4 Dirty Little Details About Asbestos Litigation Industry Asbestos Litigation Industry
Asbestos Litigation
Every asbestos case is different, but the general procedure for defending against claims based on asbestos is the same. Your attorney will want to take a deposition of the plaintiff.
The exposure of a person to asbestos can come from multiple sources, not just a single employer or company. That's why asbestos cases often involve multiple defendants.
Identifying the source of exposure
In order to submit an asbestos claim it is important to identify asbestos exposure. Lawyers representing victims typically use medical records to determine the source of asbestos. This could help victims receive compensation from the companies liable for their asbestos lawyer exposure.
Mesothelioma victims and their families require compensation to pay for mesothelioma treatment. Compensation can also assist families in dealing with the emotional burden of a mesothelioma being diagnosed.
Asbestos lawsuits are complicated legal proceedings, and the victims need to know their rights and how the process works. While attorneys can handle many aspects of a case, victims are expected to participate in the case too. This includes responding quickly to discovery requests and attending depositions in court.
Remember that the statutes are restricted in New York, and you must consult an asbestos attorney immediately if you are able to. If you don't submit your claim within the specified time period you could be denied on financial compensation.
In a few instances, asbestos products made by several companies have been used to expose victims. In these cases, lawyers representing the victims be required to identify all asbestos-containing products, and the employers and contractors who supplied the asbestos-containing products.
Asbestos litigation has been the longest-running mass tort in American history. It has been the cause of numerous bankruptcy filings from asbestos producers. Many of these companies have set up trust funds to pay compensation to asbestos victims. Despite this asbestos defendants continue to deny the evidence linking asbestos exposure to mesothelioma or lung cancer. This is in spite of the research of doctors such as Dr. Irving J. Selikoff and Dr. Jacob Churg.
The process of creating an Database
A lawsuit involving asbestos-related illnesses or mesothelioma is different than a typical personal injury case. In a lot of asbestos litigation cases, plaintiffs are represented by same law firms as well as the same expert witnesses.
To be able to build a strong defense in a case involving asbestos attorneys need access to a database that can pinpoint possible sources of exposure. This involves reviewing job sites, interviewing co-workers and getting information from suppliers and employers. The process also requires the search for and interviewing doctors and nurses who can testify regarding asbestos exposure.
Making this kind of database can be a challenge particularly in situations where the data has been lost or destroyed over the course of 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 could take a number of years or even years to complete.
Asbestos attorneys must also have access to a software that allows them to identify potential defendants and locate potential exposure sites. The information that is at the fingertips of attorneys can help save time and money.
After the collapse of several asbestos producers, plaintiffs' lawyers searched for new defendants to their lawsuits. In the end asbestos cases in West Virginia have become defined by tri-annual consolidated trial groups where the volume is paramount and suits that name fewer than 100 defendants are rare.
Identifying the Defendants
Most asbestos lawsuits are based on factual evidence that is discovered. Many asbestos companies denied for years that their products could cause harm to people, but once the lawsuits started, documents from the company came to light and revealed evidence of the dangers. These documents can be used to prove that certain products of the defendant caused injuries. In order to win a lawsuit the plaintiff must prove that the defendant's products were used in his workplace, and that he inhaled dust from the product, and that this exposure was a major factor in his injuries.
Because asbestos cases involve multiple defendants, the process of identifying defendants is different than an ordinary personal injury case. By interviewing family and coworkers members, examining invoices and work orders, getting documents from vendors and suppliers and analyzing asbestos samples from the plaintiff's workplace and home it is possible to build a database that links employers as well as locations and products. The type of asbestos involved - amosite, chrysotile, or Crocidolite - could be helpful in identifying defendants as each product is produced by the same manufacturer.
Defendants must carefully review the facts and determine any potential sources of exposure. This could involve a thorough examination of more than 40 years of a worker's life through Social Security, union, tax and other records. Due to the long latency of asbestos-related injuries, it can be difficult and expensive to establish an accurate database.
Due to the high volume of asbestos lawyers cases and limited resources of many defendants in federal courts, many asbestos cases will be referred to a multi-district lawsuit (MDL). This practice allows defendants the opportunity to pool resources and also avoid duplicate discovery.
Case Development
Asbestos lawsuits require a lot of research and the review of a large number of documents. This can be a difficult task, since asbestos exposure can occur years before a person is diagnosed with a disease. To determine the sources of the exposure, attorneys must conduct interviews and carefully look over thousands of pages of documentation including union documents, employment records as well as social security and tax records and medical and laboratory reports.
The attorneys representing the plaintiffs must do all they can to locate other defendants. In many cases, the number of defendants can be as high as 30 or 40. To do this, they must investigate the supply chain to investigate entities that may have a nexus with asbestos but who are not named in the lawsuit.
This process can be very lengthy, especially when the claimant suffers from mesothelioma or any other serious illness. It can be difficult to locate witnesses and collect physical evidence.
A mesothelioma lawyer will determine the identity of all defendants who could be implicated, and their connection to victim's exposure. This could require a thorough review of more than 40 years of the victim's life via interviews and a review of their social security, union, and tax records.
A successful asbestos lawyers litigation strategy requires a lot of experience in this tangled area of law. 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 firms involved in industry-wide, multi-jurisdictional litigation. We act as National Coordinating Counsel, and liaison counsel. We represent and manage the interests of a wide array of defendants, which includes distributors, manufacturers and contractors. We have extensive expertise in formulating and establishing crucial defenses as well as expert witness testimony and jurisdictional Case Management Orders.
Preparing for the Trial
Lawyers need to carefully prepare their cases prior to trial so that their clients are able to present the strongest arguments and evidence possible. This involves reviewing medical records, gathering all witnesses and identifying the exhibits that will be used in the trial. This process can take years in complex cases.
Many asbestos sufferers develop a less severe disease such as asbestosis, the pleural plaque or fibrosis, prior to the mesothelioma's onset. Asbestosis can cause chest pain, coughing, and difficulty breathing.
Asbestos victims' attorneys must also examine the evidence to find potential defendants that could be held responsible for the asbestos-related injuries. This involves interviewing co-workers and family members, asbestos asbestos manufacturers, asbestos abatement employees and obtaining a variety.
Once an attorney has identified a possible defendant, they must determine the liability of that party. The defendants may be individuals, corporations or governmental agencies. They are accountable for their actions that were negligent.
Congress has proposed several legislative remedies to resolve asbestos lawsuit - this site, lawsuits. The efforts have not been effective due to a myriad of complex political factors. Asbestos victims and their lawyers are 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 insurance companies, and other responsible parties accountable for their role in the asbestos exposure. In Upstate New York asbestos litigation is centralized into five judicial districts, where cases are supervised by judges with experience in asbestos matters.
The Asbestos Litigation Group welcomes all AAJ members including regular, life sustainer, President's club members. Members of the Asbestos Litigation Group network and discuss legal issues strategies, and also at annual and Winter conventions.
