$7 million awarded in asbestos death of Ross man

An Allegheny County jury on Thursday awarded $7 million in damages to the family of a Ross man who died of exposure to asbestos while working at the Koppers building in Downtown and two other locations, the plaintiff's lawyer said.

The jury found Koppers Co. Inc., which was taken over by Beazer plc in 1988, to be responsible for 40 percent of the damages, said Rick Nemeroff, a Dallas lawyer who represented the family of Alphonse Tripoli.

It was unclear yesterday whether the current Koppers Holdings Inc., Downtown, which was later sold off by Beazer, is affected by the award.

Dravo Corp., which was acquired by Belgium's Carmeuse Group, and Fisher Scientific International Inc., part of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., were each found to be responsible for 10 percent. The remaining damages will be split among a litany of other defendants, mostly companies that made and sold asbestos products.

Tripoli worked on and off as a union contractor in the Koppers building on Grant Street for about seven years, beginning in 1968, Nemeroff said. He worked at Dravo and Fisher Scientific. All three job sites contained asbestos, but Nemeroff said Koppers hid what it knew about the dangers.

"Koppers failed to warn him or anybody what they knew," Nemeroff said. "The dirty little secret Koppers was trying to keep finally came out. They knew, and I guess they just didn't care."

Michael Magee, a lawyer who represented Beazer East, could not be reached for comment.

Tripoli died Jan. 20, 2006, about six months after he was diagnosed with mesothelioma -- a cancer formed by exposure to asbestos. He was 68.

His family -- including wife, Nancy, and son, Jeffrey -- filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2006.

The trial, which began last week, was heard before Common Pleas Judge Michael A. Della Vecchia. An assistant for the judge acknowledged a verdict had been reached yesterday but would not confirm the judgment amount.

In 2006, as part of a separate case, an Allegheny County judge ruled that Koppers officials knew of the dangers of asbestos since 1918, when it was a member of the National Safety Council.