DuPont to Pay $500,000 in Punitive Damages
In the second part of the latest trial discharges of the fluorochemical PFOA, or C8, from the DuPont Washington Works in the US state of West Virginia and their impact on drinking water safety, the jury has ordered the company to pay an additional $500,000 in punitive damages to a man who said he developed testicular cancer from exposure to the chemical in water.
Two days earlier, the Ohio federal court jury had awarded $5.1 million in compensatory damages to the 57-year-old plaintiff, David Freeman, who blames his testicular cancer on the alleged contamination.
DuPont is expected to appeal the decision as it did last year’s ruling in favor of a woman who attributed her kidney cancer to C8 in drinking water. Spin-off Chemours also has a vested interested in the case as it is expected to pay part of the bill. “The Freeman verdict will be appealed, and there are substantial legal grounds to challenge the result,” Chemours said in a statemen, adding: “This type of litigation could take place over many years, and interim results do not predict the final outcome.
Chemours now produces C6, the replacement for C8. As DuPont prepares to merge with Dow Chemical, observers said the 3,500 cases still to be tried could lead to a settlements worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
