"Ask Me Anything " 10 Responses To Your Questions About Asbestos Litigation

Asbestos Litigation

Each asbestos case is unique, but the general process for defending claims involving asbestos is similar. Your attorney should conduct a deposition with the plaintiff.

The exposure of an individual to asbestos can come from multiple sources, not just one employer or company. This is why asbestos cases usually involve multiple defendants.

Determine the source of exposure

In order to submit an asbestos claim it is essential to determine the source of asbestos exposure. Lawyers representing victims typically use medical records to determine asbestos' source. This can assist victims in receiving compensation from the companies responsible for asbestos exposure.

Compensation is essential for mesothelioma patients and their families to cover the cost of expensive treatment. Compensation can also help families cope with the emotional burden of a mesothelioma being diagnosed.

Asbestos cases are complex legal issues. The victims must be aware of their rights and the process. While attorneys are able to handle a variety of aspects of a case, the victims are expected to be involved in the case too. This includes responding to discovery requests and attending depositions in court.

Remember that the statutes are restricted in New York, and you should consult an asbestos attorney immediately if you are able to. Failing to file a claim within the appropriate time frame could result in missing out on financial compensation.

In a few instances asbestos-containing products produced by multiple companies have been used to expose victims. In these instances, lawyers representing the victims have to determine the source of all asbestos-containing products, as well the companies and contractors that supplied the asbestos-containing products.

asbestos lawyer litigation is the longest-running mass tort in American history. It has been responsible for dozens of bankruptcy filings by asbestos producers. Many of these companies have created trust funds to pay compensation to asbestos lawsuit victims. Despite this asbestos defendants continue to deny the evidence linking asbestos exposure to mesothelioma or lung cancer. This is despite the research of doctors such as Dr. Irving J. Selikoff and Dr. Jacob Churg.

Making an Database

A mesothelioma lawsuit or other asbestos-related illnesses differs from a typical personal injury case. In many cases asbestos litigation, there are a lot of the same defendants (companies that are being sued) and many of the same law firms representing plaintiffs, as well as many of the same expert witnesses.

To be able to build a successful asbestos defense, lawyers have to have access to an extensive database that can identify possible exposure sources. This involves reviewing job sites, interviewing co-workers and obtaining documents from suppliers and employers. This involves locating and interviewing nurses or doctors who may be able provide evidence regarding asbestos exposure.

This kind of database is difficult to build, particularly when the data has been lost over time. In these instances it could be necessary to recreate an entire insurance program and claims database, using multiple sources, like loss runs, claim files internal system, as well as defense counsel records. It could take years, or decades, to complete.

Asbestos lawyers should also have access to a program that allows them to locate potential exposure sites and identify potential defendants. Having this information at the fingertips of lawyers can save time and money.

After the collapse of several asbestos producers, plaintiffs' attorneys looked for new defendants for their lawsuits. Because of this asbestos cases in West Virginia are now defined by triannual consolidated trial groups in which volume is the king and lawsuits naming less than 100 defendants is a rarity.

Identifying the Defendants

The actual basis of asbestos cases is usually established through discovery. Many asbestos companies resisted for decades that their products could harm people, but after lawsuits began, company documents were discovered to provide evidence of the dangers. These documents can assist plaintiffs establish that certain defendants products caused their injuries. To prevail in a lawsuit, a plaintiff has to prove that the defendant's product were used at his workplace, and that he inhaled dust from the product, and that exposure to the product was a major reason for his injuries.

Asbestos cases usually involve multiple defendants. The process of identifying them differs from a personal injury lawsuit. The key is to build an inventory of employers, locations and products by interviewing co-workers and relatives looking over work orders and invoices as well as documents from suppliers and vendors and analyzing samples taken from the plaintiff's home and work sites. The type of asbestos used - amosite, chrysotile or crocidolite - is helpful in identifying defendants as each product is manufactured by the same manufacturer.

Defendants are required to carefully examine these facts and determine the possible sources of exposure. This could include a thorough review of more than 40 years of records from Social Security, tax, union and other records of workers. Due to the lengthy latency of asbestos-related injuries, it is difficult and costly to build an accurate database.

Because of the large numbers of cases and the limited resources of defendants, many asbestos cases are referred to multi-district litigation (MDL) in federal courts. This practice allows defendants to share their resources and reduce duplicate discovery.

Case Development

Asbestos lawsuits involve extensive research and the examination of numerous documents. This can be particularly challenging because asbestos attorneys exposure often occurred long before the victim was diagnosed with a disease. To identify the source of exposure, lawyers must conduct interviews and go through hundreds of pages of documentation including union documents, employment records tax and social security files and medical and laboratory reports.

The attorneys representing the plaintiffs must also do everything they can to locate other defendants. In many cases, the number of defendants could be as high as 30 or 40. To accomplish this they need to look further down the supply chain and look into entities with a possible nexus to asbestos, even if they haven't been named in the lawsuit.

This process can be very time-consuming, especially when the claimant suffers from mesothelioma or other serious illnesses. In addition, it is often difficult to locate witnesses and to obtain physical evidence.

A mesothelioma attorney will work to identify all defendants and their connection to the victim's exposure. This can require a thorough review of more than 40 years of the victim's life via interviews, as well as a look at their social security, union, and tax records.

A successful asbestos litigation strategy requires a lot of experience in this tangled legal field. Since its inception at the beginning of 1994, McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia has been at the forefront of asbestos litigation and is a national leader in defending companies in multi-jurisdictional, industry-wide litigation. We serve as National Coordinating Counsel and liaison counsel, representing and coordinating the interests of many different defendants, including product manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and contractors. We have extensive expertise in developing and establishing key defenses as well as expert witness testimony and jurisdictional Case Management Orders.

Preparing for the Trial

Lawyers must be careful in preparing their cases for trial to ensure that their clients' arguments and evidence are as strong as they could be. This involves reviewing medical records, making sure that all witnesses are prepared and identifying exhibits to be used in the case. This process can take years in complicated cases.

Many asbestos victims develop a less severe disease such as asbestosis, the pleural plaque or fibrosis, prior to the mesothelioma's onset. Asbestosis can cause coughing, chest pain, and breathing difficulties.

Asbestos victims' attorneys must also carefully review the evidence to identify any possible defendants who could be held liable for the asbestos-related injuries. This may involve interviewing coworkers or family members, abatement workers, asbestos manufacturers and obtaining a variety of documents.

Once a defendant is identified as a possible defendant, an attorney must determine the responsibility of the defendant. The defendants may be individuals, companies or government agencies. They are accountable for their actions.

Many legislative solutions to solve asbestos litigation have been proposed in Congress. These efforts have not been successful due to a variety of complicated political factors. Asbestos victims and their lawyers remain committed to holding negligent asbestos companies accountable for their conduct.

Waters Kraus & Paul is a law firm that has handled a variety of cases in New York State and across the country. Our attorneys have held asbestos manufacturers as well as insurance companies and other responsible parties accountable. In Upstate New York asbestos litigation is centralized into five judicial districts, which are assigned cases by judges who have experience in asbestos matters.

The Asbestos Litigation Group is open to AAJ Regular, Life, Sustaining and President's Club members. Members meet and discuss legal issues and strategies on the group's plaintiff-only list server at the annual and winter conventions as well as in seminars for education on asbestos litigation.