Sterigenics trial jury reaches $363M verdict in favor of woman who sued Willowbrook company

CHICAGO (WLS) — A jury has reached a verdict in favor of a girl who sued Sterigenics within the first case in opposition to the corporate to go to trial.

The jury awarded a complete of $363 million to Susan Kamoda, who sued the Willowbrook firm claiming emissions from its plant precipitated her breast most cancers and her son’s non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Kamuda had stated she doesn’t have any historical past of most cancers in her household and did not know Sterigenics was releasing the chemical.

The video within the participant above is from a earlier report.

Sterigenics accused of paying traders tens of millions to keep away from paying victims affected by air pollution

The decision exceeded the $346 million that attorneys for plaintiff Sue Kamuda requested for in closing arguments Thursday in opposition to Sterigenics, mum or dad firm Sotera Well being and its company predecessor Griffith Meals.

Kamuda is amongst greater than 700 different individuals who have sued Sterigenics because the U.S. Environmental Safety Company printed analysis in 2018 that confirmed individuals residing close to the plant acquired most cancers at charges 9 occasions above the nationwide common.

Sterigenics’ Willlowbrook facility will completely shut, firm publicizes

Sterigenics’s Willowbrook plant was briefly shut down by the state in 2019 after authorities detected ethylene oxide close by. Dealing with public strain, Sterigenics closed the plant completely.

The end result of this case will possible have an effect on the rulings within the different instances.

In closing arguments final Thursday, Kamuda’s attorneys argued that Sterigenics launched fuel at ranges 1000’s of occasions above the boundaries authorities scientists agreed had been secure. However the defendants argued that ethylene oxide fuel was by no means launched at harmful ranges, and that scientific analysis nonetheless hasn’t confirmed a hyperlink between the fuel and most cancers in people.

“We’re immensely grateful to the jury for sitting by such a prolonged trial and for offering Sue with the justice she deserves. However this verdict is about greater than Sue, it is about holding these corporations accountable. There are numerous extra instances to be tried and we hope Sue’s case units a precedent that Sterigenics can’t distort science with cash, and

they need to be held responsible for playing with individuals’s lives,” Plaintiff’s lawyer Lance D. Northcutt stated after the trial.

In response to the decision, a spokesperson for Sterigenics stated: “We don’t consider the jury verdict on this matter displays the proof introduced in courtroom. Sterigenics is evaluating the decision and plans to problem this choice by all acceptable course of, together with appeals. We’ll proceed to vigorously defend in opposition to allegations about our ethylene oxide operations and emissions. We stay dedicated to our mission of Safeguarding World Well being. As we now have persistently finished all through our historical past, we’ll proceed to function in compliance with relevant guidelines and rules to make sure the security of our staff, the communities during which we function and sufferers world wide.”

The Solar-Instances Media Wire contributed to this report.