US
A Florida state court jury recently awarded US$11 million in damages to a woman who alleged that her years of smoking caused her to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that resulted in two lung transplants. The jury’s award included US$7.795 million in compensatory damages and US$3.205 million in punitive damages.
Elaine Jordan, who began smoking in 1963 as a 14-year old, quit in 2002 after her first lung transplant, years after having been diagnosed with COPD, in 1993. She has since undergone the second lung transplant because of the disease. She claims Philip Morris conspired with other tobacco companies to hide the dangers of smoking cigarettes for many years, ultimately causing her addiction and lung disease.
The Jordan case is one of thousands of similar Florida lawsuits against the country’s tobacco companies. The cases arise from a 2006 Florida Supreme Court decision decertifying Engle v. Liggett Group Inc., a class action lawsuit originally filed in 1994. Although the state’s supreme court ruled each plaintiff’s case must be tried individually, it found plaintiffs could rely on certain jury findings in the original verdict, including the determination that tobacco companies had placed a dangerous, addictive product on the market and had hidden the dangers of smoking.
The jurors were asked to award US$22 million in punitive damages. Ultimately, the jury’s $3.205 million punitive verdict brought the total award to $11 million.