Can heavy cigarette smoking cause lung cancer? If so, are cigarette manufacturers liable for damages? In U.S. District Court in Miami last week, these questions went to a jury for the first time. The upshot: a Solomonic verdict in which both sides could claim victory.
Miami Contractor Edwin Montholeum Green began to cough up blood around Christmas 1955. On Feb. 1, 1956, he was diagnosed as having lung cancer, too far advanced to be removed by surgery. Green died early in 1958, soon after he had given a deposition to Lawrence V. Hastings, a physician and attorney.
Said Green: he had smoked Lucky...