Auto Mechanic Awarded $6M in Asbestos Mesothelioma Lawsuit

November 29, 2012

Los Angeles, CA: A retired auto mechanic who developed asbestos mesothelioma as a result of his exposure to asbestos from Ford vehicle parts such as brakes, clutches and gaskets, has been awarded $6,825,000 as settlement of his asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit.

Sixty-nine year old Patrick Scott had to give up his auto repair business when he was diagnosed with mesothelioma in the fall of 2011 and has been unable to work since. After serving in the US Air Force and working for nine months at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, he opened his first auto repair shop in 1966 in Sausalito. Later that year, he moved his shop to San Francisco. Then, in 1978, Scott opened a one-bay auto shop in St. Helena, California, which he ran until his diagnosis.

In his lawsuit, Scott alleged Ford' products were defectively designed to include the use of asbestos; that Ford failed to warn of such defects, and that Ford was negligent. Further, that Ford had been aware that asbestos causes mesothelioma since 1960, yet continued to sell asbestos parts until 2001.

Throughout his career, Scott worked primarily on American-made vehicles, including many Ford cars and trucks. The Ford cars and trucks had asbestos brakes, clutches, gaskets, and other parts. Evidence at trial showed that Ford was a member of the National Safety Council in 1948, when that organization published a paper on the harmful effects of asbestos in brakes.

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