Results

• Life-changing settlement for a former shipyard worker diagnosed with mesothelioma at age 69.
• Settlement during trial for a career plumber/pipefitter at the Boston Naval Shipyard in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Our client had worked on numerous Navy ships during the FRAM (Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization) program at the shipyard, spending significant time working in the engine and boiler rooms of destroyers and cruisers.
• Pre-trial settlement for a pipefitter who worked at the Fore River Shipyard constructing new ships and submarines for the US Navy.
• Significant settlement for a planner/estimator who worked on numerous ships at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, including Navy ships and civilian LNG tankers.

Shepard O’Donnell successfully litigated the case of a family business owner who passed away from mesothelioma.  His exposure to asbestos came from performing general maintenance and repair on the company’s work vehicles at the on-site mechanic shop.  He removed asbestos-containing gaskets, brakes, and clutches from trucks and forklifts.  The Shepard O’Donnell legal team’s hard work and perseverance resulted in a six-figure settlement for their client.

Shepard O’Donnell successfully litigated the case of a construction foreman, who also maintained a hobby of racing and working on many different automobiles, and was diagnosed with mesothelioma at the age of 74.  His work in the construction industry exposed him to asbestos from the application of joint compound and the installation of ceiling tiles at many different commercial locations throughout New England and New York.  His work on the brakes, clutches, and gaskets of the automobiles that he raced during his free time also exposed him to large amounts of asbestos.  The team at Shepard O’Donnell was able to resolve this case for a significant settlement prior to the start of trial.

Shepard O’Donnell successfully litigated the case of a former merchant marine and power house engineer who died from mesothelioma. The deceased plaintiff had attended a local merchant marine academy and served as an engineer on board a number of merchant ships. After his merchant marine service, he became a power house engineer and boiler inspector. His work in the merchant marine and in power houses and boiler rooms exposed him to significant amounts of asbestos from boilers, turbines, pumps, valves and related equipment. Shepard O’Donnell obtained a significant seven-figure sum for his spouse, which helped ease her concerns about paying for the house and living expenses in the future.

• Significant Seven-figure settlement after the start of trial in an asbestos case against the manufacturers of aircraft and aircraft component parts on behalf of a former Navy aircraft mechanic who developed mesothelioma.
• Significant seven-figure settlement on the first day of trial in the case of a Navy mechanic with mesothelioma in litigation against the manufacturers of aircraft and aircraft component parts. The case was vigorously defended by the aircraft companies, and involved a tremendous amount of discovery and preparation. 
• Significant seven-figure settlements for two clients with mesothelioma in litigation against the manufacturers of aircraft and aircraft component parts. One client had been a career United States Air Force mechanic, and the other a Navy mechanic. Both cases were vigorously defended by the aircraft companies, and involved a tremendous amount of discovery and preparation. Both cases settled on the first day of trial.
• Seven-figure settlement prior to trial for a Navy Machinist Mate who was exposed to asbestos in the engine room of a Navy Destroyer.
• Seven-figure settlement on the first day of trial for a career Navy Fireman who was exposed to asbestos in the boiler rooms of several Navy ships, including Destroyers, Cruisers and Battleships.
• Significant seven-figure recovery for a career Navy Seabee and heavy equipment mechanic who was exposed to asbestos in the construction of Naval bases in the Pacific, and while teaching at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station.

Shepard O’Donnell successfully litigated the case of a career engineer who had been diagnosed with mesothelioma. The plaintiff had been exposed to asbestos while working in at a chemical plant in Springfield, Massachusetts. His work exposed him to significant amounts of asbestos from various manufacturing equipment including reactors, pumps, valves and related equipment. Shepard O’Donnell was able to obtain a significant settlement for the Plaintiff and his family.

Shepard O’Donnell successfully litigated the case of a 73-year-old gentleman who was diagnosed with mesothelioma after spending his career as an industrial painter. His exposure to asbestos came from his use of sound deadening material that he applied to the inside of industrial steam turbine covers. The Shepard O’Donnell team was able to recover a significant seven-figure settlement from the companies that manufactured the asbestos-containing sound deadening material as well as the companies for whom the steam turbine covers were manufactured, since those companies specified the use of the asbestos-containing sound deadening material. The defendants in this case produced a significant amount of documentation that the team at Shepard O’Donnell diligently examined in order to make a strong case on our client’s behalf.

