YOKOSUKA, Kanagawa — The Yokosuka branch of the Yokohama District Court on Monday ordered the government to pay 76.84 million yen in compensation over the asbestos-related death of a worker at the U.S. Navy’s Yokosuka base.

The worker, Hitoshi Taima, died of the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma at the age of 51. His bereaved family had sought 94 million yen in damages from the government, saying the government, as his employer, and the U.S. Navy had failed to implement measures to protect him from asbestos particles.

The ruling said that Taima inhaled asbestos dust while working on the base as a mechanic between 1977 and 1995, mending and dismantling cooling equipment. In 2006 he was diagnosed with mesothelioma, and in May 2007 he filed a lawsuit — the first from an incumbent worker — but died just 10 days afterwards. His family carried on the lawsuit.

During the case, the government argued that it had taken necessary measures to prevent damage, but Presiding Judge Haruhiko Sakae dismissed the government’s claim, saying the government “failed to take measures such as instructing the worker to wear protective clothing and a mask,” and the court acknowledged that Taima had developed mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos dust.

About 40 people comprising former workers who developed mesothelioma, pneumoconiosis and other conditions after retiring and the bereaved families of such workers filed lawsuits relating to asbestos on the base over three occasions between 1999 and 2003, and received compensation through rulings and settlements.

Source: http://mdn.mainichi.jp