The 10 Most Terrifying Things About Asbestos Litigation
Asbestos Litigation
Each asbestos case is unique, but the general process for defending such claims is the same. Your lawyer will require you to take depositions of the plaintiff.
The source of asbestos lawyer exposure can be numerous, not only one company or employer. That's why asbestos cases often involve multiple defendants.
Determining the Source of Exposure
Recognizing asbestos exposure is a crucial step in filing an asbestos claim. Attorneys for victims can often 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 expense 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 procedures. While attorneys are able to handle many aspects of a case they are expected to be involved in the process. This includes responding to requests for discovery and taking depositions.
Be aware that the statutes are restricted in New York, and you should seek advice from an asbestos lawyer as soon as you can. If you do not submit your claim within the prescribed time frame, you could lose out on financial compensation.
In a few instances, asbestos products made by multiple companies have been used to expose victims. In these cases, the victims lawyers might need to identify the companies that made each product, in addition to the contractors or employers who provided the asbestos-containing materials.
Asbestos litigation is the longest-running mass tort in American history, and it has been the cause of numerous bankruptcy filings filed by asbestos manufacturers. Many of these companies have established trust funds for asbestos lawsuit victims. However, asbestos defendants continue denying the evidence linking asbestos exposure to mesothelioma and lung cancer. This is despite the findings of doctors like Dr. Irving J. Selikoff and Dr. Jacob Churg.
The process of creating an Database
A lawsuit involving asbestos-related diseases or mesothelioma is different than a typical personal injury lawsuit. In many cases, asbestos litigation involves many of the same defendants (companies that are being sued) and many of the same law firms that represent plaintiffs, and a lot of the same expert witnesses.
To be able to build a successful asbestos defense, lawyers have to have access to a vast database that can identify possible exposure sources. This includes reviewing the job site, interviewing coworkers and getting documents from employers and suppliers. The process also involves the search for and interviewing nurses and doctors who can testify about asbestos exposure.
This kind of database is difficult to develop, especially if the data has been lost over time. In these situations it could be necessary to rebuild an entire insurance program and claims database, using multiple sources including loss runs, claim files internal system and defense counsel records. This could take a number of years or even years to complete.
Asbestos lawyers must also have access to a software that allows them to find potential exposure sites and to identify potential defendants. Attorneys can save time and money by having this information readily available.
Following the massive bankruptcies of many asbestos producers attorneys for plaintiffs sought new defendants to list in their lawsuits. In the end, asbestos cases in West Virginia have become defined by tri-annual consolidated trial groups where the number of defendants is paramount, and lawsuits that name less than 100 defendants are a rarity.
Identifying Defendants
The truthful basis of asbestos lawsuits is often established through discovery. Many asbestos companies have denied for decades that their products could cause harm to people, but after the lawsuits started, documents from the company were discovered to provide evidence of the dangers. These documents can be used to prove that specific products of the defendant caused injuries. To win a case, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant's product was used at his work site, that they were exposed to it by inhaling dust, and that the exposure was a significant reason for his injuries.
Since asbestos cases have multiple defendants, the process of identifying defendants is different from the typical personal injury case. By interviewing family and coworkers members, looking over invoices and work orders, getting documents from suppliers and vendors and analyzing asbestos samples taken from the plaintiff's workplace and home, it is possible to establish an information database that connects employers locations, workplaces, and products. It can also help to identify defendants if you are aware of the type of asbestos lawyer such as chrysotile or amosite.
The defendants are required to thoroughly examine these facts and identify all possible sources of exposure. This could include a review of over 40 years of records from the Social Security, tax, union, and other records of the worker. Because the time lag for asbestos-related injuries is so long, creating an accurate database is a lengthy and costly discovery.
Because of the large numbers of cases and the insufficient resources of defendants asbestos cases are often being referred to as multi-district litigation (MDL) in federal courts. This allows defendants to share their resources and reduce the duplication of discovery.
The process of creating a case
Asbestos suits require a lot of study and examination of a variety of documents. This can be particularly difficult since exposure to asbestos often occurred long before the victim developed a health issue. To identify the sources of the exposure, lawyers need to conduct interviews and review thousands of pages of documentation such as employment records, union documents social security and tax files and medical and laboratory reports.
The attorneys representing the plaintiffs must also do everything they can to locate other defendants. In some cases, there can be as many as 40 defendants. To achieve this, they must look further down the supply chain and investigate companies that may have a connection to asbestos, even if they haven't been named in the lawsuit.
This process can be very long, particularly if the claimant has mesothelioma, or other serious illnesses. It is also difficult to find witnesses and gather physical evidence.
A mesothelioma attorney will work to determine the identity of all defendants and their connections to the victim's exposure. This can involve a thorough review over the last 40 years of a victim's life, including interviews and a look at their social security as well as labor, union, and tax records.
A successful asbestos litigation strategy depends on extensive experience in a complex area of law. Since the time we were founded at the beginning of 1994, McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia has been at the forefront in asbestos litigation and is a national leader in defending businesses in multi-jurisdictional litigation that spans the entire industry. We serve as National Coordinating Counsel, and liaison counsel. We represent and represent the interests of a broad variety of defendants, including product manufacturers, distributors and contractors. We have extensive experience formulating and drafting crucial defenses such as expert testimony and jurisdictional Case Management Orders.
Prepare for trial
Lawyers must be careful in preparing their cases prior to trial to ensure that their clients' arguments and evidence are the strongest they can be. This involves reviewing medical records, making sure that all witnesses are prepared and identifying evidence to be used in the trial. This can take a lot of time in complex cases.
Many asbestos victims develop a less severe disease such as asbestosis, pleural plaque or fibrosis before the development of mesothelioma. Asbestosis can cause chest pain, coughing, and breathing difficulties.
Asbestos victims' lawyers must also examine the evidence to identify any potential defendants who could be held accountable for the asbestos attorney-related injuries. This involves interviewing family members, colleagues asbestos abatement workers, asbestos abatement employees and asbestos manufacturers, in addition to obtaining various documents.
Once a lawyer has identified a potential defendant, they must determine the liability of the person. The defendants could be businesses, individuals or government agencies. They are accountable for their negligent actions.
Congress has proposed several legislative solutions to settle asbestos lawsuits. These efforts have not been effective due to a myriad of complicated political issues. 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 nation. Our lawyers have held asbestos producers, insurance companies, and other responsible parties accountable. In Upstate New York asbestos litigation is centralized into five judicial districts, where cases are supervised by judges who have experience in asbestos matters.
The Asbestos Litigation Group welcomes all AAJ members including regular, life sustainer, President's club members. Members network and discuss legal issues and strategies on the Group's only for plaintiffs list server at the annual and winter conventions, and participate in educational seminars on asbestos litigation.