Philip Morris Must Pay $8 Million to Widow of Florida Chain Smoker, Jury Finds

Tobacco giant Philip Morris must pay $8 million in damages to the widow of a chain smoker who died of lung cancer, a Florida jury has ruled.

The panel of six jurors announced the damages award on February 18, 2009, ending a closely-watched case which could pave the way for thousands of similar lawsuits in the state. The jury awarded $3 million in compensatory damages plus $5 million punitive damages, which may be allowed by courts to effectively punish defendants for willful, reckless, or wantonly negligent conduct.

The money will go to Elaine Hess, whose husband, Stuart Hess, died in 1997 after smoking cigarettes for about 40 years. During the trial, attorneys for Hess argued that Virginia-based Philip Morris and other tobacco companies knowingly concealed and downplayed the dangers of smoking for decades, leading Hess and millions of others to become hopelessly addicted to nicotine in the cigarettes.

Attorneys for Philip Morris blamed Hess and said he continued to smoke against the advice of his physician and years after the government had established a link between smoking and severe health consequences, such as lung and heart disease. The attorneys noted that millions of Americans have been able to kick their smoking habit and that the fact that Hess apparently could not was not the fault of Philip Morris.

Hess’ case was the first of its kind to go to trial since 2006, when the Florida Supreme Court set aside a $145 billion class-action award for smoking victims. That record damages award was deemed excessive as a matter of law by the court, which held that suits like Hess’ against tobacco companies had to be decided individually.

There are currently about 8,000 cases pending in Florida courts filed by smokers and their relatives alleging Philip Morris and other tobacco companies acted negligently in producing and selling cigarettes while knowing the serious health risks associated with the products.

The favorable verdict and jury damages award in the Hess case is seen as a positive sign by attorneys for those thousands of pending cases.

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