A jury in a U.S. District Court in Columbus awarded $50 million Monday to a man who suffered two bouts of testicular cancer, along with his wife, after he spent years drinking water contaminated with forever chemicals.

Attorneys were seeking $105 million for Travis Abbott and $15 million for his wife, Julie, of Pomeroy, Meigs County, after he lost both of his testicles to cancer. Abbott's cancer also metastasized, resulting in invasive surgery. He has been cancer-free for three years.

Of the $50 million the jury awarded the couple, all of the damages were compensatory. Abbott will receive $40 million while his wife will receive $10 million.

"This was the largest verdict yet," said Jon C. Conlin, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, part of the Birmingham, Alabama, law firm Cory Watson.

The jury found that DuPont did not act with actual malice so punitive damages were not awarded. DuPont has the right to appeal the verdict.

There was a hung jury for a second plaintiff, Angie Swartz, who was diagnosed with kidney cancer, and her husband, Teddy, of Gallipolis, Gallia County. She has been cancer free for three years. The Swartzs were seeking $11.5 million in damages.

"While we are all disappointed that the jury deadlocked in the Swartz case, we are very thankful that they saw through the excuses provided by DuPont and held the company liable for the significant harms it caused the Abbott family," Conlin said.

The Abbotts were never able to have a biological child and Travis Abbott has to take testosterone for the rest of his life.

"The Abbotts can never have true justice, but the jury told DuPont that it could no longer escape responsibility for its decades of dumping C8 (PFOA) - at least for these two victims," Conlin said.

The Swartz case marks the first time that there was no outcome in a personal injury PFAS case for a plaintiff seeking damages against DuPont. Because there was a hung jury in her case, the couple have the right to a new trial.

"Having now seen DuPont's often misleading trial tactics, we are confident that the re-trial will result in a plaintiffs' verdict for the Swartz family," Conlin said.

For years DuPont dumped per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into the air, drinking water, soil and Ohio River for years from its Washington, West Virginia, plant, according to court records. The manmade chemicals are known as "forever chemicals" because they linger in the body for years.

DuPont, and a spinoff company, The Chemours Company, did not respond to a request seeking comment Monday afternoon.

Once consumed, the chemicals can increase the risk of cancer, reduce fertility in women, interfere with hormones, negatively affect the immune system, hinder development in infants and children and increase cholesterol levels, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The original DuPont cases date back about 20 years ago across the state line in West Virginia, where a class-action suit was formed to get an epidemiological study. Thousands of residents gave blood and their medical histories for the study, which allowed researchers to make the link to the six illnesses.

Lawsuits involving 3,500 people seeking damages for illnesses resulted from the study. Those cases began more than six years ago in Columbus, with rulings in favor of three of the plaintiffs granting nearly $9 million in liability damage awards on negligence claims and $11 million in punitive damage awards total, according to court records

A fourth case that was going to trial, involving a man suffering from testicular cancer, began in 2017. But DuPont decided to settle all the pending cases involving more than 3,500 victims for $670.7 million.

The Abbott and Swartz cases are part of a new group of about 60 people seeking damages from DuPont. All of the plaintiffs suffer from testicular or kidney cancer.

Six more cancer cases have been consolidated and are scheduled to begin trial in June.

bburger@dispatch.com

@ByBethBurger

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