It Figures

$30.3 Million

Amount awarded to the family of a New Jersey man who died from mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer. Mark Buttitta died in 2002 at age 50; he had handled auto parts containing asbestos while working summers at giant GM warehouses in New Jersey. The six-person Bergen County jury found against Asbestos Corp. Ltd. of Canada, which provided material for GM brakes, and BorgWarner Inc. of Michigan, which made clutches. The award is believed to be the largest in New Jersey for the disease.

$5.7 Million

Amount awarded by a Baltimore jury to a man who was exposed to lead paint while he was a child living in public housing. The award includes $5.1 million for non-economic damages. Maryland adopted a cap on such awards in 1986, but a lawyer for 24-year-old Markeath Justice argued the cap did not apply because it became law after Justice’s injuries occurred.

300

Number of workers Liberty Mutual Insurance expects to have in its new, soon-to-be opened office in Springfield, Mass. The Boston-based company – the Bay State’s fourth-largest insurer – said some of that growth is due to the Commonwealth’s move to a managed competition auto insurance system.

110

Length of time, in years, since the first auto insurance policy was written. That policy was sold in 1898 by Travelers Insurance Co. to a Buffalo, N.Y. doctor who paid $12.25 for $5,000 in coverage. At the time, there were roughly 4,000 cars nationwide. In today’s dollars, that policy would have been $316.25. Today, the average car costs about $821 a year to insure.

57

The number of Boston-area bars and nightclubs that are being given more time to comply with state regulations requiring fire sprinklers. The 4-year-old regulations were adopted in the wake of Station night club fire in West Warwick, R.I., where 100 people died in 2003.

Topics New Jersey