Dean Omar Branham Shirley secured $7.5 million in punitive damages from R.T. Vanderbilt for the family of an individual who died from mesothelioma. The award was covered by Connecticut Law Tribune in an article titled “$7.5M in Punitive Damages Awarded in Product Liability Case.” 

DOBS partner, Ben Braly, one of the lead attorneys on the case, discussed the damages with the publication. 

“Punitive damages serve a critical role in making everybody safer from products that could potentially harm them,” Mr. Braly said. “My hope here is that the assessment of punitive damages … makes society in general a slightly safer place than it was before. It all builds on itself. A piece here, a piece there will generally result in a safer society.”