Appeals Court Upholds $4 Million Asbestos Verdict for Italian Naval Electrician

SAN FRANCISCO - A California appeals court has affirmed a $4 million verdict awarded to a former Italian naval worker who developed mesothelioma after exposure to a Union Carbide asbestos-containing molding compound. Trinchese, et al. v. Union Carbide Corp., No. A100631 (Calif. Ct. App., First Dist.).

In an opinion issued March 18, the First District California Court of Appeal found that plaintiff Victor Trinchese provided jurors with enough evidence to determine that he was exposed to asbestos during the drilling and cutting of electrical panels created from the compound.

'Which leaves only the question of whether there was substantial evidence …