A jury awarded damages of $850,000 to the estate of a man who died from laryngeal cancer, which was allegedly caused by cigarette smoking. After calculating the jury’s comparative-fault findings, the net verdict was $170,000.

In 1996, plaintiff’s decedent John Tuttle, an electrical supply worker in his 40s, was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer. Tuttle began smoking cigarettes around 1963. He eventually smoked between 1.5 and two packs per day. He originally smoked cigarettes manufactured by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. In his 30s, he switched primarily to cigarettes made by Philip Morris USA Inc.