Connecticut Mesothelioma Verdicts and Settlements

Connecticut’s industrial footprint is smaller than Pennsylvania’s or New York’s, but the state’s 715 mesothelioma deaths between 1999 and 2017 have produced a distinctive litigation profile. Bridgeport Superior Court in Fairfield County has become a focal point for talc cases, while the submarine yards in Groton and the brake and aerospace plants in Stratford continue to generate occupational exposure claims.

Notable Connecticut Outcomes

The Plotkin Talc Verdict

On October 15, 2024, after a trial that ran September 10 through October 15, a Bridgeport Superior Court jury awarded Somers resident Evan Plotkin $15 million in compensatory damages in Plotkin v. Johnson & Johnson (docket ASB-FBT-CV21-6109520-S). Plotkin used Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based baby powder on himself starting in the 1950s and later on his children through the 2000s. The jury found J&J’s conduct was “reckless, intentional, malicious, and extremely reprehensible,” a threshold that triggered a separate punitive damages phase.

Under Connecticut law, the trial judge sets the punitive amount once a jury finds the conduct warrants punishment. On October 1, 2025, the court added $10 million in punitive damages, bringing the total to $25 million. Plotkin was represented by Dean Omar Branham Shirley LLP, which had sought a higher punitive amount than the court ultimately awarded. J&J’s motion to set aside the verdict and motion for a new trial were denied, and the company announced its intent to appeal the punitive ruling. As of April 2026, no Connecticut Appellate Court or Connecticut Supreme Court ruling on the appeal has been issued. Full case details are covered in our $25 million J&J talc verdict report.

The Barone Talc Verdict

A separate Connecticut talc case, Barone v. Blue M et al. (Bridgeport Superior, docket FBT-CV-22-6116587S, before Judge William F. Clark), produced a $22.5 million verdict for the family of Nicholas Barone. In May 2024 the jury returned $15 million in compensatory damages ($10 million to the estate and $5 million to widow Kathryn Barone), and on November 27, 2024 the court added $7.5 million in punitive damages. Barone worked as an engineer at a General Electric plastics plant and was exposed to asbestos-contaminated talc supplied by International Talc, which was acquired by Vanderbilt Minerals in 1974. Barone is one of several large talc verdicts that preceded Vanderbilt Minerals’ February 2026 Chapter 11 filing, which the company tied to $117.2 million in accumulated talc litigation costs.

Electric Boat Submarine Cases

Electric Boat in Groton is a documented asbestos exposure site. Dr. Irving Selikoff’s Mount Sinai team examined 1,000 Electric Boat production workers in 1975 and 1976 and found that roughly half showed X-ray abnormalities consistent with asbestos exposure. A 1984 follow-up study of 1,918 Electric Boat workers documented 356 deaths and significant excess mortality from lung and gastrointestinal cancers.

Individual Electric Boat verdicts with fully documented case names and dollar amounts are not widely reported in the public record. Asbestos and wrongful death actions tied to Groton exposures have been filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, but specific docket numbers, plaintiff identities, and outcomes require PACER verification before they can be reported here.

Sikorsky Helicopter Cases

Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford has been a recurring defendant or third-party exposure site. In Bagley v. Adel Wiggins Group, the family of a Sikorsky manufacturing engineer who died of mesothelioma after sanding FM-37 epoxy, an adhesive that contained 8.6% asbestos and was applied to helicopter rotor blades, won an $804,777 jury verdict against adhesive manufacturer Wyeth Holdings Corporation. The Connecticut Supreme Court reversed that verdict in SC 19835, officially released November 3, 2017, holding that plaintiffs had not produced specific testimony showing that sanding the cured FM-37 epoxy released respirable asbestos fibers.

In Dougan v. Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. (SC 20271), decided September 14, 2020, the Connecticut Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment for Sikorsky and dismissed a putative class action seeking medical monitoring for construction workers exposed to asbestos at a Sikorsky project site. The ruling held that general evidence of asbestos harm is not enough; plaintiffs must present individualized expert testimony on the need for monitoring.

Typical Compensation

Most Connecticut mesothelioma cases resolve through a mix of lawsuit settlements, trust fund claims, and, for submarine builders and Navy veterans, VA benefits.

Filing Deadlines

Connecticut’s personal injury statute of limitations under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584 is two years from when the injury was sustained or discovered, applying the state’s discoverable-injury rule. For latent asbestos disease the clock typically starts at diagnosis. Section 52-584 is also capped by a 3-year statute of repose running from the act or omission. Wrongful death claims must be filed within two years of the date of death under § 52-555. Asbestos claims against product manufacturers, including talc, brake and gasket, and insulation suppliers, are often governed by Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-577a, which sets a 3-year window from injury or discovery and a 10-year statute of repose from the date the product was sold. The 10-year repose can be material for older products and dissolved manufacturers.

Connecticut’s two-year personal injury window from discovery matches Pennsylvania’s two-year deadline and is shorter than New York’s three-year window under CPLR § 214-c. The complexity of tracing decades-old exposure at sites like Electric Boat, Raymark, and Sikorsky means investigation should begin as early as possible after diagnosis.