Florida Injury Attorney Blog

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 Paige, Trop, & Ameen, PA.

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 Paige, Trop, & Ameen, PA, 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 Paige, Trop, & Ameen, PA 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