Florida Injury Attorney Blog

Did you know that when you inhale secondhand smoke you absorb nicotine and other toxic chemicals in your system the effect on your body is not much different from what it would be if were the one smoking? Also known as passive smoke and environmental tobacco smoke, secondhand smoke is classified by the US government as a “known human carcinogen” that can cause cancer. What you may not know is that if you or someone you love fell ill because of secondhand smoke, you may have grounds for a Miami, Florida tobacco lawsuit.

According to the American Cancer Society, each year secondhand smoke affects nonsmokers by:
• Causing 46,000 heart disease-related deaths and 3,400 lung cancer fatalities
• Reducing lung function and causing other breathing problems, including chest discomfort, mucus, and coughing
• Worsening asthma episodes for children
• Causing more than 750,000 middle ear infections in kids
• Upping the risk that a pregnant woman will give deliver a low-birth weight infant or suffer a miscarriage or stillbirth.

Meantime, a report from the Surgeon General in 2006 concluded that secondhand smoke:
• Causes the premature deaths of nonsmokers of all ages
• Increases the chances a child will develop sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Secondhand smoke exposure can be found anywhere that someone is smoking. This can include the workplace, shopping centers, schools, daycare centers, restaurants, and on public transportation. Fortunately, Florida bans smoking in all enclosed work areas and spaces open to the public (stand alone bars are exempt). That said, secondhand smoke continues to be a problem, creating illness and havoc for victims.

If you believe that your illness or your child’s affliction was caused by secondhand smoke, you should speak with a Fort Lauderdale tobacco lawyer right away. You may not realize this but even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can cause instant harm to one’s health.

For example, a few years ago, the family of a girl who developed asthma sued the apartment complex where they lived because secondhand smoke wasn’t prohibited in outdoor common areas. In the 90’s, flight attendants that filed a class action lawsuit against the tobacco industry because they had been repeatedly exposed to secondhand smoke while on the job received a $49 million settlement. A worker that gets sick or suffers health complications from exposure to secondhand smoke while doing his or her job may have also grounds for a Florida workers’ compensation case.

According to the University of Minnesota’s Division of Periodontology web page:

• Secondhand smoke is the number three cause of early death and disability.
• Secondhand smoke ranks after smoking and alcoholism.

Also, If you or someone you love developed cancer or some other illness that you believe was caused by smoking cigarettes, you may have grounds for a Florida tobacco lawsuit against the cigarette maker.

Judge approves settlement of secondhand smoke lawsuit

Secondhand smoke lawsuit reinstated, Inside SoCal, January 13, 2009

Related Web Resources:
American Cancer Society

Secondhand Smoke Facts, University of Minnesota

Smoking and Tobacco Use, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

More Blog Posts:
$2.4M Palm Beach County Wrongful Death Verdict Awarded to 87-Year-Old Lake Worth Widow, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, April 13, 2011

$3.375 Million Florida Wrongful Death Verdict Awarded in Tobacco Lawsuit Against Philip Morris USA and RJ Reynolds, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, March 1, 2011

Palm Beach Tobacco Litigation: Smokers’s Widow Gets $2.2M Award and $270K in Punitive Damages from Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, September 1, 2010

Continue reading "Florida Tobacco Lawsuits: Secondhand Smoke Can Be Deadly" »

A jury has awarded 87-year-old Mary Tullo $2.47 million for her husband’s lung cancer death. The Palm Beach County wrongful death verdict was issued against Philip Morris, the Liggett Group, and Lorillard Tobacco. Tobacco company RJ Reynolds was cleared of any wrongdoing related to the death of Tullo’s husband Dominick Tullo in 1998 at age 74.

Dominick smoked Parliament cigarettes during the last 30 years of his life, which is why cigarette maker Philip Morris will pay most of the damages at $2 million. Lorillard Tobacco and the Liggett Group, who were found 5% liable for making the other cigaratte brands that Dominick smoked, each will pay $225,000. The jury found Domnick 45% responsible for his death, which is why Mary is receiving $2.47 million rather than $4.5 million.

