Wayne Watson has been getting a lot of attention from the press and online media for the $7.2 million lawsuit he just won. Watson had sued popcorn-maker Gilster-Mary Lee Corp, The Kroger Co. and Dillon Companies Inc. for allegedly being the cause of his ‘Popcorn lung’ respiratory disease.
Watson, who claims he had been eating two bags of popcorn everyday for 10 years says he got the disease by inhaling the artificial butter smell of microwave popcorn. The court awarded him $7.2 million, which Kroger has said it will appeal against. Diacetyl is the substance said to have been the primary cause of the illness. Diacetyl is an artificial flavoring used to give microwave popcorn a buttery taste.
The Kroger Co. had been enjoined in the suit as Watson claimed it had sold him the popcorn through its King Soopers store in the Denver market where 59-year old Watson resides. The court ruled that Kroger Co. was liable for 20% of the damages, while the supplier Gilster-Mary Lee Corp. was liable for 80% of the damages. The Kroger Co. said that it was in consultation with its attorney’s and will be filing the appeal this week.
Popcorn lung is the informal name for ‘Bronchiolitis Obliterans’ a life threatening respiratory disease in which the bronchioles are compressed and narrowed by scar tissue or inflammation. Some of the symptoms include dry cough, shortness of breath and wheezing. The disease had been previously found in eight former employees of the Gilster-Mary Lee popcorn plant and after an investigation it was concluded it could have been caused by the inhalation of airborne diacetyl, since they worked in the company’s production division.
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