5 Laws Everyone Working In Asbestos Litigation Should Know

Asbestos Litigation

Each asbestos case is unique however the process for defending claims involving asbestos is the same. Your attorney should take a deposition of the plaintiff.

A person's exposure to asbestos can be triggered by numerous sources, not only one employer or company. This is why asbestos cases typically involve multiple defendants.

Find out the source of exposure

The identification of asbestos exposure is a crucial step in filing an asbestos claim. Often, the attorneys of victims can work with medical records to determine the source of asbestos. This can help victims get compensation from the companies that are responsible for their asbestos exposure.

Mesothelioma victims and their families need compensation to pay for mesothelioma-related treatment. Compensation can help families cope emotionally when a mesothelioma diagnosis is announced.

Asbestos lawsuits can be a complicated legal proceedings, and the victims must be aware of their rights and the way in which the process operates. While attorneys are able to handle a variety of aspects of a case, the victims are expected to be involved in their case as well. This includes responding to requests for discovery and taking depositions.

Remember that the statutes of limitations are limited in New York, and you should consult an asbestos attorney immediately if you are able to. If you fail to submit your claim within the prescribed time period you could be denied on financial compensation.

In some cases victims have been exposed to asbestos-containing products made by several companies. In these instances, victims lawyers may be required to identify the companies that made each product, in addition to the employers or contractors who supplied the asbestos-containing products.

Asbestos litigation has been the longest-running mass tort in American history. It is the cause of numerous bankruptcy filings by asbestos manufacturers. Many of these companies established trust funds for asbestos victims. Despite this asbestos defendants continue to deny the evidence linking asbestos exposure to mesothelioma or lung cancer. This is despite the research of doctors such as Dr. Irving J. Selikoff and Dr. Jacob Churg.

Developing a Database

A lawsuit involving asbestos lawsuit-related illnesses or mesothelioma differs from a typical personal injury lawsuit. In a lot of asbestos litigation cases, the plaintiffs are represented by same law firms and same expert witnesses.

To develop a successful asbestos defense, lawyers need to have access to a vast database that can identify possible exposure sources. This involves reviewing the websites of employers, speaking with coworkers and obtaining information from suppliers and employers. This also involves finding and interviewing nurses and doctors who can testify regarding asbestos exposure.

Developing this type of database can be a challenge particularly in situations where the data has been lost or destroyed over the course of time. In these situations, it may be necessary to reconstruct the entire insurance program and claims database using multiple sources such as loss runs and claim files internal system, as well as defense counsel records. It can take a long time or even decades to complete.

Asbestos lawyers must also have access to a software that allows them locate potential exposure sites and identify potential defendants. Lawyers can save time and money by having this information readily available.

After the bankruptcy of many asbestos producers, plaintiffs' lawyers sought out new defendants for 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 naming less than 100 defendants is a rarity.

Identifying the Defendants

The factual foundation of asbestos lawsuits 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 assist plaintiffs prove that a specific defendant products caused their injuries. In order to win a lawsuit a plaintiff has to prove that the defendant's product were used at his work place, that he breathed in dust from the product, and that the exposure was a major reason for his injuries.

Since asbestos cases have multiple defendants, the method of identifying defendants is different from an ordinary personal injury case. The most important thing is to create a database linking employers, locations and products through interviews with co-workers and relatives looking over work orders and invoices, obtaining documents from vendors and suppliers and analyzing samples from the plaintiff's home as well as workplace sites. It is also possible to identify defendants if you know the type of asbestos, such as chrysotile or amosite.

The defendants must be attentive to these facts and identify all possible sources of exposure, which may require a review of more than 40 years of a person's life through Social Security, union, tax and other documents. Because of the long time lag of asbestos-related injuries, it is difficult and costly to create an accurate database.

Due to the sheer number of cases and limited resources of defendants asbestos cases are often referred to multi-district litigation (MDL) in federal courts. This practice allows defendants to share resources, and avoid duplication of discovery.

The process of creating a case

Asbestos lawsuits require a lot of research and the examination of many documents. This can be a difficult task, since asbestos exposure often occurs years before the victim becomes ill. To determine the source of the asbestos exposure, lawyers must conduct an interview and examine thousands of documents, such as employment records and union documents as well as tax files, social security files, lab and medical reports.

The lawyers representing the plaintiffs must do all they can to identify other defendants. In some cases, there can be as many as 40 defendants. To accomplish this they need to look further down the supply chain and investigate organizations that could have a connection 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 find witnesses and collect physical evidence.

A mesothelioma lawyer will establish the potential defendants and their connection to victim's exposure. This could be a thorough analysis of the past 40 years of a victim's life, including interviews and a look at their social security, labor, union and tax records.

A successful asbestos litigation strategy depends on extensive experience in a complicated area of law. Since its inception in 1994, McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia has been at the forefront in asbestos litigation and is a national leader in the defense of companies in multi-jurisdictional litigation that spans the entire industry. We serve as National Coordinating Counsel and liaison counsel, representing and representing the interests of a variety of different defendants, including product manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and contractors. We have a wealth of experience establishing and developing important defenses, expert testimony and jurisdictional Case Management Orders.

Prepare for Trial

Lawyers must meticulously prepare their cases for trial to ensure that their clients' arguments and evidence are the strongest they can be. This includes reviewing medical records, making sure that all witnesses are prepared and identifying evidence to be used in the case. This process can take years in complicated cases.

Many asbestos victims are diagnosed with a less serious disease like asbestosis, pleural plaque or fibrosis before the development of mesothelioma. Asbestosis symptoms include tightening of the lungs that could cause breathing problems, coughing and chest pain.

Asbestos victims' attorneys must also scrutinize the evidence to find potential defendants who could be held accountable for the asbestos-related injuries. This may involve interviewing coworkers or family members, asbestos attorney manufacturers, asbestos abatement employees and obtaining various documents.

Once a defendant has been identified An attorney must determine the legal liability of the defendant. The defendants may be individuals, corporations or governmental agencies. They must be held accountable for their wrongful actions.

Congress has enacted a number of legislative solutions to end asbestos lawsuits. However, these initiatives have failed due to a number of complicated political motives. Asbestos victims as well as their lawyers and the government are determined to hold asbestos companies accountable for their behavior.

Waters Kraus & Paul is a law firm that has handled hundreds cases in New York State and across the country. Our attorneys have held asbestos producers as well as 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 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, as well as at annual and Winter conventions.