Jury awards millions for smoking death
FORT LAUDERDALE (AP) – A jury in South Florida has awarded more than more than $5 million dollars in compensatory damages to a 92-year-old man whose wife died of lung cancer.
A jury in Broward County Circuit Court decided on Thursday that Philip Morris USA Inc. should pay millions to Leon Barbanell, whose wife, Shirley, died in 1996 at age 73. Barbanell’s attorney, Steven J. Hammer, said his client was “very satisfied” with the decision. He said Barbanell “really feels like justice has finally been served.”
In a statement, Philip Morris said it planned to appeal. Murray Garnick, Altria Client Services senior vice president and associate general counsel, spoke on behalf of Philip Morris USA in the statement, saying the verdict was the result of a “severely prejudicial trial plan.”