The 10 Scariest Things About Asbestos Litigation
Asbestos Litigation
Each asbestos case is different, but the general process to defend these claims is similar. Your lawyer will ask you to take an interview with the plaintiff.
The cause of asbestos exposure could be numerous, not only one employer or business. This is why asbestos cases typically involve multiple defendants.
Find out the source of exposure
To file an asbestos claim, it is essential to determine the source of asbestos exposure. Lawyers for victims often make use of medical records to determine the source of asbestos. This could help victims receive compensation from the companies responsible for their asbestos lawyer exposure.
Compensation is needed by mesothelioma patients as well as their families to cover the cost of expensive treatment. Compensation can also assist families in dealing with the emotional burdens of mesothelioma being diagnosed.
Asbestos cases are a complex legal issues. Victims must be aware of their rights and the process. While attorneys can handle many aspects of a case, victims are expected to participate in their case as well. This includes responding to requests for discovery and attending depositions.
It is also crucial to remember that the statutes of limitations in New York are limited, and it is crucial to consult an experienced asbestos attorney as soon as possible. Failure to file an asbestos claim within the required time frame could result in missing out on financial compensation.
In some cases, victims were exposed to asbestos products manufactured by multiple companies. In these cases, lawyers representing the victims be required to identify all asbestos-containing products as well as the companies and contractors that supplied the materials.
Asbestos litigation is the longest-running mass tort of American history. It has been the cause of numerous bankruptcy filings by asbestos manufacturers. Many of these companies have established trust funds for asbestos victims. But asbestos defendants continue to contest evidence that links mesothelioma and asbestos exposure lung cancer or other respiratory diseases. This is despite research by doctors such as Dr. Irving J. Selikoff, Dr. Jacob Churg, and Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond among others.
Making a Database
A case involving asbestos-related diseases or mesothelioma differs from a typical personal injury case. In many cases, asbestos litigation involves many of the same defendants (companies that are being sued) as well as many of the same law firms that represent plaintiffs, as well as many of the same expert witnesses.
To build a strong asbestos defense, lawyers need to have access to an extensive database that can pinpoint potential exposure sources. This includes examining the job site, talking to coworkers and obtaining documents from employers and suppliers. The process also requires finding and interviewing doctors and nurses who are able to testify about asbestos exposure.
The creation of this type of database can be challenging particularly in situations where the data has been lost or destroyed over time. In these situations it is possible to reconstruct a complete insurance program and claims database, using multiple sources, including loss runs, claim files internal system, as well as defense counsel records. This can take years, or even years to complete.
Asbestos lawyers should also have access to a software that allows them to find potential exposure sites and identify potential defendants. The information that is at the fingertips of attorneys can save both valuable time and money.
After the mass bankruptcies of asbestos producers, plaintiffs' lawyers sought new defendants to list in their lawsuits. In the wake of this, asbestos cases in West Virginia are now defined by triannual consolidated trial groups where volume is the rule and suits that name less than 100 defendants is rare.
Identifying the defendants
The factual foundation of asbestos lawsuits is often established through discovery. Asbestos companies have denied for a number of years that their products could cause harm, but after lawsuits started, documents from the company exposed evidence of the dangers. These documents can be used to prove that specific products of the defendants caused injuries. To win a lawsuit, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant's products were used at his workplace, and that he inhaled dust from the product, and that this exposure was a major reason for his injuries.
Asbestos cases often involve multiple defendants. The process of identifying them differs from a personal injury lawsuit. The most important thing is to create a database linking employers locations, products and locations by interviewing co-workers and relatives as well as reviewing work orders and invoices as well as documents from suppliers and vendors and analyzing samples taken from the plaintiff's home as well as workplace websites. It can also help to identify defendants if you know the type of asbestos, like amosite or chrysotile.
Defendants must carefully review these facts and identify all possible sources of exposure, which can involve a review of more than 40 years of a worker's existence through Social Security, union, tax and other records. Because the latency of asbestos injuries is so long, creating an accurate database requires a lot of time and costly discovery.
Due to the high volume of asbestos lawyers cases and the insufficient resources of defendants in federal courts, many asbestos cases will be referred to a multi-district lawsuit (MDL). This practice allows defendants the opportunity to share resources, and avoid duplication of discovery.
Case Development
Asbestos lawsuits require a lot of investigation and the review of many documents. This can be a difficult task, since asbestos exposure can occur years before the person who suffers from illness. In order to identify the sources of the exposure, lawyers must conduct interviews and carefully review hundreds of pages of documentation such as employment records, union documents as well as social security and tax files as well as medical and laboratory reports.
The lawyers representing the plaintiffs must do their best to locate additional defendants. In many cases, the number defendants could be as high as 30 or 40. To do so, they must look further down the supply chain and investigate entities with a possible nexus to asbestos, even if they haven't been named in the lawsuit.
This process can be very lengthy, especially when the claimant suffers from mesothelioma, or other serious illnesses. It can be difficult to locate witnesses and gather physical evidence.
A mesothelioma lawyer will identify all potential defendants, and their relationship to victim's exposure. This can involve a thorough review over the last 40 years of the victim's life, which may include interviews and a look at their social security as well as labor, union, and tax records.
A successful asbestos litigation strategy requires a wealth of knowledge of this complicated 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 firms involved in industry-wide, multi-jurisdictional litigation. We are the National Coordinating Counsel, and liaison counsel. We represent and represent the interests of a broad array of defendants, which includes distributors, manufacturers and contractors. We have extensive experience formulating and drafting key defenses including expert testimony, jurisdictional Case Management Orders.
Preparing for trial
Lawyers must carefully prepare their cases before trial to ensure that their clients have the strongest arguments and evidence possible. This involves reviewing medical records and prepping all witnesses. It also involves identifying the exhibits that will be used during the trial. This process can take a long time in cases that are complex.
Many asbestos patients develop a less severe disease such as asbestosis, pleural plaque or fibrosis before the mesothelioma's development. Asbestosis symptoms include tightening of the lungs which can cause breathing difficulties, coughing, and chest pain.
Attorneys for asbestos victims must also review the evidence to determine potential defendants that could be held responsible for the asbestos-related harms. This may involve interviewing coworkers or family members, asbestos manufacturers, asbestos abatement employees and obtaining a variety of documents.
Once a defendant is identified as a possible defendant An attorney must determine the legal liability of this party. The defendants could be individuals, corporations or government agencies. They are accountable for their wrongful actions.
A variety of legislative solutions to end asbestos litigation have been formulated in Congress. The efforts have not been successful due to a variety of complicated political factors. Asbestos victims and their lawyers are still committed to holding negligent asbestos companies accountable for their actions.
The law firm of Waters Kraus & Paul has handled hundreds of cases in New York state and across the nation. Our lawyers have held asbestos manufacturers as well as insurance companies and other responsible parties accountable. In Upstate New York, asbestos litigation is centralized in five judicial districts in which cases are assigned to judges who are familiar with asbestos issues.
The Asbestos Litigation Group is open to AAJ Regular Life, Life, Sustaining, and President's Club members. Members network and discuss legal issues and strategies on the Group's plaintiff-only list server at the annual and winter conventions and participate in educational seminars on asbestos litigation.
