A federal jury rendered a $7.5 million verdict in favor of an American Pop Corn Co. employee one day after the man died of lung and heart failure related to the condition he had claimed was caused by working with buttery flavoring used to make microwave popcorn. The verdict Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa against Givaudan Flavors Corp. came after the 69-year-old plaintiff, Ronald Kuiper, passed away on Wednesday after years of battling a rare respiratory condition called bronchiolitis obliterans, known as "popcorn lung."

Kuiper, who worked as a butter flavor mixer at American Pop Corn in the 1990s, was posthumously awarded $6.05 million in compensatory damages, while his wife Conley -- also a plaintiff in the lawsuit -- was handed $1.5 million in damages "for loss of spousal consortium," according to court documents. The Kuipers' suit, filed in January 2006, originally named as defendants four companies that made popcorn flavoring used at APC, which was not a party in the litigation. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., Flavors of North America Inc. and Sensient Flavors Inc. all resolved the claims against them before trial began in February.

Learn more about butter flavoring lung injuries and the rights of workers injured by diacetyl.