Major Mesothelioma Verdicts
Note: This is only a sample list of our results. View our case results pdf document for a more comprehensive list of Baron & Budd’s mesothelioma verdicts and settlements. You may also call us at (866) 926-1625 or contact us online
At Baron & Budd we treat every case with the individualized attention of a high profile case, which is why several of the most high-profile families in the United States chose Baron & Budd to represent their loved ones who developed mesothelioma as a result of asbestos exposure.
High-Profile Clients
Merlin Olsen
Baron & Budd represented football legend and television star Merlin Olsen, who passed from mesothelioma in 2010. Olsen was exposed to asbestos through other tradesmen who were using sheetrock joint compounds around him and from working on Caterpillar bulldozers. The lawsuit ended in a confidential out-of-court settlement.
Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt
Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. was the youngest Chief of Naval Operations in U.S. history when he took the helm of the U.S. Navy in 1970 and is remembered as a trailblazer and a champion for the many brave men and women who serve our country. Adm. Zumwalt developed mesothelioma from asbestos exposure while serving aboard Navy ships. Baron & Budd is honored to have represented Adm. Zumwalt’s family in their lawsuit against the companies whose asbestos-containing products are responsible for his death.
Paul Gleason
Best known for his role as Principal Richard Vernon in the 1985 film The Breakfast Club, actor Paul Gleason is another celebrity who has been affected by mesothelioma. Gleason passed in 2006 from the asbestos-related cancer which was caused by working around asbestos-containing products at a construction job he held as a youth. The firm represented Gleason’s family in a mesothelioma lawsuit, which resulted in a confidential out-of-court settlement.
Supreme Court Decisions
No other law firm has gone to bat for the rights of mesothelioma victims to the extent that Baron & Budd has, fighting threats to the right of individuals to file lawsuits – all the way to the Supreme Court.
When asbestos companies realized that they could not escape responsibility for the asbestos tragedy by pretending not to have known the harm they were causing, a group of companies tried instead to limit the amount they would have to pay to their victims by creating a class action “settlement” that would control the amount of money paid to all present and future asbestos victims.
Baron & Budd teamed up with a group of experts and committed advocates to fight these unfair class action settlements, ultimately convincing the United States Supreme Court that it was unconstitutional to limit the rights of individual asbestos victims to seek individual compensation for the harm they suffered. In two cases, Amchem Products v. Windsor and Ortiz v. Fibreboard Corp., the Supreme Court held the settlements were illegal and improper because they violated due process under the United States Constitution.
By taking this fight to the Supreme Court and winning, Baron & Budd protected the rights of present and future individuals who are harmed by asbestos.
Bankruptcy Trusts
To protect themselves from lawsuits, many asbestos manufacturers filed for bankruptcy. In some instances, trust funds were set up to compensate people who were harmed by the company’s asbestos products. But the establishment of these trusts requires enormous negotiation skills and experience.
Baron & Budd has been instrumental in negotiating bankruptcy trusts. Founder Russell Budd led the negotiation of the 2002 Halliburton $4 billion national asbestos trust fund. This trust fund can now be accessed by individuals all over the United States for mesothelioma claims, even if they are not clients of Baron & Budd, and has provided compensation for countless injured people.
The agreement reached between Halliburton and Baron & Budd created the largest asbestos trust fund of its kind anywhere in the world.
The Right to Pursue a Second Asbestos Lawsuit
The law in some states allows people with a prior asbestos settlement to pursue a second lawsuit to recover additional funds for health issues that might develop later, such as a case of asbestosis later developing into mesothelioma. This wasn’t, however, the case in Texas prior to 2000. Texas law did not allow people to file a second asbestos-related lawsuit. That’s when Baron & Budd stepped in.
In Pustejovsky v. Rapid-American Corp., the firm represented an ironworker who filed a lawsuit for asbestosis decades previously, but was later diagnosed with mesothelioma. Even though Texas law prevented him from recovering additional compensation, Baron and Budd refused to give up, believing that he should have the ability to receive adequate compensation for all his asbestos-related issues.
The case went all the way to the Texas Supreme Court, which ruled that a person who previously achieved compensation for an asbestos-related disease should have the opportunity to pursue additional compensation if they are later diagnosed with mesothelioma.
In addition to convincing the Texas Supreme Court to allow claimants to pursue second asbestos cancer lawsuits, Baron & Budd also led the battle to convince the Iowa Supreme Court and an appellate court in Florida to recognize the right of asbestos victims to pursue two separate asbestos-related lawsuits if their situation permits. Today, many states around the country allow asbestos patients to file a second lawsuit if they develop a separate, asbestos-related disease like mesothelioma.
Protecting Railroad Workers
In 2003, Baron & Budd assisted the non-profit organization Public Justice in Norfolk & Western Railway Co. v. Ayers, a U.S. Supreme Court case regarding compensation for railroad workers who have been diagnosed with asbestos diseases. With Baron & Budd’s support, Public Justice convinced the court that when railroad workers develops asbestosis, they should have the opportunity to receive additional compensation in anticipation of developing future asbestos cancers, such as mesothelioma. Baron & Budd received no fees or other compensation for their work in this case.
This opinion has influenced numerous state courts throughout the country, and has ultimately helped protect the rights of people who have been harmed by asbestos exposure while working for the railroad.
