BALTIMORE, June 1 (UPI) -- A Maryland man claiming he contracted a rare lung disease by breathing a chemical used to make food taste buttery has won an $814,500 judgment in a court case.
Brian Hallock was awarded $5.4 million by a jury last month in his suit against Polarome International Inc., a New Jersey chemical manufacturer and distributor, but a Baltimore County Circuit Court judge reduced the amount because Maryland has a cap on non-economic damages, The Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday.
In his suit, Hallock said he was first exposed to the chemical diacetyl in 1981 at his job at spice maker McCormick & Co. making various food flavorings and food products.
The case comes more than 10 years after the first cases of bronchiolitis obliterans were discovered at a microwave popcorn plant in Jasper, Mo.
Missouri health officials notified the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, which established a link between diacetyl and the lung disease, dubbed "popcorn lung."
Hallock, now in his 50s, has severely depleted lung capacity and plans to retire within five years, his attorney Kenneth B. McClain said.
