Why No One Cares About Asbestos Litigation

Asbestos Litigation

Each asbestos case is unique however the process for defending claims involving asbestos is the same. Your attorney will want you to conduct a deposition of the plaintiff.

The exposure of a person to asbestos can come from numerous sources, not only one employer or company. This is why asbestos cases typically involve multiple defendants.

Determine the source of exposure

Identifying asbestos lawsuits exposure is a crucial step to file an asbestos claim. Lawyers representing victims typically utilize medical records to determine the source of asbestos. This could help victims receive compensation from the companies that are responsible for their asbestos exposure.

Compensation is required by mesothelioma patients and their families to pay for the expense of expensive treatment. Compensation can help families cope emotionally with the mesothelioma diagnosis.

Asbestos cases are complex legal issues. Victims need to know their rights and the process. While attorneys are able to handle many aspects of a case they are expected to participate in the proceedings. This includes responding to discovery requests and attending 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. Failing to file an asbestos claim within the required time frame could result in missing out on financial compensation.

In a few instances asbestos-containing products produced by multiple companies have been used to expose victims. In these instances, lawyers representing the victims will have to determine the source of all asbestos-containing products as well as the employers and contractors who supplied the asbestos-containing products.

Asbestos litigation is the longest-running mass tort in American history, and it has been responsible for numerous bankruptcy filings filed by asbestos producers. Many of these companies have set up trust funds to pay compensation to asbestos victims. However, asbestos defendants continue to contest evidence that links asbestos exposure to mesothelioma 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.

The process of creating the Database

A case involving asbestos-related diseases or mesothelioma is different than a typical personal injury case. In many asbestos litigation cases, plaintiffs are represented by same law firms and the same expert witnesses.

In order to develop a successful defense in an asbestos case, attorneys must have access to a vast database that can pinpoint potential sources of exposure. This includes examining the work site, speaking with coworkers and obtaining documents from employers and suppliers. The process also involves the search for and interviewing doctors and nurses who can testify regarding asbestos exposure.

Developing this type of database can be challenging, especially in cases where the data was deleted or lost over time. When this happens it could require the reconstruction of an entire claims database and insurance program, usually from multiple sources such as loss runs, claim files, internal systems and defense counsel records. This can take years, or even years, to complete.

Asbestos attorneys should also access to a program that permits them to find potential defendants and potential exposure sites. This information is at the fingertips of attorneys can help save time and money.

After the bankruptcy of many asbestos producers, plaintiffs' attorneys searched for new defendants to their lawsuits. As a result, asbestos lawsuits cases in West Virginia have become defined by tri-annual consolidated trial groups where volume reigns supreme and suits naming fewer than 100 defendants are not common.

Identifying the defendants

The truthful basis of asbestos cases is often established through discovery. Asbestos companies denied for many years that their products could cause harm, but when lawsuits started the company's documents provided evidence of the dangers. These documents can be used to prove that particular defendants products caused 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 cause of his injuries.

Asbestos cases typically involve multiple defendants. The process of identifying them is different from a personal injury case. The key is to develop a database linking employers locations, products and locations by interviewing co-workers and relatives as well as reviewing invoices and work orders and obtaining documents from suppliers and vendors, and analyzing samples from the plaintiff's residence and 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 pinpoint the possible sources of exposure. This can involve a review of more than forty years of a worker's existence through Social Security, union, tax and other documents. Because the time lag for asbestos-related injuries is long, establishing an accurate database requires a lot of time and costly research.

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

Making a Case

Asbestos suits require a lot of investigation and the review of many documents. This can be particularly difficult because exposure to asbestos typically occurred years before a victim was diagnosed with a disease. In order to identify the source of exposure, lawyers must conduct interviews and go through thousands of pages of documentation such as employment records, union documents as well as social security and tax files, and medical and laboratory reports.

The plaintiffs' lawyers also must do all they can to find additional defendants. In certain cases, there could be up to 40 defendants. To accomplish this, they must look further down the supply chain and investigate organizations that could have a connection to asbestos, even if they haven't been named in the lawsuit.

This process can be extremely lengthy, especially if the claimant suffers from mesothelioma, or other serious diseases. Additionally, it is often difficult to find witnesses and get physical evidence.

A mesothelioma lawyer will attempt to determine the identity of all defendants and the connection to the victim's exposure. This can include a thorough examination of the last 40 years of a victim's life. This may include interviews and a review their social security, labor, union and tax records.

A successful asbestos litigation strategy requires extensive experience in this tangled legal field. Since our founding back in 1994, McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia has been at the forefront in asbestos litigation and is a leader in the nation in the defense of companies in multi-jurisdictional, industry-wide litigation. 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 extensive experience in creating and establishing key defenses, expert witness testimony and jurisdictional Case Management Orders.

Preparing for the Trial

Lawyers must meticulously prepare their cases ahead of trial so 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 in the trial. This process can take lengthy in cases that are complex.

Before developing mesothelioma asbestos victims develop a lesser disease such as asbestosis, the pleural plaque or pleural fibrosis. Asbestosis can cause chest pain, coughing, and breathing problems.

Attorneys representing asbestos victims should also look over the evidence to identify potential defendants who could be held responsible for the asbestos lawsuit-related injuries. This involves interviewing co-workers and family members, asbestos asbestos lawyers manufacturers, asbestos abatement workers and obtaining a variety.

After an attorney has identified a potential defendant, they need to determine the liability of that party. The defendants can be businesses, individuals or government agencies. They are held accountable for their actions that were negligent.

A variety of legislative solutions to end asbestos litigation have been suggested in Congress. These efforts have not been effective due to a myriad of complicated political factors. Asbestos victims as well as their lawyers and the government remain determined to hold negligent asbestos companies accountable for their conduct.

The law firm of Waters Kraus & Paul has handled hundreds of cases in New York state and across the nation. 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, and also at Winter and annual conventions.