A Los Angeles jury has awarded $48 million to a California man and his wife after he was diagnosed with mesothelioma attributed to his exposure to asbestos while working on construction sites in Los Angeles during the 1960s and 1970s.

The verdict, awarded in two phases earlier this month, was the largest in the nation so far this year, according to an attorney at Baron & Budd who represented the plaintiffs, Bobbie and Helen Izell.