• mesothelioma case that went from client intake all the way to trial in less than a year. The case was resolved while awaiting a date for jury selection to begin.
• Significant seven-figure settlement after the start of the trial in an asbestos case against the manufacturers of aircraft and aircraft component parts on behalf of a former Navy aircraft mechanic who developed mesothelioma. Our client worked at numerous Naval bases, and was exposed to asbestos through his work as an airframe mechanic. We won his case against manufacturers of airplanes, engines, brake assemblies, gaskets, clamps, hoses, and other aircraft component parts.
• Significant seven-figure sum for a man who died of mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos while working as an aircraft mechanic. The complex case involved state and federal courts, in which numerous domestic and international aviation companies were named defendants.
• Significant seven-figure settlements for aircraft mechanics in two separate cases, who developed mesothelioma due to exposure to asbestos while working on a number of aircraft at major United States Air Force bases. The federal court cases involved numerous manufacturers of aircraft and aircraft component parts. They involved complex issues of law, including successor liability, state of the art and government contractor defenses, and depositions in multiple states around the country. 
• Seven-figure settlement on behalf of a 75 year-old U.S. Army veteran who served as a crew chief of Army aircraft at multiple bases in Vietnam, and his wife. He had been exposed to asbestos from maintenance work that was performed on the brakes, engines, clamps, and other asbestos-containing components of these aircraft. After serving in Vietnam, the Plaintiff worked as a pipefitter at many different locations throughout the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts, including schools and hospitals. His work as a pipefitter exposed him to asbestos from boilers, pumps, valves, steam traps, and other equipment that he installed and maintained at these construction sites.
• Significant seven-figure settlement for our client whose career was spent repairing commercial airplanes, including repairing fiberglass cores and nose cones.

• Multiple seven-figure settlement for a 70 year-old Vietnam Marine veteran who worked as a pipefitter at Brown Company pulp and paper mills in Berlin and Gorham, New Hampshire throughout his post-military career and developed mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos during a career that spanned the 1970s through the 1990s. He testified to working with and around asbestos for many years at the paper mill, and about the numerous pumps, valves, boilers, turbines, and insulation material she worked on at the mill. Our team collected documents from many sources that proved the extensive use of asbestos at the mill and successfully prepared the case in just eight months. 

• Significant seven-figure settlement for our client, a laborer and truck driver at the MeadWestvaco Willow Mill in South Lee, MA. For many years in the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s, he was exposed to bags of raw asbestos that the mill was used in making asbestos containing paper, the asbestos used in the pumps, valves, piping around the mill, and asbestos used in other equipment in the mill in the form of insulation, gaskets, and valve packing, as a result of which he developed mesothelioma.  
• Significant seven-figure settlement for a forklift operator who worked in a number of paper mills operated by Schweitzer (now Kimberly Clark) in Western Massachusetts, including the Centennial Mill, Columbia Mill, Eagle Mill, Greylock Mill, and Niagara Mill, suffered from mesothelioma as a result of his exposure to asbestos while helping the plumbers and pipefitters repair the pumps and valves whose gaskets contained asbestos insulation. He was also exposed to asbestos through contact with his father’s clothing, contaminated with asbestos from his work in a paper mill. The case involved a number of very complicated legal issues regarding premises liability, state of the art, and concert of action but was resolved on the first day of trial.
• Seven-figure settlement for a pipefitter/welder who worked in a number of paper mills in Western Massachusetts developed mesothelioma, a terminal cancer caused by asbestos exposure. The suit involved the paper mills themselves, as well as the manufacturers of asbestos products that were used in those mills. The case involved a number of very complicated legal issues regarding premises liability, state of the art, and concert of action and was resolved on the eve of trial.
• Significant seven-figure settlement for a high school principal who had worked for several summers as a laborer at a construction company in his youth, which took him into paper mills in Western Massachusetts, where he was exposed to asbestos. The lawsuit involved a number of very complicated legal issues, including premises liability. 
• Seven-figure settlement—the largest settlement ever paid by a single asbestos defendant in Massachusetts—for a client who worked in a paper mill for his entire career and developed mesothelioma as a result. The case involved building a novel theory of liability against a defendant that was vigorously contesting liability.  

