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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
CHICAGOA worker at a chemical-flavoring plant who was disabled by exposure to diacetyl, an ingredient in butter flavoring used in popcorn, was awarded $30.4 million by a jury, the largest amount awarded to an individual in cases involving diacetyl, a law firm said.
The Cook County, Ill., jury sided Monday with Gerardo Solis, an employee who worked at a plant owned by Downers Grove, Ill.-based Flavorchem Corp., against BASF Corp., the supplier of the diacetyl.
The award is the highest to date in U.S. cases involving popcorn and butter-flavoring worker lawsuits, according to Independence, Mo.-based Humphrey Farrington & McClain P.C., the firm that represented Mr. Solis.
The highest amount previously granted by a jury in cases like Mr. Solis’ was $20 million against Bush Boake Allen Inc. and International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. in 2004.
Mr. Solis worked at the Flavorchem plant in the Chicago area between 1998 and 2006, when he was diagnosed with bronchiolitis obliterans, a rare lung disease that left him with 25% of normal lung capacity.
BASF, with North American headquarters in Florham Park, N.J., did not immediately respond to requests for comment.