GM settles asbestos death lawsuit in Defiance

Gen­eral Motors set­tled an asbestos-related law­suit yes­ter­day with the sur­viv­ing spouse of a deceased employee in Defi­ance County Com­mon Pleas Court. Sam­mie Jones worked at the GM plant in Defi­ance and died of lung can­cer in 2007. His widow, Judy, filed with the Bureau of Work­ers Com­pen­sa­tion because he had been exposed to asbestos and other work­place tox­ins, which caused his death. Work­ers Comp denied her sur­vivor ben­e­fits. GM set­tled this case, the fourth in the past year. In the other three, the cases went to trial in Defi­ance County Com­mon Pleas Court, and the juries ruled in favor of all three sur­viv­ing spouses.