Shepard O’Donnell and his firm successfully litigated the case of a woman who died of mesothelioma. Her mesothelioma was caused by exposure to asbestos from laundering the clothing of her husband, who worked at a facility that coated and cut asbestos paper for use in making gaskets. The case involved two separate suits, due to the late discovery of documents that identified additional suppliers of asbestos paper. The case was vigorously defended and involved extensive motion practice and numerous depositions. After all the factual and legal hurdles were cleared, the case settled for a significant seven-figure sum.

Shepard O’Donnell represented the owner of a delivery home heating and oil company who was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He was exposed to asbestos while installing, removing, and servicing heating systems at various residential and commercial locations. His exposure came from the heating system removal process which entailed: cutting the asbestos insulation, smashing boilers and/or furnaces into pieces, and sweeping the remaining asbestos debris from the work area after the job was complete. The attorneys at Shepard O’Donnell vigorously fought against the Defendants to recover a significant six-figure settlement for their client.

• Shepard O’Donnell represented a 66 year-old Connecticut resident who, after an early retirement, started his own excavation and junk removal business with his sons. The Plaintiff was exposed to asbestos from removing old boilers from residential basements, breaking the boilers up and hauling them away. Unfortunately, the Plaintiff passed away before he was able to testify but his two sons were able to give detailed testimony about their father’s exposure to asbestos while working at the family business. The case resolved prior to trial for a significant seven-figure sum.
• Shepard O’Donnell successfully litigated the case of a 66 year old gentleman who spent the vast majority of his life in high school education, including a tenure as headmaster of a distinguished boarding school in Rhode Island, before being diagnosed with mesothelioma.  His asbestos exposure occurred during high school and college while he assisted as an apprentice insulator for his father’s insulation contracting business.  The team at Shepard O’Donnell was able to recover a significant seven figure settlement from companies that specified the use of asbestos insulation on their products and at their facilities.  This case involved extensive discovery and raised a number of challenging legal issues that Shepard O’Donnell was able to overcome to achieve this settlement.
• Shepard O’Donnell successfully litigated the case of a construction foreman who was diagnosed with mesothelioma at the age of 74. His work in the construction industry exposed him to asbestos from the application of joint compound and the installation of ceiling tiles at many different commercial locations throughout New England and New York. The plaintiff also maintained a hobby of racing and working on many different automobiles and his work on the brakes, clutches, and gaskets of the automobiles that he raced during his free time also exposed him to large amounts of asbestos. The team at Shepard O’Donnell was able to resolve this case for a significant settlement prior to the start of trial.
• Shepard O’Donnell successfully litigated the case of a 73 year old who gentleman was diagnosed with mesothelioma after spending his career as an industrial painter.  His exposure to asbestos came from his use of sound deadening material that he applied to the inside of industrial steam turbine covers.  The Shepard O’Donnell team was able to recover a significant seven figure settlement from the companies that manufactured the asbestos-containing sound deadening material as well as the companies for whom the steam turbine covers were manufactured, since those companies specified the use of the asbestos-containing sound deadening material.  The defendants in this case produced a significant amount of documentation that the team at Shepard O’Donnell diligently examined in order to make a strong case on our client’s behalf.
• Shepard O’Donnell successfully litigated the case of an electrician who was exposed to asbestos from wiring, installing, removing, and upgrading electrical systems at various commercial and residential jobsites in the Greater Boston area. During his career, he was exposed to asbestos from installing and removing light fixtures, fluorescent lights, breakers, switches, and electrical insulating materials. As an electrician, he also installed and removed wiring from boilers. He had to rip off the asbestos-containing external insulation in order to gain access to the wiring inside the boiler. As a result of his asbestos exposure, he suffered from mesothelioma. After a relentless fight, the Shepard O’Donnell team was able to recover a substantial six-figure settlement in this matter.
• Shepard O’Donnell successfully litigated the case of a 66-year-old gentleman who spent the vast majority of his life in high school education, including a tenure as headmaster of a distinguished boarding school in Rhode Island before being diagnosed with mesothelioma. His asbestos exposure occurred during high school and college while he assisted as an apprentice insulator for his father’s insulation contracting business. The team at Shepard O’Donnell was able to recover a significant seven-figure settlement from companies that specified the use of asbestos insulation on their products and at their facilities. This case involved extensive discovery and raised a number of challenging legal issues that Shepard O’Donnell was able to overcome to achieve this settlement.
• Shepard O’Donnell successfully litigated the case of an electrician who was exposed to asbestos from wiring, installing, removing, and upgrading electrical systems at various commercial and residential jobsites in the Greater Boston area.  During his career, he was exposed to asbestos from installing and removing light fixtures, florescent lights, breakers, switches, and electrical insulating materials.  As an electrician, he also installed and removed wiring from boilers.  He had to rip off the asbestos-containing external insulation in order to gain access to the wiring inside the boiler.  As a result of his asbestos exposure, he suffered from mesothelioma.  After a relentless fight, the Shepard O’Donnell team was able to recover a substantial six-figure settlement in this matter.

