BLOOMINGTON - A McLean County jury has awarded about $5.5 million in a wrongful death suit accusing numerous companies of exposing a man to asbestos and hiding risks of the material.

The lawsuit, filed in summer 2004, alleged John Hoogerwerf was exposed to asbestos without warnings of its dangers and it caused lung cancer. He fought cancer for a little more than a year before his death on July 17, 2002.

The suit accused numerous companies of a conspiracy to hide the harms of asbestos, but last week's verdict was solely against Honeywell International Inc. Hoogerwerf installed insulation on pipes and boilers using materials sold by Bendix, which eventually became part of Honeywell.

In court documents, attorneys for Honeywell denied there was any conspiracy and further denied asbestos caused Hoogerwerf's death.

"There is no evidence that Bendix Aviation Corp. (or any of its affiliates) ever conspired with anyone concerning issues pertaining to asbestos, associated health problems, or risks arising from asbestos exposure," said a Honeywell statement issued Friday. "We will continue to vigorously defend our position, through appeal if necessary. We are confident that we will ultimately prevail as have other defendants in similar cases."

Andrew Kelly, one of the lawyers for Vickie Hoogerwerf, special administrator of her husband's estate, said John Hoogerwerf started working as an insulator in 1966 during his senior year of high school, installing insulation on pipes and boilers in power plants and industrial buildings.

Asbestos was used in the insulation for heat resistance and to bind the insulation together. The lawsuit alleges asbestos was airborne in areas where Hoogerwerf worked.

Kelly is from the Bloomington-based law firm Walker & Wylder.

The companies accused of involvement in a conspiracy were Bendix, Union Asbestos & Rubber Co., Johns-Manville Corp., Raybestos-Manhattan Inc., Abex Corp., Owens-Illinois, Owens Corning Fiberglass Corp. and Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.

The jury trial lasted nearly three weeks, Kelly said. There are no related lawsuits pending, he said.

"It is a significant verdict, but I think it covers significant damages in a case where the jury got to hear a lot of evidence of a conspiracy among these various companies and how they continued to sell products in light of knowing the hazards of asbestos," Kelly said.

Kelly said Hoogerwerf spent most of his life in Annawan, a small town north of Kewanee, and worked as a union insulator throughout central Illinois. He spent much of the early part of his career with Mechanical Insulation in Kewanee, and much of his later career working with various contractors, he said.