Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

A Suffolk Superior Court judge has awarded $152 million in punitive and compensatory damages to the estate of Marie Evans for her Boston wrongful death. The 54-year-old Roxbury woman died of lung cancer in 2002. $71 million is for compensatory damages. $21 million of this is for her son William. $81 million is for punitive damages.

The Suffolk County wrongful death complaint blamed cigarette maker Lorillard for getting Evans hooked on cigarettes at an early age. At just age 9 she was given free samples of Newport cigarettes through a targeted marketing campaign that involved a vehicle driving through the Orchard Park housing development so free cigarettes could be doled out. Prior to her passing, Evans spoke on videotaped depositions about how she started smoking the cigarettes at age 13. She says that she was too addicted to the cigarettes that she couldn’t stop smoking them even though she tried a number of times.

Lorillard continues to maintain that it never used free cigarettes to target youths. The cigarette maker intends to appeal the Boston wrongful death verdict.

A jury awarded $71 million Tuesday to the family of Marie Evans, a deceased smoker from Roxbury, in a legal triumph against the cigarette company Lorillard, Inc. Evans’ estate was awarded $50 million in compensatory damages, and her son was awarded $21 million. A hearing on punitive damages is set for Thursday.

Plaintiffs said that Lorillard targeted black children by handing out free samples of Newports. Jurors viewed a videotaped deposition, taken weeks before Evans’ death, in which she said that she started being given the samples at only 9-years-old. She said that a man, known as “the cigarette man,” would pass out cigarettes from a white truck.

Lorillard said that Evans was responsible for her own death because she continued to smoke, even after suffering a heart attack and discovering that her father had died of lung cancer.

According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, African Americans have the highest tobacco-related mortality rate of any racial or ethnic group. Newport is the most popular cigarette brand among African-American young people, with 8 out of 10 young, black smokers choosing Newport, according to that website. Cigarette marketing has historically been more aggressive in low- income and minority communities.

Sources:

The Boston Globe, Mass. jury rules against Lorillard, awards $71M to dead smoker’s family

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Tobacco Company Marketing to African Americans

If you have lost a family member because of the negligent conduct of another person or entity, contact a wrongful death attorney today.
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Lawyers made their closing arguments in Suffolk Superior Court Monday in the first case targeting a cigarette-maker’s past practice of giving out free samples.

The attorney for the estate of Marie Evans, a Boston woman who started smoking at 13, said that the cigarette company tried to hook black children and that Evans was seduced by the samples starting when she was 9 years old. The lawyer for North Carolina-based cigarette manufacturer Lorillard, Inc. argued that the manufacturer should not be held accountable because Evans continued to smoke after learning of the health risks, receiving warnings from doctors, and suffering a heart attack 15 years ago.

Evans died of lung cancer in 2002 at the age of 54. She had been smoking Newports for 40 years. Her son, William Evans, is representing her estate in this Massachusetts wrongful death action. The trial began last month.

Many lawsuits have been brought against tobacco companies to hold them responsible for personal injury and wrongful death. These suits have been brought not only by individuals but also by government officials. They tend to involve products liability, strict liability and civil rights (for example, marketing to African Americans). The usual defenses are contributory (or in Massachusetts, comparative) negligence and the common law doctrine of “volenti non fit injuria,” which means “to a willing person, no injury is done.”

Sources:
The Boston Herald, Boston cigarette lawsuit heads to jury

The Boston Globe, Jury is asked to find tobacco company liable in woman’s death
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