TOBACCO SPLIT DECISION
December 1st, 2003
BY PHILIP FINE
A US jury has refused to wholly blame Brown & Williamson and Philip Morris for a rare laryngeal cancer suffered by Michael S. Thompson, 52, who alleged his illness was caused by smoking. In a split decision, a Missouri circuit court jury found that Thompson was 50 per cent responsible for his cancer, because he smoked until falling sick in the 1990s, ignoring health warnings. Philip Morris was found 40 per cent at fault and Brown & Williamson 10 per cent.
ENDS
A US jury has refused to wholly blame Brown & Williamson and Philip Morris for a rare laryngeal cancer suffered by Michael S. Thompson, 52, who alleged his illness was caused by smoking. In a split decision, a Missouri circuit court jury found that Thompson was 50 per cent responsible for his cancer, because he smoked until falling sick in the 1990s, ignoring health warnings. Philip Morris was found 40 per cent at fault and Brown & Williamson 10 per cent.
ENDS
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