In this South Florida tobacco lawsuit, the plaintiff’s attorneys were adamant that cigarette manufacturers lied about the dangers from smoking, including the publication of a 1954 ad that was placed in close to 250 US newspapers by tobacco manufactures, whose “Frank Statement” maintained that cigarettes were safe to smoke.

Mary Tullo’s Palm Beach County tobacco lawsuit is an Engle progeny case. There are 300 Palm Beach County tobacco case and 8,000 cases in Florida stemming from the Miami-Dade class action case that in 1999 awarded plaintiffs $145 billion. The Florida Supreme Court threw out the award in 2006 and decided that each plaintiff must file a separate case. Of the 29 cases that have gone to trial, plaintiffs have won in 26 of the lawsuits.

Smoking Cigarettes
Smoking cigarettes can cause cancer, heart attacks, emphysema, bronchitis, other health complications, and death. Unfortunately, for years tobacco companies did not notify people of the addictive properties of cigarettes or the health issues that can result. When the complications became publicly known, many smokers who had already become addicted were unable to stop.

Jurors award $2.4 million to Lake Worth widow of smoker, Palm Beach Post, April 13, 2011

Palm Beach County tobacco trial begins, SunSentinel, March 31, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Office of the Surgeon General

Tobacco Industry Marketing, American Lung Association

More Blog Posts:
$3.375 Million Florida Wrongful Death Verdict Awarded in Tobacco Lawsuit Against Philip Morris USA and RJ Reynolds, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, March 1, 2011

Palm Beach Tobacco Litigation: Smokers’s Widow Gets $2.2M Award and $270K in Punitive Damages from Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, September 1, 2011

Florida Tobacco Litigation: Jury Awards $26.6 Million Ft Lauderdale Wrongful Death Verdict to Widow of Smoker who Died from Lung Cancer, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, September 1, 2011

Once again, a jury is ordering RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Philip Morris USA to pay Florida wrongful death damages to a cigarette smoker. The amount this time is $3.375 million—$1.5 million in punitive damages from each tobacco company and $750,000 in compensatory damages.

The victim, John Huish, was 64 when he died of lung cancer in 1993. He started smoking cigarettes in the 1940’s—about 20 years before cigarette packs came with warning labels. Huish’s cigarettes of choice included Camels, Lucky Strikes, and Marlboro Reds and Lights.

In her Florida tobacco litigation case, Huish’s widow, Anna Louise Huish, contended that her husband smoked not because he enjoyed it but because he was addicted to the nicotine in the cigarettes. He continued to smoke even after he developed a tumor in his lung. Her Florida wrongful death lawyer says that the RJ Reynolds and Philip Morris knew that their cigarettes contained carcinogens that cause cancer but that they covered this information up for years so that people would continue to smoke.

Both Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds say they will appeal the verdict.

Florida Tobacco Litigation
In Engle v. Liggett Group, the Florida Supreme Court decertified a class-action complaint filed by Howard Engle and let each class member file his/her case. Edward Sweda, Jr., who is a senior lawyer for Northwestern University School of Law’s Tobacco Products Liability Project, says that 24 of the 35 Engle civil lawsuits that have gone to a jury since February 2009 have resulted in victories for plaintiffs. Huish’s tobacco lawsuit is an “Engle” progeny case.

Briefcase: Jury awards damages in 'Engle' progeny case, Winston-Salem Journal, February 25, 2011

Jury awards $3M to widow in tobacco suit, Gainesville.com, February 24, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Engle v. Liggett Group

Tobacco Products Liability Project

More Blog Posts:
Palm Beach Tobacco Litigation: Smokers’s Widow Gets $2.2M Award and $270K in Punitive Damages from Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, September 1, 2010

Florida Tobacco Litigation: Jury Awards $26.6 Million Ft Lauderdale Wrongful Death Verdict to Widow of Smoker who Died from Lung Cancer, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, April 1, 2010

14 years after the death of her husband from lung cancer, Liz Piendle has been awarded $2.2 million for the Palm Beach wrongful death of her husband and $270,000 in punitive damages against tobacco giants Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds. Piendle’s 55-year-old husband Charles was a smoker who lit up two packs a day for 30 decades. The 60-year-old Royal Palm Beach resident has expressed satisfaction with the Palm Beach tobacco litigation verdict.

