. Supreme Court Affirms Fear of Cancer Asbestos Verdict

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A state court in West Virginia was within its right to award 'fear of cancer' damages to several rail workers who suffered from asbestosis as a result of their asbestos exposure, but who had not yet exhibited physical manifestation of the alleged fear, the U.S. Supreme Court has held. Norfolk & Western Railway Co. v. Freeman Ayers, et al., No. 01-963 (U.S. Sup. Ct.).

In an opinion issued March 10, a sharply divided high court affirmed the nearly $5 million verdict awarded to six former West Virginia rail workers who claimed in complaints filed under the Federal …