The 10 Most Scariest Things About Asbestos Litigation
Asbestos Litigation
Every asbestos case is different however, the general procedure to defend against such claims is the same. Your lawyer will need to take a deposition of the plaintiff.
The source of asbestos exposure can be many, not just one employer or company. This is the reason asbestos cases typically involve multiple defendants.
Determining the Source of Exposure
To file an asbestos claim, it is important to identify asbestos exposure. Attorneys for victims can often use medical records to determine asbestos' source. This can help victims receive compensation from the companies that are responsible for asbestos exposure.
Mesothelioma patients and their families need compensation to cover expensive mesothelioma treatment. Compensation can also help families cope with the emotional burden of mesothelioma being diagnosed.
Asbestos lawsuits can be a complicated legal cases, and victims need to know their rights and how the process works. Attorneys can handle a variety of aspects of a case, they are expected to be involved in the case. This includes responding to requests for discovery and attending depositions in court.
It is also crucial to keep in mind that the statutes of limitations in New York are limited, and it is essential to consult an experienced asbestos lawyer whenever you can. If you fail to submit your claim within the specified time frame, you could lose out on financial compensation.
In some cases, victims were exposed to asbestos products manufactured by multiple companies. In these cases, 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 lawsuits are the longest-running mass tort of American history. It's the cause of numerous bankruptcy filings by asbestos manufacturers. Many of these companies established trust funds for asbestos victims. But asbestos defendants continue to challenge evidence linking mesothelioma and asbestos exposure lung cancer or other respiratory diseases. This is despite research conducted by doctors like Dr. Irving J. Selikoff Dr. Jacob Churg, and Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond among others.
Developing the Database
A case involving asbestos-related diseases or mesothelioma differs from a typical personal injury claim. In many cases, asbestos litigation involves many of the same defendants (companies who are being sued) and many of the same law firms that represent plaintiffs and many of the same expert witnesses.
To build a strong asbestos defense, attorneys need to have access to an extensive database that can identify possible exposure sources. This includes looking over job sites, interviewing co-workers and obtaining information from suppliers and employers. This involves locating and interviewing doctors or nurses who may be able provide evidence regarding asbestos exposure.
This kind of database is difficult to create, particularly if the data has been lost over time. When this happens, it can necessitate the reconstruction of an entire claims database and insurance program, typically from a variety of sources, including loss runs claims files, internal systems and defense counsel records. It can take a long time or even decades to complete.
Asbestos lawyers should also have 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 lawyers can save time and money.
Following the massive bankruptcies of asbestos producers, plaintiffs' lawyers sought new defendants to name in their lawsuits. In the end, asbestos cases in West Virginia have become defined by tri-annual consolidated trial groups in which the number of defendants is paramount, and suits naming fewer than 100 defendants are not common.
Identifying defendants
The majority of asbestos cases are founded on evidence based on facts that are discovered. Asbestos companies denied for many years that their products could cause harm, but when lawsuits began documents from the company provided evidence of the dangers. These documents can assist plaintiffs prove that a specific defendant products were responsible for their injuries. To prevail in a lawsuit, the plaintiff must show that the defendant's product was utilized at the workplace and that they were exposed to it through inhalation of dust and that exposure was a significant reason for his injuries.
Asbestos cases often involve several defendants. The method of identifying them differs from a personal injury case. The key is to build a database linking employers locations, products and locations by interviewing co-workers and relatives looking over work orders and invoices as well as documents from suppliers and vendors and analyzing samples 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.
The defendants are required to thoroughly look over these facts and determine all possible sources of exposure. This may include a thorough review of more than 40 years of records from Social Security, tax, union and other documents of workers. Because the latency of asbestos-related injuries is so long, the creation of an accurate database is a lengthy and costly research.
Due to the high volume of asbestos cases and insufficient resources of defendants in federal courts, a lot of asbestos cases will be referred to a multidistrict lawsuit (MDL). This practice allows defendants the opportunity to pool resources and also avoid duplicate discovery.
Case Development
asbestos attorneys lawsuits involve extensive research and the review of numerous documents. This can be a particularly difficult task because asbestos exposure can occur years before the person who suffers from illness. To identify the source of the asbestos exposure, attorneys must conduct interviews and go through thousands of pages of documents including employment records and union documents, tax files and social security records, medical and lab reports.
The lawyers representing the plaintiffs must do all they can to locate other defendants. In certain cases, there could be as many as 40 defendants. To accomplish this they need to look further down the supply chain and research entities with a possible nexus to asbestos, even if they haven't been identified in the lawsuit.
This process can be extremely long, particularly when the plaintiff suffers from mesothelioma or other serious illnesses. It is also difficult to locate witnesses and collect physical evidence.
A mesothelioma attorney will work to identify all defendants and the connection to the victim's exposure. This can be accomplished by a thorough analysis of over 40 years of the victim's life through interviews, as well as a look at their social security, union, labor and tax records.
A successful asbestos litigation strategy relies on a wealth of experience in a complicated area of law. At McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia we have been at the forefront of asbestos lawyer litigation since our founding at the beginning of 1994. We are also nationally recognized as leaders in the defense of businesses involved in industry-wide multi-jurisdictional litigation. We act as National Coordinating Counsel, and liaison counsel. We represent and represent the interests of a wide array of defendants, which includes distributors, manufacturers, and contractors. We have extensive expertise 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 to ensure that their clients are able to present the strongest evidence and arguments possible. This includes reviewing medical records, preparing all witnesses and identifying exhibits to be used in the case. This process can take a long time in complex cases.
Many asbestos victims have a less severe illness like asbestosis, fibrous or pleural plaques prior to the mesothelioma's onset. Asbestosis can cause chest pain, coughing, and breathing problems.
Attorneys for asbestos victims must also look over the evidence to determine potential defendants who might be accountable for the asbestos injuries. This involves interviewing coworkers, family asbestos abatement workers, asbestos abatement experts and asbestos manufacturers, and gathering various documents.
After a lawyer has identified a potential defendant, they must then determine the liability of that party. The defendants could be individuals, businesses or government agencies. They must be held accountable for their negligent actions.
Congress has proposed several legislative remedies to resolve asbestos lawsuits. However, these attempts have not been successful due to a variety of political issues. Asbestos victims and their lawyers are committed to holding negligent asbestos companies accountable for their conduct.
Waters Kraus & Paul is an attorney firm that has handled hundreds of cases in New York State and across the nation. Our lawyers have held insurance companies and other responsible parties accountable for their role in asbestos exposure. In Upstate New York asbestos litigation is centralized into five judicial districts where cases are assigned by judges with experience in asbestos-related matters.
The Asbestos Litigation Group welcomes all AAJ members, including regular, life, sustainer, and President's Club members. Members of the asbestos lawsuit (simply click the following post) Litigation Group network and discuss legal issues, strategies, and at Winter and annual conventions.