In 2019, Shepard Law brought suit against Monsanto, the manufacturer and seller of Roundup weed killer, on behalf of a group of clients that developed Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma as a result of their repeated use of Roundup. Shepard Law’s litigation team is mobilizing to make sure its clients get the compensation they deserve for their tragic injuries.

Shepard Law successfully litigated a case of a man who was injured when the propane tank that he had taken to be filled exploded. The client had taken his propone tanks to be filled at the same store for 15 years. On the occasion at issue, an inexperienced clerk over-filled the tank causing it to explode. The client was thrown backward into the side of his SUV, hitting his head and shattering the window glass. The client suffered from a concussion, shrapnel wounds and burns on his lower extremities. The client and his spouse missed time from work while he was recuperating from his injury. The Shepard Law team was able to get the client and his family a significant settlement.

In 2017, Shepard Law successfully settled a FELA action against several locomotive defendants on behalf of a diesel mechanic who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma as a result of his exposure to benzene during the course of his work. This case involved a number of very complicated legal and medical issues.  The defendants vigorously contested liability.  The case was ultimately resolved for a significant six-figure settlement.

In 2018, Shepard Law litigated a personal injury case of a young man who suffered from orbital fractures, severed tendons around his eye, facial scarring and a head injury after being struck by a bottle inside a Boston nightclub.  After conducting numerous depositions and filing several motions advocating for our client, Shepard Law was able to resolve the case for a six-figure settlement.

In 2018, Shepard Law was able to settle a personal injury case wherein the Plaintiff was hit by a motor vehicle while crossing the street in a cross walk.  The Plaintiff sustained multiple bruises, a shoulder injury and a closed-head injury.  In the initial consultation with Shepard Law attorneys, Plaintiff had not yet been diagnosed with a closed-head injury but experienced counsel quickly recognized the symptoms and suggested the Plaintiff seek further medical attention from a neurosurgeon.  Upon examination, a board-certified neurosurgeon diagnosed the Plaintiff with a closed-head injury and started her on a treatment plan to help alleviate her symptoms of pain, difficulty sleeping, headaches, and forgetfulness.  The case was settled for close to the insurance policy limits.

Shepard O’Donnell was part of a trial team that won a groundbreaking achievement by obtaining a $43.1 million verdict in a case involving cigarette smoking and asbestos exposure. The plaintiff was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2015. He had been a heavy cigarette smoker, having started smoking menthol cigarettes as a teenager in the 1950s. He had also worked for many years as an automobile brake mechanic, at one point doing 3-4 brake jobs a day, six days a week. He passed away 7 months after his diagnosis in 2015. Before he died, he gave videotaped trial testimony that was shown to the jury during trial.

The trial team presented evidence to the jury over five weeks showing our client’s addiction to menthol cigarettes, and his exposure to asbestos dust from grinding brake linings. Neither the cigarettes nor the asbestos brake linings came with a warning about their health hazards. By the time the warnings came, it was too late, the jury heard. Our client was already addicted to menthol cigarettes, and could not quit despite multiple attempts with different smoking cessation aids.

