Victor and Francesca Trinchese vs. Union Carbide, Inc.

Victor and Francesca Trinchese vs. Union Carbide, Inc.

San Francisco Jury Awards $4.2 Million to Contra Costa Electrician—the First Verdict in the United States Involving the "Bakelite" Electrical Products of Union Carbide

On July 15, 2002, a jury awarded Victor Trinchese $1.6 million in lost income and medical expenses, and $1.8 million for pain and suffering. His wife, Francesca, was awarded $800,000.00 for loss of her husband's care, comfort and society. The jury found Union Carbide’s asbestos product, "Bakelite", was a cause of Mr. Trinchese's cancer.

Victor Trinchese, a 61-year-old electrician from San Ramon, California, has malignant mesothelioma, a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. His prognosis is terminal and he has been given only a short time to live. The jury found Union Carbide was negligent in the manufacture of its asbestos-containing plastics, produced in the 1960's and 1970's, which Mr. Trinchese used in his electrical work at Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard.

The expert witnesses for Mr. Trinchese included pulmonologist Dr. Barry R. Horn (Berkeley), medical state of the art expert, Dr. Barry Castleman (Baltimore, MD), economist Dr. Barry Ben-Zion (Santa Rosa), materials specialist Mr. Richard Hatfield (Atlanta, GA), pathologist Dr. Samuel Hammar (Bremerton, WA), pathologist and pulmonologist Dr. Arnold Brody (New Orleans, LA), industrial hygienist Dr. Kenneth Cohen (El Cajon, CA) and epidemiologist Dr. Allan Smith (Oakland, CA).