Changing a Louisiana Precedent
In Rando v. Anco Insulations, Baron & Budd’s Louisiana asbestos attorneys fought a mesothelioma patient’s claim for compensation all the way to the Louisiana Supreme Court. According to Louisiana workers’ compensation law, mesothelioma patients whose occupational asbestos exposure prior to 1975 caused their cancer were unable to recover funds through the legal system. The firm convinced the court that mesothelioma patients should not be prevented from receiving compensation because of the workers’ compensation law, since mesothelioma can take decades to manifest.
Disclaimer: Results obtained depend on the facts of each case. Award amounts are not actual cash amounts received by plaintiffs. Deductions are made for liens, attorney fees and expenses.
We Travel to You (or meet virtually)
Call us and we will personally come to you for a free consultation… anywhere in Louisiana or the country.
Don’t miss this opportunity to discuss your potential case and the compensation you and your family may be owed. If you feel more comfortable doing a virtual meeting, we can do that too.
Why talk to us? We have the proof!
See Some of Our Significant & Recent Mesothelioma Victories in Louisiana
Here’s why we are ranked among the best mesothelioma law firms in the nation. This is just a partial list of our recent mesothelioma case results in Louisiana. We’ve obtained many more multi-million-dollar confidential settlements that provide security for the future for the families of hard-working people in Louisiana.
- $36.7 million jury award for our client who was diagnosed with mesothelioma after working for many years as a Local 60 pipefitter and welder. Our trial lawyers were able to obtain the largest asbestos verdict for a single client in Louisiana history.
- $17.2 million jury award for our client and his family. Our Client suffered and died from a severe non-malignant asbestos-related disease called asbestosis. Our attorneys were able to obtain the largest asbestos verdict for a single client in Louisiana history.
- Over $9 million in total settlements for our Client who was diagnosed and suffered from epithelioid peritoneal mesothelioma. Our Client was exposed to asbestos from her father’s dirty work clothes when she was a child. Her father worked for less than 6 months at petrochemical facilities along the Mississippi River. Our attorneys were able to obtain the above settlement for her exposure to asbestos from her father’s work clothes.
- $8 million in total settlements for our Client, a Local 53 Insulator, diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos while working in oil refineries and chemical plants throughout Louisiana. Years earlier, he had been diagnosed with a non-malignant asbestos-related disease.
- Over $7 million in total settlements for a pipefitter/welder who worked at many of the petrochemical plants along the Mississippi River around Baton Rouge. Our Client suffered from biphasic pleural mesothelioma and our attorneys were able to obtain settlements that provided peace of mind for him for his family.
- Over $7 million for a boilermaker who worked at many of the petrochemical facilities along the Mississippi River between New Orleans to Baton Rouge. Our Client suffered from pleural mesothelioma and our attorneys were able to obtain settlements totaling the amount above for him and his family.
- Over $6 million in total settlements for a lifelong union boilermaker who worked at shipyards and petrochemical plants throughout Louisiana. Our Client suffered from pleural mesothelioma. Our mesothelioma lawyers were honored to have been a part of this fight against asbestos companies and the disease they caused, mesothelioma.
- Over $6 million in total settlements for a longshoreman and cargo handler on the Mississippi River who loaded and unloaded asbestos cargo on ships, wharves and warehouses in the Port of New Orleans. Our Client suffered from pleural mesothelioma. Our mesothelioma lawyers were honored to have been a part of this fight against asbestos companies and the disease they caused, mesothelioma.
- $5.57 million jury award for our Client and his family. Our Client suffered from epithelioid pleural mesothelioma and our attorneys were able to obtain this verdict against a shipyard for only 12 days of work at the shipyard in 1973.
- Over $5 million in total settlements for our Client who was exposed to asbestos in the 1950s and 1960s when he worked as an operator and laborer at a Baton Rouge chemical plant. Our Client suffered from pleural mesothelioma and our attorneys were able to obtain settlements for his family.
- Over $4 million in total settlements for a union pipefitter and welder who was exposed to asbestos at aluminum plants, chemical plants, oil refineries and power plants in Southeast Louisiana. Our client suffered from epithelioid pleural mesothelioma and our mesothelioma lawyers were honored to have fought against the companies that were responsible for his mesothelioma.
Baron & Budd’s Mesothelioma Litigation in Louisiana
Baron & Budd mesothelioma attorney and Louisiana native, Burton LeBlanc, successfully testified against state bill HB 447, which would have given asbestos bankruptcy trusts the ability to further delay compensation. We have achieved some of the largest verdicts of their kind for Louisiana families struggling with mesothelioma and for those who have lost loved ones to the illness.
Why Choose Baron & Budd Over Other Law Firms? Because results matter!
Hire the firm whose experience sets the standards. Our firm has led the fight for hard-working Louisiana families for over forty years. When you hire Baron & Budd, you have our dedicated team of mesothelioma litigators, researchers, medical experts, and private investigators fighting for you.
- Our law firm pioneered mesothelioma lawsuit claims starting in the 1970’s, representing some of the first mesothelioma victims.
- Our attorneys understand the Louisiana court system.
- We continue fighting daily to secure mesothelioma compensation for victims like you because we care.
- When our attorneys walk into the courtroom, the attorneys representing the asbestos companies know we can take the fight to the largest companies in the world.