This Week s Top Stories About Asbestos Litigation
Asbestos Litigation
Each asbestos case is unique, but the general procedure to defend against such claims is similar. Your lawyer will require you to take depositions of the plaintiff.
The source of asbestos exposure could be many, not just one employer or business. This is why asbestos cases usually involve multiple defendants.
Find out the source of exposure
In order 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 asbestos' source. This can assist victims in obtaining compensation from companies accountable for asbestos exposure.
Mesothelioma sufferers and their families require compensation to pay for mesothelioma-related treatment. Compensation can help families cope when a mesothelioma diagnosis is announced.
Asbestos lawsuits are complex legal cases, and victims must be aware of their rights and how the process works. While attorneys can handle a variety of aspects of a case, they are expected to participate in the case. 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 as soon as you can. Failing to file a claim within the appropriate time frame could result in the loss on financial compensation.
In some cases, asbestos products made by multiple companies have been used to expose victims. In these instances, victims' attorneys may need to identify the manufacturers of each product, in addition to the employers or contractors who provided the 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 have established trust funds for asbestos victims. But asbestos defendants continue to contest evidence linking asbestos exposure to mesothelioma lung cancer or other respiratory ailments. This is despite research conducted by doctors such as Dr. Irving J. Selikoff and Dr. Jacob Churg, and Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond, among others.
Making an Database
A lawsuit involving asbestos-related illnesses or mesothelioma is different than a typical personal injury lawsuit. In many asbestos litigation cases, the plaintiffs are represented by the same law firms and the same expert witnesses.
In order to develop a viable defense in an asbestos-related case attorneys need access to a vast database that can identify potential exposure sources. This involves reviewing job sites, talking to coworkers and collecting records from employers and suppliers. This process involves locating and interviewing nurses or doctors who may be able be able to testify about asbestos exposure.
The creation of this type of database can be a challenge particularly when the data has been lost or destroyed over the course of time. When this happens, it can require the reconstruction of an entire claims database and insurance program, typically from multiple sources such as loss runs claims files, internal systems, and defense counsel records. It can take a long time or even decades to complete.
Asbestos lawyers also need access to a software that allows them locate potential exposure areas and identify potential defendants. This information is available to attorneys can save time and money.
Following the massive bankruptcy of asbestos producers the plaintiffs' lawyers were seeking new defendants to list in their lawsuits. In the end asbestos cases in West Virginia have become defined by tri-annual consolidated trial groups in which volume reigns supreme and suits naming fewer than 100 defendants are a rarity.
Identifying defendants
The factual foundation of asbestos Lawsuit lawsuits is often established through discovery. Many asbestos companies resisted for decades that their products could harm people, but when the lawsuits started, documents from the company were discovered to provide evidence of the dangers. These documents can help plaintiffs establish that certain defendants products were responsible for their injuries. To prevail in a lawsuit, a plaintiff has to prove that the defendant's products were used at his work place, that he breathed in dust from the product and that the exposure was a major factor in his injuries.
Because asbestos cases have multiple defendants, the process of identifying defendants is different from the typical personal injury case. By interviewing coworkers and family members, looking over invoices and work orders, obtaining documents from vendors and suppliers, and analyzing asbestos lawsuit samples taken from the plaintiff's work place and home it is possible to build a database that links employers, locations, and products. It can also help to identify defendants if you know the type of asbestos such as amosite or chrysotile.
The defendants are required to thoroughly review these facts, and determine all possible exposure sources. This can include a look at more than 40 years of records from Social Security, tax, union and other documents of the worker. Due to the long latency of asbestos-related injuries, it's difficult and expensive to establish an accurate database.
Due to the huge number of asbestos cases and the insufficient resources of defendants in federal courts, many asbestos cases will be assigned to a multi-district lawsuit (MDL). This gives defendants the opportunity to pool resources and avoid duplication of discovery.
Making a Case
Asbestos lawsuits require extensive research and the review of numerous documents. This can be particularly difficult because asbestos exposure often occurred years before a victim became sick. To determine the sources of the exposure, attorneys must conduct interviews and look over thousands of pages of documentation such as the employment records, union documents as well as social security and tax files as well as medical and laboratory reports.
The attorneys representing the plaintiffs must do all they can to find additional defendants. In certain cases, there could be up to 40 defendants. To accomplish this, they have to examine the supply chain to find companies that could have a nexus with asbestos, but are not included in the lawsuit.
This process can be very lengthy, especially when the claimant suffers from mesothelioma, or other serious illnesses. In addition, it is often difficult to find witnesses and get physical evidence.
A mesothelioma lawyer will identify all potential defendants, and their connection to the victim's exposure. This could involve a thorough review over the past 40 years of a victim's life, including interviews and a look at their social security and union, as well as tax records.
A successful asbestos litigation strategy requires a wealth of experience in this complex legal field. At McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia we have been at the forefront of asbestos litigation since our founding at the beginning of 1994. We are also experts in the nation's defense of businesses involved in industry-wide multi-jurisdictional litigation. We act as National Coordinating Counsel, and liaison counsel. We represent and manage the interests of a broad variety of defendants, including product manufacturers, distributors, and contractors. We have a wealth of experience creating and implementing key defenses, expert testimony and jurisdictional Case Management Orders.
Prepare for Trial
Lawyers must carefully prepare their cases prior to trial to ensure that their clients' evidence and arguments are the strongest they can be. This involves reviewing medical records and making sure that all witnesses are prepared. It also involves identifying the exhibits that will be used in the trial. This process can take a long time in cases that are complex.
Many asbestos patients are diagnosed with a less serious disease such as asbestosis, pleural plaque or fibrosis before the mesothelioma's onset. Asbestosis symptoms include a tightening of the lungs which may cause difficulty breathing, coughing, and chest pain.
asbestos lawyers victims' attorneys must also carefully review the evidence to identify any potential defendants who could be held accountable for the asbestos attorneys-related injuries. This includes interviewing family members, coworkers asbestos abatement workers, asbestos abatement experts and asbestos manufacturers, and getting various documents.
Once an attorney has identified a potential defendant, they must determine the liability of that party. The defendants could be individuals, corporations or government agencies. They are accountable for their actions that were negligent.
Congress has proposed several legislative solutions to settle asbestos lawsuits. These efforts haven't been effective due to a myriad of complicated political issues. Asbestos victims and their lawyers remain committed to holding negligent asbestos companies accountable for their actions.
Waters Kraus & Paul is an attorney firm that has handled a variety 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 matters.
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.