Jurors to Decide West Virginia Cigarette Class Action
November 15, 2001
Closing statements ended this week in a historic class-action lawsuit against the Nation's four largest cigarette makers: R.J. Reynolds, Philip Morris, Lorillard, and Brown & Williamson. Attorneys for the plaintiffs, 250,000 West Virginians who smoked at least one pack of cigarettes a day for at least five years, argued that the tobacco industry lied to consumers and delayed the introduction of safer cigarettes.
The plaintiffs are seeking a screening program for early detection of lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and emphysema. Attorneys told jurors that the companies promised in the 1950's to research the health risks associated with smoking yet never fulfilled that pledge. Attorneys for the cigarette makers insist that technology simply wasn't available to make changes.
Six jurors will begin deliberations this week.
-- Article Courtesy of InjuryBoard.com
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