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'Popcorn Lung' Lawsuit Finally Gets Under Way 4 Years Later

DENVER (CBS4) - A man from Centennial made a very unusual claim that eating microwave popcorn gave him lung disease.

The story gained national attention when Wayne Watson filed a lawsuit four years ago and now the case is finally getting under way.

A doctor at National Jewish Hospital in Denver diagnosed Watson with "popcorn lung" and he filed a lawsuit against King Soopers. Watson claims he suffered permanent damage to his lungs and respiratory system.

He claims he ate two to three bags of microwavable popcorn a day before he was diagnosed.

A jury was seated on Tuesday. They were asked questions such as if they ate microwavable popcorn and how much of it.

Watson claims King Soopers should have known a butter-flavored compound in the popcorn was dangerous. He cites lawsuits in 2004 and 2005 in which factory workers testing popcorn quality won multi-million dollar verdicts. He has the same attorneys in his case.

The defense contends the chemicals didn't cause his problems.

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