The jury heard evidence about what the tobacco companies knew about cigarette smoking by the 1950s, and were shown internal company documents that showed that the amount of nicotine was precisely calculated and manipulated to initiate and sustain addiction in smokers. Our team put into evidence documents showing that tobacco companies knew that adding menthol to cigarettes made it more likely for teenagers to start smoking, made it easier to addict smokers, and made it harder for smokers to quit.

The evidence took over a month to put on. After four days of deliberations, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the Summerlin family in the amount of $43.1 million dollars. It was the largest jury verdict in New England for 2018 and one of the top verdicts in the United States.

New England Top Verdicts and Settlements 2018

• Significant seven-figure settlement prior to trial for a 66 year-old Connecticut resident who, after early retirement, started his own excavation and junk removal business with his sons where he was exposed to asbestos while doing business. 
• Life-altering settlement for a career engineer who had been diagnosed with mesothelioma and his family. The plaintiff had been exposed to asbestos while working at a chemical plant in Springfield, Massachusetts. His work exposed him to significant amounts of asbestos from various manufacturing equipment, including reactors, pumps, valves and related equipment.
• Landmark $43.1 million verdict on behalf of the family of an automotive brake mechanic and lifelong smoker who died from lung cancer. The case was brought against both tobacco and asbestos defendants and was the largest jury verdict in all of New England in 2018, and one of the top verdicts in the entire United States. Read more about this case.
• Significant seven-figure settlement in the case of a 66 year-old gentleman who spent the majority of his life in high school education, including a tenure as headmaster of a distinguished boarding school in Rhode Island, before being diagnosed with mesothelioma. His asbestos exposure occurred during high school and college while he assisted as an apprentice insulator for his father’s insulation contracting business. The settlement was recovered from companies that specified using asbestos insulation on their products and at their facilities. This case involved extensive discovery and raised many challenging legal issues that Shepard Law overcame to achieve this successful result.
• Six-figure settlement in the case of a family business owner who passed away from mesothelioma. His exposure to asbestos came from performing general maintenance and repair on the company’s work vehicles at the on-site mechanic shop. He removed asbestos-containing gaskets, brakes, and clutches from trucks and forklifts and as a result of the hard work and perseverance of our team, his family got the financial compensation they deserved.  
• Significant six-figure settlement for the owner of a delivery home heating and oil company who was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He was exposed to asbestos while installing, removing, and servicing heating systems at various residential and commercial locations. His exposure came from the heating system removal process which entailed: cutting the asbestos insulation, smashing boilers and/or furnaces into pieces, and sweeping the remaining asbestos debris from the work area after the job was complete. 
• Significant seven-figure settlement for a 73 year old gentleman who was diagnosed with mesothelioma after spending his career as an industrial painter. His exposure to asbestos came from his use of sound-deadening material that he applied to the inside of industrial steam turbine covers. The Shepard Law team was able to recover the significant settlement from the companies that manufactured the asbestos-containing sound-deadening material and the companies for whom the steam turbine covers were manufactured, since those companies specified the use of the asbestos-containing sound-deadening material. The defendants in this case produced significant documentation that our team diligently examined to make a strong case on our client’s behalf.
• Substantial six-figure settlement for an electrician who was exposed to asbestos from wiring, installing, removing, and upgrading electrical systems at various commercial and residential job sites in the Greater Boston area. During his career, he was exposed to asbestos from installing and removing light fixtures, fluorescent lights, breakers, switches, and electrical insulating materials. As an electrician, he also installed and removed wiring from boilers. He had to rip off the asbestos-containing external insulation to access the wiring inside the boiler. As a result of his years of asbestos exposure, he suffered from mesothelioma. After a relentless fight, our team was able to recover the settlement he deserved.
• Outstanding result in a case that had been pending for several years due to the pandemic, for a 53 year-old auto mechanic and mesothelioma victim who had serviced Ford cars and trucks, and done hundreds of brake jobs. The brake pads and linings sold by Ford throughout most of his career contained asbestos, and the replacement of the brakes exposed him to significant amounts of asbestos containing dust. Unfortunately, the client died while waiting for his case to be heard, leaving behind a wife and four children, but our team had taken video-recorded trial testimony of the client before his death. It was a hotly contested case, and involved numerous depositions and dozens of discovery and pre-trial motions. The Court indicated an inclination to preclude Ford’s experts from offering the contested testimony. Once a final trial date was set by the Court, the case quickly resolved with an important win for our client’s family.
• Successful settlement for an employee of a rubber manufacturing facility who developed mesothelioma from his exposure to asbestos-contaminated talc used in the rubber making process.
• Multi-million dollar settlement for a man in his early 60s who developed mesothelioma from his work with asbestos-containing joint compound, as well as his work assembling industrial ovens that used asbestos-containing marinite board.
• Significant seven-figure settlement for a 48 year-old man who had worked as a vehicle mechanic for a municipal highway department and water department in Massachusetts. The plaintiff developed mesothelioma due to his exposure to asbestos from brakes, clutches, and gaskets used in automobiles, pickup trucks, and heavy trucks and equipment. The case involved a number of defendants who vigorously opposed the lawsuit, resulting in extensive discovery and nearly twenty expert witness depositions. The case was set to be tried in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, Massachusetts and was resolved on the third day in Court.
• Significant seven-figure settlement in the case of a woman who died of mesothelioma. Interestingly, her mesothelioma was caused by exposure to asbestos from laundering the clothing of her husband, who worked at a facility that coated and cut asbestos paper for use in making gaskets. The case involved two separate suits, due to the late discovery of documents that identified additional suppliers of asbestos paper. The case was vigorously defended, and involved extensive motion practice and numerous depositions. 
• Significant seven-figure settlement from all defendants in another high-profile mesothelioma case against Ford Motor Company and other automobile and parts manufacturers, this one on behalf of a 59 year-old auto mechanic who died from mesothelioma. His disease was caused by exposure to asbestos dust from servicing the brakes and clutches on the cars of Ford and other auto manufacturers. 

