Georgia Court upholds partial cancer award for truck driver

The Georgia Court of Appeals rejected a request from Becton, Dickinson and Company and its predecessor, C.R. Bard, to overturn a $70 million verdict awarded to a retired truck driver.

Gary Walker won the judgment after a Gwinnett County jury found the companies liable for negligence and creating a public nuisance. The court ruling keeps the $20 million compensatory award intact but allows a new jury to decide on the remaining punitive damages.

Walker sued the companies after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2017. He claimed he suffered from cancer due to decades of exposure to ethylene oxide, a gas used to sterilize medical equipment at a plant in Covington, Georgia. Walker worked as a truck driver transporting products from the facility between 1970 and 1999 and lived within two miles of the plant for 26 years. The legal dispute centers on whether the companies acted with specific intent to cause harm.

If the jury finds no intent, Georgia law limits punitive damages to $250,000, which would reduce the total award from $70 million to $20.25 million. The companies maintain they followed state and federal requirements and used the best available technology to control emissions. The Covington plant is one of many sites involved in over 400 lawsuits regarding toxic exposure. While the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency acknowledges that ethylene oxide increases cancer risk, the agency previously granted some Georgia facilities exemptions from strict air pollution rules. Walker's attorney is now calling for the closure of the facility.