This week, a jury in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is in the process of determining whether cigarette maker Altria is responsible for the death of a 40-year chain-smoker who was helplessly addicted to nicotine. This case is the first of approximately 8,000 similar cases that are going to trial. In 2006, the Florida Supreme Court upheld a decision that tobacco companies knowingly sold dangerous products and hid the health risks of smoking; however, the Court threw out a $145 billion jury award for a class-action lawsuit. The Court said that each case must be proven individually.
Edward L. Sweda, Jr., attorney for the Tobacco Products Liability Project at Northeastern University Law School, commented on the proceedings: "It is highly likely that the tobacco companies will be forced to account for their decades-long, reprehensible history of corporate wrongdoing." (Sources: www.google.com/hostednews/ap)
Labels: death, liability, smoking
Posted By: Aspen Education Group