• Significant compensation for a commercial boilermaker who worked at a private school campus in Massachusetts and was exposed to asbestos in the boiler room. We were able to find records of the boiler pumps, valves, and associated equipment products sold to the school for use in the boiler room and successfully pursued these companies in court. 
• Significant compensation for a boilermaker who worked in a powerhouse at the Weymouth Naval Air Station. Shepard O’Donnell successfully sued the companies that supplied the facility’s equipment and insulation and gaskets and valve packing. 
• Significant seven-figure resolution for a 66 year-old Connecticut resident who, after early retirement, started his own excavation and junk removal business with his sons. He was exposed to asbestos from removing old boilers from residential basements, breaking the boilers up and hauling them away. Unfortunately, our client passed away before he was able to testify but his two sons were able to give detailed testimony about their father’s exposure to asbestos while working at the family business. 
• Successfully represented numerous other residential boiler installers and removers responsible for removing old sectional cast iron “snowman” boilers that were typically covered with 2-3” of asbestos as insulation. When using a sledge hammer to remove and replace these, our clients were inevitably exposed to large amounts of asbestos particles and dust. We were able to obtain significant results for each of them.
• Significant seven-figure sum for the spouse of a former merchant marine and power house engineer who died from mesothelioma. This life-changing settlement helped ease her concerns about paying for their house and future living expenses.
• Significant verdict in the mesothelioma trial of our client who worked in several Boston-area powerhouses overhauling and maintaining the piping, valves and pumps in boilers and turbine generators.
• Significant seven-figure settlement in a mesothelioma case on behalf of our client who spent his career working as an engineer in power plants and boiler rooms.
• Significant result for a former employee of Boston Edison who developed mesothelioma from his exposure to asbestos at several power plants in Massachusetts.

• Life-changing seven-figure settlement on behalf of a 75 year-old U.S. Army veteran who served as a crew chief of Army aircraft at multiple bases in Vietnam, and his wife. He had been exposed to asbestos from maintenance work on the brakes, engines, clamps, and other asbestos-containing components of these aircraft. After serving in Vietnam, the Plaintiff worked as a pipefitter at many locations throughout the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts, including schools and hospitals. His work as a pipefitter exposed him to asbestos from boilers, pumps, valves, steam traps, and other equipment that he installed and maintained at these construction sites.