U.S. Steel offered to settle after an Illinois jury awarded $250 million to Roby Whittington, 70, who suffers from mesothelioma attributed to asbestos exposure during 31 years of working in the company’s mill in Gary, Ind. Mesothelioma is an incurable and fatal cancer caused by asbestos inhalation.

The verdict in Illinois is the latest against corporations that did not mine asbestos or use it as a raw material, but did expose workers by using asbestos-containing products. Whittington v. U.S. Steel, No. 02-L1113 (Madison Co., Ill., Cir. Ct.).

U.S. Steel spokesman Mike Dixon said the case should have been handled as a workers’ compensation claim in Indiana. Dixon said the settlement amount was “a fraction of the verdict.” The settlement amount was not disclosed.

Plaintiff’s attorney Randall A. Bono, of counsel with the Simmons Law Firm of East Alton, Ill., said the settlement was substantially more than what Whittington would have settled for prior to the verdict.

(via The National Law Journal)