Jury Returns $4 Million Verdict Against Employer in Household Meso Case

NEW ORLEANS - Jurors in Louisiana have awarded nearly $4 million to the wife of a former pipefitter who developed mesothelioma as a result of her household exposure to asbestos. Chaisson, et al. v. Avondale Industries, Inc., et al., No. 2002-5898 (La. Dist. Ct., New Orleans Parish).

The New Orleans Parish District Court jury returned the verdict on March 3 against defendant H.B. Zachary, the only defendant remaining in the case when it went to trial.

Ann Chaisson's husband, Evano, worked for H.B. Zachary for two years in the late 1970s, when he was assigned to work at a Union …