Man awarded $25M after getting lung disease from popular cooking spray: ‘Nothing will give him his health back’

A Los Angeles man was awarded $25 million after developing a rare chronic lung disease known as “popcorn lung” from an ingredient that was used to be in the popular cooking spray PAM.

Last week, a jury in Los Angeles Superior Court ruled in 58-year-old Roland Esparza’s favor when it found that the Chicago-based Conagra failed to warn consumers of the dangers of inhaling fumes from the buttery spray that contained an ingredient called diacetyl, which has been linked to respiratory illness. 

Even though Conagra said at the trial it had discontinued the ingredient in 2009, Esparaza’s attorney said his client had used the spray religiously since the 1990s, thinking it was a healthy option.

“He was a big health nut, bodybuilder, martial artist,” his attorney, Jacob Plattenberger, told the Chicago Tribune. “He was eating a lot of protein, eating a lot of eggs, and he cooked everything on his stove top. And so he was using it multiple times a day.”

In 2022, Esparaza filed a lawsuit against the company alleging the abandoned ingredient was the reason he was diagnosed with bronchiolitis obliterans, an irreversible progressive respiratory disease known as “popcorn lung,” per the Cleveland Clinic.

The disease got its name after microwave popcorn plant workers in the Midwest had developed the respiratory illness from inhaling the buttery-flavored chemical in the manufacturing process. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most people have had little to no benefit from receiving medical treatment for the disease, although their cough tends to get better or go away years after they’re no longer exposed to the flavored vapors.

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Conagra said in a statement that it disagreed and was disappointed with the verdict 

It added, “PAM Butter Flavor cooking spray is safe and has been diacetyl-free for nearly two decades. We intend to pursue all available legal avenues to contest the verdict.” 

Esparza’s attorney said his client is hoping to make the list for a lung transplant “soon,” but time might be running out, as he needs a double lung transplant. 

“We feel that it was a correct verdict,” Plattenberger said. “Our client’s a really good guy who didn’t do anything wrong and got a raw deal, and hopefully this helps. Nothing will give him his health back, and even if he gets the transplant, it’s not a great life, but it will give him a few more years.”

While there have been other successful suits brought against microwave popcorn manufacturers for the ingredient that has caused the lung condition, this is the first time a verdict for this illness has been brought against the cooking spray, Plattenberger added.