April 29, 2011

Jury finds for Shell in benzene wrongful death case

April 15 (Westlaw Journals) - A Los Angeles jury has found for Shell Oil Co. in a case brought by the family of a man who claimed that he died from leukemia stemming from his exposure to benzene in the company's products, according to an attorney representing the company.

The jury in the Los Angeles County Superior Court returned a defense verdict after a 17-day trial on claims for strict liability design defect, strict liability failure-to-warn and fraudulent concealment, the attorney said.

The plaintiffs dismissed their claims for negligence and negligence per se prior to trial.

According to court documents, William Head was a salesman and manager at Pemaco Petroleum Inc., a Shell chemical product distributor, during the 1980s and early 1990s.

He claimed that he developed acute myelogenous leukemia in 2006, allegedly caused by exposure to benzene in products at Pemaco and on the premises of the company's mostly print and auto shop customers.

That year, William filed a personal injury suit in state court. After he died, his widow and six children filed survival and wrongful-death claims against numerous companies, including Shell.

The plaintiff alleged the defendants' chemical products were defective because Shell failed to warn that they contained benzene and could cause cancer.

All defendants settled prior to trial except Shell.

During the trial, the plaintiffs focused on Head's exposure to 13 solvent products that Pemaco bought from Shell, including mineral spirits, naphtha and xylene, according to Shell's defense attorney.

With Judge J. Stephen Czuleger presiding, the plaintiffs argued that Shell could have reduced its solvents' benzene content at a reasonable cost, the attorney said. Additionally they alleged the company consciously disregarded the rights of Head and others by not by reducing the benzene content since it has been generally knownsince at least the early 20th century that benzene caused bone marrow-related cancers, including AML.

Shell argued that its hydrocarbon solvents, even with small concentrations of benzene, do not cause any form of cancer in humans, according to the company's defense attorney. In support, the company cited data from the U.S. National Toxicology Program and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Shell also said it did not provide a cancer warning on its solvents because it did not believe that they cause cancer, the attorney said. The company noted that Head's AML was among the 12,000 new cases of the disease every year for which no cause is known.

The plaintiffs sought millions in compensatory and punitive damages.

After one day of deliberations, the jury found for Shell, the attorney said.

Head et al. v. Shell Oil Co., No. BC358265, jury verdict returned (Cal. Super. Ct., L.A. County Feb. 10, 2011).

 

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