Plaintiffs in Sterigenics lawsuits seek to have cases tried in groups of 10

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Just days after a Cook County jury awarded Sue Kamuda a record $363 million in damages from Sterigenics, after finding the company liable for her cancer, attorneys returned to court on Thursday with another request.

Kamuda's attorneys, who represent hundreds of other people suing Sterigenics, asked the judge to try the rest of the cases in groups, instead of individual trials.

More than 700 people – including Kamuda's son, Brian – have sued Sterigenics, accusing the medical device sterilization company of making them sick by releasing the cancer-causing chemical ethylene oxide into the air around its now-shuttered Willowbrook plant for years.

Their attorneys say consolidating the cases into groups of 10 will speed up the trial process.

Meantime, Sterigenics, its parent company, and a predecessor corporation, have said they plan to appeal the verdict in Kamuda's case, claiming they are not to blame for Kamuda's cancer.