Christopher Madeksho Wins $13.4 Million Verdict for Client in Socially Distant Asbestos Trial:
The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the United States, with more than eight million cases across the country and more than 220,000 deaths. Despite this, the justice system adapted and continued careful litigation in some cases. As a result, Christopher Madeksho and his co-counsel Alex Caggiano and Philip Chu of Weinstein Cagiiano won a $13.4 million jury verdict for a client in the first socially distant and zoom-based trial in Washington state.
The First Socially Distant Trial
The parties held jury selection and voir dire via Zoom over four days. King County Superior Court then held a socially distant trial in the Meydenbauer Convention Center in Bellevue, Washington. For the first socially distant civil trial in Washington state, the layout separated the jurors by six feet, and all the participants wore masks and adhered to social distancing rules. The jury never actually saw Madeksho’s entire face during the entire week-long trial.Madeksho noted that the potential jury panel consisted of “responsible citizens who wanted to help and get the wheels of justice rolling again in the state of Washington. […] A committee of judges scripted the entire process, and it worked well.” At trial, many of the witnesses appeared by video. The experts appeared live via zoom and one appeared in person. The plaintiff’s wife appeared in person. While Madeksho indicated that preparing for voir dire and trial in such a novel manner took more time and coordination, trial time, including jury selection, took only three and a half weeks.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr4s6s-hDL0
Historic Asbestos Verdict
The September 2020 verdict was historic in more than one way, with the jury awarding the plaintiff the largest asbestos verdict in King County. The defendant, Kaiser Gypsum Company, one of the hundreds of companies started by Henry J. Kaiser throughout the 20th Century, used asbestos in many of their products between the 1950's and 1970's. The company produced joint compound and cement and fiberboard, which all contained asbestos. The plaintiff was a retired drywall installer with Mesothelioma developed from exposure to the asbestos in building materials.If you or a loved one developed mesothelioma from asbestos exposure, you may be entitled to compensation. For a FREE consultation, call the Madeksho Law Firm at 1-888-910-MESO (6376), or contact us here. We have decades of experience helping victims of asbestos-related diseases.
