Ill. Appellate Court Tosses Asbestos Verdict Against Hobart Brothers, Says Defendant Didn’t Know Risks

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. –– An Illinois appellate court has reversed a $4.6 million verdict entered against Hobart Brothers in an asbestos welding rod case, finding that the dangers of asbestos exposure to welding rods was not commonly known during the time period in question and, further, that there was no evidence that welding rods were a substantial cause of the plaintiff’s mesothelioma.

In its Sept. 5 opinion, the Illinois Appellate Court, Fourth District, pointed to evidence that it was not commonly known in the 1960s that welding rods could release asbestos fibers.

“Defendant could not have owed plaintiff a duty …