Family Awarded Record-Breaking Settlement in Mesothelioma Lawsuit

John Panza of Cleveland, Ohio was awarded $27.5 by a Ohio jury in his asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit, one of the largest awards of its kind in the history of the state.

The now 40-year-old Panza was diagnosed with mesothelioma, an often fatal form of cancer associated with asbestos, in 2012. He contracted the disease as a result of prolonged take home exposure to his father’s clothing when he was a child. His father, John Sr., worked in the shipping and receiving department at the Eaton Airflex brake company for 31 years. He frequently worked amongst employees who drilled National Friction brake pad products where his clothing became tainted with asbestos dust. John Sr. died of lung cancer in 1994 when he was 52.

National Friction Products Corporation manufactured the contaminated auto brake pads in question. John Jr. and his wife filed a lawsuit against the successor to the business, Kelsey-Hayes Company, based in Michigan.