A state district court jury decided Friday that Exxon Mobil Corp. failed to warn workers that offshore drilling pipes they cleaned over decades contained radioactive contamination.
Sixteen former employees of now-defunct Intracoastal Tubular Services, of Harvey, were awarded nearly $2 million as compensation for the increased risk of developing cancer. The jury declined to award punitive damages.
"We still believe that our pipe did not cause any harm," Exxon Mobil attorney Charles Gay said after the verdict.
Plaintiff attorney Tim Falcon said the former workers were disappointed by the award, but still called the finding that Exxon was at fault "a victory."
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The verdict came after seven days of deliberations. No blame was placed on Intracoastal Tubular Services.
The suit was filed in 2001 after a New Orleans jury awarded the Grefer family, which owns the property on which the pipes were cleaned, $1 billion in punitive damages against Exxon Mobil and ITCO. The family leased 33 acres for three decades to ITCO.
A state appeals court later upheld the verdict, but reduced punitive damages to $122 million.
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Information from: The Times-Picayune, http://www.nola.com