This Week s Top Stories About Asbestos Litigation
Asbestos Litigation
Each asbestos case is different however, the general procedure for defending claims involving asbestos is the same. Your attorney will want to conduct a deposition with the plaintiff.
The cause of asbestos exposure can be numerous, not only one employer or company. This is the reason asbestos cases typically involve multiple defendants.
Identifying the source of exposure
The identification of asbestos exposure is a crucial step in filing an asbestos claim. Lawyers representing victims typically use medical records to determine the source of asbestos. This can assist victims in obtaining compensation from the companies accountable for asbestos exposure.
Compensation is needed by mesothelioma patients as well as their families to pay for the cost of expensive treatment. Compensation can also help families cope with the emotional burdens of mesothelioma diagnosis.
Asbestos lawsuits are complicated legal proceedings, and the victims need to understand their rights and how the process works. Attorneys are able to handle a variety of aspects of a case they are expected to be involved in the case. This includes responding to discovery requests and taking depositions.
Remember that the statutes of limitations are restricted in New York, and you must consult an asbestos attorney immediately if you are able to. If you fail to file your claim within the prescribed time frame you could be unable to collect on financial compensation.
In some instances, asbestos products made by several companies have been used to expose victims. In these instances, victims' attorneys may need to identify the manufacturers of each product, as well as the contractors or employers who supplied asbestos-containing materials.
Asbestos litigation is the longest-running mass tort in American history. It has been responsible for numerous bankruptcy filings filed by asbestos producers. Many of these companies established trust funds for asbestos victims. But asbestos defendants continue to dispute evidence linking asbestos exposure to mesothelioma lung cancer or other respiratory diseases. This is despite research by doctors like Dr. Irving J. Selikoff and Dr. Jacob Churg, and Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond, among others.
The process of creating an Database
A case involving mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases is different from any typical personal injury lawsuit. In many cases, asbestos litigation involves many of the same defendants (companies who are being sued), many of the same law firms that represent plaintiffs, as well as many of the same expert witnesses.
To be able to build a successful asbestos defense, attorneys need to be able to access a large database that can pinpoint potential exposure sources. This includes reviewing job sites, talking to coworkers and getting information from suppliers and employers. This process involves locating and interviewing doctors or nurses who may be able be able to testify about asbestos exposure.
The creation of this type of database can be a challenge, especially in cases where the data has been deleted or lost over time. If this happens, it can necessitate the reconstruction of a complete claims database and insurance program, usually from multiple sources like loss runs, claim files, internal systems and defense counsel records. This can take years, or years to complete.
asbestos lawyers (recommended you read) also need access to a software that allows them to find potential exposure sites and to identify potential defendants. The information that is at the fingertips of attorneys can save time and money.
After the collapse of several asbestos producers, plaintiffs' lawyers sought out new defendants for their lawsuits. In the wake of this asbestos cases in West Virginia are now defined by triannual consolidated trials groups in which volume is the king and suits naming less than 100 defendants is a rarity.
Identifying defendants
The majority of asbestos cases are founded by factual evidence that's later discovered. Asbestos firms have denied for many years that their products could cause harm, but when the lawsuits began, documents from the company revealed evidence of the dangers. These documents can be used to prove that certain products of the defendant caused injuries. To prevail in a lawsuit, a plaintiff has to prove that the defendant's product were used at his workplace, that he inhaled dust from the product and that this exposure was a major factor in his injuries.
Because asbestos cases contain multiple defendants, the method of identifying defendants is different than an ordinary personal injury case. The key is to build an inventory of employers, locations and products through interviews with co-workers and relatives as well as reviewing invoices and work orders and obtaining documents from suppliers and vendors and analyzing samples taken from the plaintiff's home as well as workplace sites. The type of asbestos used - amosite, chrysotile, or crocidolite - is helpful in identifying defendants because each product is manufactured by an individual manufacturer.
Defendants must carefully review these facts, and determine all possible exposure sources. This may include a thorough review of more than 40 years of records from Social Security, tax, union and other documents of workers. Due to the lengthy latency of asbestos-related injuries, it can be difficult and costly to create an accurate database.
Because of the large numbers of cases and the limited resources of defendants, many asbestos cases are being referred to as multi-district litigation (MDL) in federal courts. This practice allows defendants the opportunity to share resources, and to avoid duplication of discovery.
Case Development
Asbestos lawsuits involve extensive research and the review of numerous documents. This can be a difficult task, since asbestos exposure often occurs years before the person who suffers from illness. To determine the source of asbestos exposure, attorneys must conduct interviews and examine thousands of documents, such as union and employment records as well as tax files, social security files, medical and laboratory reports.
The attorneys representing the plaintiffs must do all 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 must investigate the supply chain to investigate companies that might have a connection with asbestos but who are not mentioned in the lawsuit.
This process is lengthy, especially when the plaintiff suffers from mesothelioma, or other serious illnesses. In addition, it can be often difficult to find witnesses and to obtain physical evidence.
An attorney for mesothelioma will try to establish all potential defendants and their connections to the victim's exposure. This may be a thorough analysis of the last 40 years of a victim's life. This may include interviews as well as a review of their social security and union, as well as tax records.
A successful asbestos litigation strategy requires a lot of knowledge of this complicated area of law. Since the time we were founded in 1994, McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia has been at the forefront in asbestos litigation and is a national leader in defending businesses in multi-jurisdictional, global litigation. We serve as National Coordinating Counsel and liaison counsel as well as managing the interests of many different defendants, including product manufacturers distributors, suppliers, and contractors. We have extensive experience in creating and establishing key defenses, expert witness testimony and jurisdictional Case Management Orders.
Preparing for trial
Lawyers must carefully prepare their cases prior to trial to ensure that their clients are able to present the strongest arguments and evidence possible. This includes reviewing medical records, gathering all witnesses and identifying exhibits to be used in the case. The process can take years long in complex cases.
Before developing mesothelioma asbestos lawyer sufferers develop a less severe disease like asbestosis, and pleural plaque. Asbestosis can cause chest pain, coughing and difficulty breathing.
Asbestos victims' attorneys must also scrutinize the evidence to identify any possible defendants who could be held accountable for asbestos-related injuries. This includes speaking with family members, coworkers asbestos abatement workers, asbestos abatement employees and asbestos lawsuit manufacturers, in addition to gathering various documents.
Once a lawyer has identified a possible defendant, they must determine the liability of the party. The defendants could be businesses, individuals, or government agencies. They must be held accountable for their actions.
Congress has proposed several legislative solutions to settle asbestos lawsuits. However, these attempts have not been successful due to a variety of complicated political motives. Asbestos victims, their lawyers and the government are committed to holding negligent asbestos companies accountable for their actions.
Waters Kraus & Paul is a law firm that has handled hundreds cases in New York State and across the country. Our attorneys have held asbestos lawyer producers 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 with experience in asbestos cases.
The Asbestos Litigation Group is open to AAJ Regular, Life, Sustaining and President's Club members. Members of the Asbestos Litigation Group network and discuss legal issues, strategies, and at annual and Winter conventions.