Man wins $7.2M in butter flavouring 'popcorn lung' lawsuit
ROBERT BOCZKIEWICZ, REUTERS
FIRST POSTED: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 09:56 PM EDT | UPDATED: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012 02:51 AM EDT
Popcorn lung is an irreversible disease that makes it difficult for air to flow out of the lungs, according to WebMd. (Fotolia)
DENVER - A U.S. federal court jury on Wednesday awarded a Colorado man $7.2 million in damages for developing a chronic condition known as popcorn lung from a chemical used in flavouring microwave popcorn.
Jurors agreed with the claims by Wayne Watson, 59, that the popcorn manufacturer and the supermarket chain that sold it were negligent by failing to warn on labels that the butter flavouring, diacetyl, was dangerous.
The condition is a form of obstructive lung disease that makes it difficult for air to flow out of the lungs and is irreversible, according to WebMd.
Watson, of suburban Denver, was the first consumer of microwave popcorn diagnosed with the disease, bronchiolitis obliterans, his attorney Kenneth McClain said.
Watson was diagnosed in 2007 at Denver’s National Jewish Health, a respiratory health centre, after years of inhaling the smell of artificial butter on the popcorn he said he ate daily.
The verdict was the latest in a line of cases in the past 15 years, starting with workers in popcorn plants where diacetyl was an ingredient, that has linked the chemical to health problems.
Jurors found Gilster-Mary Lee Corp, the Chester, Illinois, private-labelling manufacturer of the popcorn, liable for 80 percent of the $7,217,961 damages and the King Soopers supermarket chain and its parent, Kroger Co, liable for 20 percent.
An attorney for the defendants had told jurors that Watson’s health problems were from his years of using dangerous chemicals as a carpet cleaner.
A spokeswoman for King Soopers and Kroger said the companies intended to appeal the decision. An attorney for Gilster-Mary Lee was not immediately available for comment.
Similar cases are pending in federal court in Iowa and in state court in New York, Watson’s attorney said.
McClain said he has represented microwave popcorn and flavouring workers across the United States who began suing in 2004 and have been awarded large damages.
He said Dr. Cecile Rose, a witness for Watson and one of his physicians at National Jewish Health, made the connection between his disease and diacetyl when she asked him if he had been around large quantities of microwave popcorn.
She had been a consultant to the flavourings industry and had seen the same disease that Watson had among workers exposed to the chemical.
The jury took a day to reach its verdict after a nine-day trial.
