ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, June 20, 1996 TAG: 9606200060
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BALTIMORE
A jury ordered Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday to pay more than $14 million to the widows of two mechanics who died of cancer after being exposed to asbestos-containing brake parts.
The Baltimore Circuit Court jury deliberated for 31/2 hours over two days before awarding more than $8 million to the widow of Keith Grewe Sr. and more than $6 million to the widow of Nollie Wood.
The verdict marked the first time Ford has been held liable for asbestos exposure from its brake lining, said Scott Shellenberger, a spokesman for the law offices of Peter Angelos, which represented Grewe's widow.
``This isn't a traditional [asbestos] defendant, but it is one we expect to have in the future,'' Shellenberger said. ``What you're going to see is a lot more car mechanics who are going to get this asbestos-related disease.''
Ford spokeswoman Jennifer Flake said the Detroit-based automaker would appeal. Flake said studies conducted by Ford showed that exposure to asbestos in brake lining wasn't hazardous. The company contend the men were exposed to asbestos while working at non-mechanic jobs.
Ford stopped using asbestos in regular-production vehicles in 1992, a spokeswoman said.
Grewe was a Baltimore mechanic between 1957 and 1980. He was 55 when he died in 1993. Wood was a garage mechanic for the postal service in Baltimore between 1948 and 1952, said Deborah Hines, an attorney for his widow. He was 71 when he died in 1990.
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