Although jurors didn’t that find either RJ Reynolds or Philip Morris were negligent, they did hold them 55% liable for Charles’s death. They found the longtime smoker to be 45% at fault, which is why Piendle will get $2.2 million out of the $4 million they said she should receive for her pain and suffering. Piendle’s case is the first of about 300 Palm Beach County tobacco injury lawsuits to go to trial.

The cases stem from a Miami class-action complaint from that in 1999 led to a jury awarding smokers and surviving family members $145 billion in damages for tobacco companies' negligence in trying to hide that smoking was dangerous. The Florida Supreme Court tossed out the award in 2006 and ruled that smokers must file separate Florida tobacco lawsuits each explaining how tobacco companies and their cigarettes impacted them.

Piendle claimed that her husband got addicted to smoking when he was a teenager and was only able to stop seven years before he died. While the defendants argued that Charles could have quit smoking, Piendle’s tobacco litigation attorneys claimed that the “misinformation campaign” that lasted for decades wasn’t Charles’ fault.

Out of 22 Florida tobacco lawsuits decided by juries, 17 cases have gone in the plaintiffs’ favor. Tobacco companies have only won 3 cases.

Some 8,000 tobacco litigation cases have been filed in Florida.

Jury orders two tobacco giants to pay $270,000 in punitive damages to widow of smoker, Sun-Sentinel, August 20, 2010

Widow to get tobacco award, Herald Tribune, August 20, 2010

Tobacco companies ordered to pay $2.2 million to widow of smoker, formerly of Royal Palm Beach, Palm Beach Post, August 19, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Philip Morris

RJ Reynolds

Bulletin: Cigarettes Remain Dangerous to Your Health, Politics Daily, June 18, 2010

Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc., Florida Supreme Court Decision (PDF)

In Broward County Circuit Court, a jury awarded Robin Cohen, the widow of Nathan Cohen a $26.6 million Ft. Lauderdale wrongful death verdict against Philip Reynolds and Philip Morris. The Florida tobacco lawsuit stems from Nathan’s lung cancer death in 1994 and is the latest verdict issued against cigarette manufacturers involving “Engle progeny” complaints. Robin Cohen is represented by Trop & Ameen, P.A..

Nathan was a smoker from the time he was 14. He smoked from 1940 until his death in 1968. Brands he smoked included Camel, Salem, and Benson & Hedges. Even after he was diagnosed with cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart disease, Nathan found it impossible to stop smoking. He even took part in anti-smoking seminars, underwent hypnosis, and chewed nicotine gum.

RJ Reynolds and Philip Morris have been ordered to pay Robin $13.3 million. The $10 million in compensatory damages awarded was reduced to account for the 1/3rd of liability that the jury placed on Nathan Cohen.

The defendants say that they plan to appeal the verdict.

“Engle progeny” refers to tobacco lawsuits stemming from Engle v. RJ Reynolds, a significant class-action complaint filed against cigarette companies in 1994. A Florida jury ordered tobacco companies in 2000 to pay $145 billion in punitive damages to people that got sick from smoking. The Florida Supreme Court threw the award out in 2006 and decertified the class, which was made up of some 700,000 smokers in the state. Individual cases were allowed to move forward.

In the past 13 months, 13 Engle progeny cases have resulted in jury verdicts—11 of them in favor of plaintiffs. Our Miami tobacco lawyers have been successfully fighting cigarette companies for years on behalf of our clients.

