Multi Million Dollar Asbestos Lawsuit Won: Blame - Dental Tape Castings from Detsply

Marvin Penn was diagnosed with mesothelioma and, in June, was awarded a 16 million dollar verdict in an asbestos-related lawsuit. This is believed to the first asbestos lawsuit that named a dental tape manufacturer as a defendant.

Marvin was a postal carrier who was thinking of changing jobs in the 1960’s so he enrolled in a dental technician school. There he was exposed to asbestos in making dental castings because the dental tape used contained asbestos.

Initially, there were two dental tape manufacturers named in the suit but one, Dentsply, settled before the verdict. Twenty percent of the liability was assigned to Dentsply; another twenty percent was assigned to Kerr Corporation, the other dental tape manufacturer.

Penn also worked at a post office near the World Trade Center and was there at a time when the building was being sprayed with an asbestos spray. The jury attributed 40 percent of the liability to the spray.

The remaining 20 percent of the liability was assigned to Todd Shipyards where Penn’s father had worked as a steamfitter. Therefore, Penn had risk of secondary asbestos exposure.

Interesting case and verdict. Who would have thought that dental tape contained asbestos? Another point made in this decision is how even the secondary asbestos exposure can lead to lung disease such as mesothelioma and asbestosis.