Open cigarette pack. Photo: Shutterstock.com.Estate of Man Who Died From Smoking-Related Lung Cancer Awarded $1M
A jury awards $1 million in a Palm Beach Circuit Court retrial after a 2013 verdict was reversed.
March 18, 2019 at 01:34 PM
2 minute read
PRODUCTS LIABILITY
PALM BEACH CIRCUIT COURT
A jury awarded $1 million to the estate of a longtime smoker who died from stage 4 lung cancer in 1995.
The defense appealed a 2013 verdict, and the matter returned to circuit court for a retrial. The widow of Frank Gafney alleged tobacco companies used propaganda to convince people, such as Gafney, that there was no proof cigarette smoking caused cancer and to create a spurious debate about the health harms of smoking and the addictive nature of nicotine. The estate also alleged Gafney was addicted to cigarettes and relied on the alleged propaganda to his detriment.
Counsel for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. argued Gafney's cause of death was a pulmonary embolism unrelated to lung cancer.
Case: Estate of Gafney v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco
Case No.: 50-2007-CA-020540-XXXX-MB
Plaintiffs attorneys: James W. Gustafson Jr. and Cameron M. Kennedy, Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, Tallahassee, and David J. Sales, David J. Sales P.A., Sarasota
Defense attorneys: W. Randall Bassett and James Cone, Atlanta, and Scott M. Edson, Washington, King & Spalding
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