The 10 Scariest Things About Asbestos Litigation
Asbestos Litigation
Each asbestos case is unique however, the general procedure to defend against claims based on asbestos is the same. Your attorney will want you to take an interview with the plaintiff.
The source of asbestos exposure can be many, not just one company or employer. That's why asbestos cases often involve multiple defendants.
Identifying the source of exposure
To make an asbestos claim, it is important to identify asbestos exposure. Often, the attorneys of victims may use medical documents to determine the source of asbestos. This can assist victims in receiving compensation from the companies responsible for their asbestos exposure.
Compensation is needed by mesothelioma patients as well as their families to pay for the cost of costly treatment. Compensation can assist families in dealing with emotional stress with the mesothelioma diagnosis.
Asbestos cases are a complex legal issues. Victims need to know their rights and the procedure. While attorneys can handle a variety of aspects of a case, they are expected to participate in the proceedings. This includes responding quickly to requests for discovery and attending court depositions.
It is also crucial to remember that the statutes of limitations in New York are limited, and it is crucial to seek out an experienced asbestos attorney as soon as possible. If you don't submit your claim within the specified time period you could be unable to collect on financial compensation.
In some cases, victims have been exposed to asbestos-containing products made by multiple companies. In these instances, lawyers representing the victims will need to identify all the asbestos-containing products, and the companies and contractors that supplied the materials.
Asbestos litigation is the longest-running mass tort in American history. It has been the cause of dozens of bankruptcy filings by asbestos manufacturers. Many of these companies established trust funds for asbestos victims. However asbestos defendants continue to deny the evidence linking asbestos exposure to mesothelioma or lung cancer. This is despite the research of doctors like Dr. Irving J. Selikoff and Dr. Jacob Churg.
Making an Database
A lawsuit involving asbestos-related diseases or mesothelioma is distinct from a typical personal injury claim. In many asbestos litigation cases, the plaintiffs are represented by the same law firms as well as the same expert witnesses.
To develop a successful asbestos defense, attorneys need to have access to an extensive database that will help them identify potential exposure sources. This includes looking over job sites, interviewing co-workers and getting documents from suppliers and employers. This involves finding and interviewing doctors or nurses who may be able testify regarding asbestos exposure.
Making this kind of database can be challenging particularly when the data was lost or destroyed over time. If this happens it may necessitate the reconstruction of an entire claims database and insurance program, usually from multiple sources such as loss runs and claim files, internal systems and defense counsel records. This can take many years or even decades to complete.
Asbestos lawyers must also have access to a software that allows them to find potential exposure areas and identify potential defendants. This information is available to attorneys can save both valuable time and money.
Following the bankruptcy of a number of asbestos producers, plaintiffs' lawyers looked for new defendants for their lawsuits. As a result of this, asbestos cases in West Virginia are now defined by triannual consolidated trial groups where volume is king and suits that name less than 100 defendants is a rarity.
Identifying defendants
The actual basis of asbestos cases is often established through discovery. Many asbestos companies resisted for years that their products could cause harm to people, but once lawsuits began, company documents were discovered to provide evidence of the dangers. These documents can aid plaintiffs establish that certain defendants products were responsible for their injuries. To prevail in a lawsuit, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant's product was utilized at his workplace and that he was exposed to it through inhalation of dust and that exposure was a significant cause of his injuries.
Asbestos cases typically involve multiple defendants. The method of identifying them differs from a personal injury lawsuit. The key is to develop a database linking employers locations, products and locations by speaking with relatives and coworkers looking over work orders and invoices and obtaining documents from suppliers and vendors and analyzing samples taken from the plaintiff's residence and workplace sites. It is also a good way to identify defendants if one knows the type of asbestos, such as chrysotile or amosite.
Defendants must carefully review the facts and determine all possible sources of exposure, which can involve a review of more than forty years of a worker's existence through Social Security, union, tax and other records. Due to the long latency of asbestos-related injuries, it's difficult and costly to build an accurate database.
Due to the huge number of asbestos cases, and the limited resources of defendants in federal courts, many asbestos cases will be referred to a multi-district lawsuit (MDL). This practice allows defendants to pool resources and to avoid duplication of discovery.
The process of creating a case
Asbestos lawsuits involve extensive research and the review of numerous documents. This can be a challenge because asbestos exposure often occurred years before a victim became sick. To identify the source of asbestos exposure, lawyers must conduct interview and carefully examine thousands of documents, such as employment records and union documents, tax files and social security records, lab and medical reports.
The lawyers representing the plaintiffs must do their best to find additional defendants. In some cases, there can be up to 40 defendants. To achieve this, they must examine the supply chain to investigate companies that could have a link to asbestos but who are not mentioned in the lawsuit.
This process can be extremely time-consuming, especially if the claimant has mesothelioma or any other serious illness. It can be difficult to find witnesses and gather physical evidence.
A mesothelioma lawyer will determine all potential defendants, and their connection to the victim's exposure. This may require a thorough review of over 40 years of the victim's life through interviews as well as a review of their social security, union, and tax records.
A successful asbestos litigation strategy depends on extensive experience in a tangled area of law. At McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia, we have been at the forefront of asbestos litigation since our founding back in 1994. We are the nationally recognized as leaders in the defense of businesses involved in industry-wide multi-jurisdictional litigation. We are the National Coordinating Counsel and liaison counsel in representing and managing the interests of many different defendants, including manufacturers of products, suppliers, distributors and contractors. We have extensive experience in formulating and establishing crucial defenses, expert witness testimony and jurisdictional Case Management Orders.
Preparing for trial
Lawyers must carefully prepare their cases before trial so that their clients have the strongest arguments and evidence possible. This involves reviewing medical records, preparing all witnesses and identifying evidence to be used in the case. This process can take a long time in complicated cases.
Before developing mesothelioma, many asbestos patients develop a lesser disease like asbestosis, the pleural plaque or pleural fibrosis. where asbestos litigation taken can cause chest pain, coughing and breathing difficulties.
Asbestos victims' lawyers must also scrutinize the evidence to find possible defendants who could be held liable for the asbestos injuries. This includes speaking with family members, coworkers asbestos abatement workers, asbestos abatement employees and asbestos manufacturers, and gathering various documents.
Once a defendant is identified as a possible defendant, an attorney must determine the legal liability of this party. The defendants could be businesses, individuals or government agencies. They must be held responsible for their wrongful actions.
Many legislative solutions to solve asbestos litigation have been formulated in Congress. These efforts haven't been successful due to a range of complicated political factors. Asbestos victims and their lawyers remain determined to hold negligent asbestos companies accountable for their actions.
The law firm of Waters Kraus & Paul has handled hundreds of cases throughout New York state and across the country. Our attorneys have held asbestos producers, insurance companies, and other responsible parties accountable. In Upstate New York, asbestos litigation is handled by five judicial districts where cases are assigned to judges familiar with asbestos matters.
The Asbestos Litigation Group is open to AAJ Regular Life, Sustaining, and President's Club members. Members network and discuss legal issues and strategies on the Group's only for plaintiffs list server during the annual and winter conventions, and in educational seminars on asbestos litigation.