3M Hit With $67.5M Jury Verdict in Black Lung Suit

3M was hit with a $67.5 million black lung jury verdict for faulty dust masks it manufactured, setting the bar for other possible massive liabilities in similar suits brought by Kentucky miners against the Minnesota chemical giant.

A jury in Kentucky Circuit Court for Knott County found April 23 that the breathing mask 3M manufactured, known as the 8710 respirator, allowed two miners to breathe in dust and debris that could cause pneumoconiosis, colloquially known as black lung.

The jury found one miner was 60 percent at fault for the illness and another was 70 percent at fault, ...