A former U.S. Navy machinist has won just over $12 million in damages in a Los Angeles County Court case.

The former machinist developed a terminal illness after he was exposed to asbestos while working on a Navy ship during the 1960s. Asbestos illnesses are not uncommon in Navy veterans.

The jury ruled on the case on Monday, and the damages will come from two firms indicted in the case.

Both the manufacturer and supplier of an asbestos product must pay 66-year-old Charles H. Cundiff a large settlement. Mr. Cundiff will receive $10 million in damages for pain and suffering, as well as an additional $506,000 in economic damages for lost wages due to his mesothelioma cancer.

Cundiff’s wife was awarded also awarded damages in the amount of $1.5 million for loss of consortium.

John Crane, Inc., which made Insulag, and Lone Star Industries, which delivered the asbestos-laced insulating cement to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, sold a defective product, and did not inform consumers such as Mr. Cundiff of potential health risks associated with the products.

Mr. Cundiff handled Insulag cement during the overhauling of the USS Kitty Hawk during a nine month period in the 1960s.

Asbestos was once prized for a natural resistance to flame and chemical damage, and was used in the construction of homes and other buildings without regulation until the late seventies, when usage laws were implemented in an effort to protect people’s health. Asbestos is linked to the development of asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma, a fatal form of cancer.

Navy and shipyard workers are commonly believed to have an elevated risk of developing mesothelioma due to their proximity to asbestos. Other professions that are believed to be at an elevated risk for developing mesothelioma include mechanics, miners, and teachers.

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