Broward jury awards smoker’s widow $26.6 million, Daily Business Review, March 24, 2010

Florida jury awards $26.6 mln to smoker's widow, Reuters, March 24, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Tobacco Documents.org

Smoking and Tobacco Use, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Opening statements have been made in the Florida tobacco litigation trial against RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. and a number of other tobacco companies. Amanda Jean Hall is suing the defendants. She claims that her husband died from lung cancer in 1995 because he was addicted to nicotine in cigarettes.

According to the plaintiffs’ attorney, Arthur Hall started smoking at age 14 and kept up with the habit for most of his life. While he tried to quit on a number of occasions, he didn’t succeed until a year before his death.

Hall’s family contends that cigarette makers failed to warn consumers that they knew that cigarettes were defective in that they were addictive and could lead to serious health issues. Hall was diagnosed with cancer in 1994. The disease was found in his lymph nodes, kidney, lungs, brain, and the paratracheal area between his lungs and throat.

In 2006, The Florida Supreme Court upheld a jury verdict holding tobacco companies liable for smoking-related deaths and injuries. However, the court said that victims would have to file individual Florida wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits to prove that they were owed damages.

Cigarette smoking can cause numerous illnesses, including:

• Coronary heart disease
• Small cell carcinoma
• cerebrovascular disease
• Pregnancy complications
• Peripheral vascular disease
• squamous cell carcinoma
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• Aortic aneurysm
• Large cell carcinoma
• Cervical cancer
• Bladder cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Esophageal cancer
• laryngeal cancer
• Lung cancer
• Cavity cancer
• Pancreatic cancer
• Tongue cancer
• Stomach cancer

You may be able to hold a cigarette maker liable for your illness or loved one’s wrongful death that was caused by cigarettes.

Wrongful death trial against R.J. Reynolds opens in Gainesville, Gatorsports.com, March 2, 2010

No Clear Winners in Florida Engle Cases, JoinTogether.org, August 25, 2009

Related Web Resources:
RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company

Questions About Smoking, Tobacco, and Health, American Cancer Society

Continue reading "Tobacco Litigation: Florida Wrongful Death Trial Against RJ Reynolds Begins " »

In Florida, a Broward County jury has found that Stuart Hess was addicted to nicotine. Stuart died at 55 from cancer in 1997. His wife Elaine is suing tobacco company Philip Morris for his death. Elaine’s tobacco lawsuit claims that her husband got cancer because of his addiction and that Philip Morris conspired to hide from the public the dangers of smoking. Now, the Florida jury must determine whether the tobacco maker was at fault in causing Stuart Hess’s death and, if so, how much the company should be ordered to pay in compensatory and punitive damages.

Stuart Hess smoked up to three packs of cigarettes (primarily Philip Morris brands) a day. Elaine says her that husband, who she was married to for 32 years, believed the tobacco industry when they claimed the health risks associated with cigarettes had not been proven and that filtered cigarettes were better for you. Her Florida Tobacco attorney, Adam Trop of the law firm Trop & Ameen, P.A., contends that Philip Morris should be held accountable for failing to tell Stuart that their cigarettes could kill him. “We ask you in this case to hold Philip Morris accountable for these actions,” said Trop.

The Hess case is the first Florida tobacco lawsuit to go to trial since the state's Supreme Court tossed out a $145 billion verdict in 2006 and revoked the case's class action status. Elaine Hess was one of the plaintiffs in that class action lawsuit. 8,000 individual tobacco lawsuits have been filed since then. The Court also upheld the jury’s findings that tobacco companies purposely withheld information about the dangers of smoking, as well as the fact that smoking causes cancer and other diseases.

Our Florida tobacco litigation lawyers have spent years successfully fighting tobacco companies on behalf of smokers and non-smoker victims who have sustained serious injuries because of exposure to smoking. Contact Trop & Ameen, P.A. today to request your free consultation.

Fla. jury to decide fault in smoking trial, AP, February 14, 2009

Trial opens in Fla. widow's tobacco lawsuit, Miami Herald, February 3, 2009

Related Web Resources:

The Health Consequences of Smoking on the Human Body, CDC

Philip Morris USA