Asbestos Litigation

Each asbestos case is different, but the general process to defend these claims is the same. Your attorney should interview the plaintiff.

The exposure of an individual to asbestos can be triggered by many places, not just one employer or company. That's why asbestos cases often involve multiple defendants.

Identifying the source of exposure

In order to make an asbestos claim, it is crucial to pinpoint asbestos exposure. Lawyers for victims often utilize medical records to determine asbestos' source. This can help victims receive compensation from the companies that are responsible for asbestos exposure.

Compensation is essential for 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 diagnosis.

Asbestos lawsuits are complex legal cases, and victims need to understand their rights and how the process works. Attorneys are able to handle many aspects of a case, they are expected to participate in the proceedings. This includes responding to requests for discovery and attending depositions.

Remember that the statutes are restricted in New York, and you must consult an asbestos attorney immediately if you are able to. Failing to file an asbestos claim within the required timeframe could result in the loss 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 be required to identify all asbestos-containing products, and the contractors and employers 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 created trust funds to pay compensation to asbestos victims. However asbestos defendants continue to deny the evidence linking asbestos exposure to mesothelioma and lung cancer. This is despite research by doctors such as Dr. Irving J. Selikoff, Dr. Jacob Churg, and Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond among others.

Making an Database

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

To build a strong asbestos defense, lawyers have to have access to an extensive database that will help them identify potential exposure sources. This includes examining the job site, interviewing coworkers, and obtaining documents from employers and suppliers. This process involves locating and interviewing doctors or nurses who may be able provide evidence regarding asbestos exposure.

This type of database is difficult to build, particularly if the data has been lost over time. If this happens, it can necessitate the reconstruction of an entire claims database and insurance program, typically from multiple sources such as loss runs, claim files, internal systems, and defense counsel records. It can take years, or decades, to complete.

Asbestos lawyers should also have access to a program that allows them locate potential exposure sites and identify potential defendants. Lawyers can save time and money by having this information at their fingertips.

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 trials where the number of defendants is paramount, and lawsuits that name less than 100 defendants are a rarity.

Identifying Defendants

The factual foundation of asbestos cases is usually established through discovery. Many asbestos companies denied for decades that their products could cause harm to people, but after 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. To prevail in a lawsuit, the plaintiff must show that the defendant's product was utilized at the workplace and that he was exposed to it by inhaling dust, and that the exposure was a significant cause of his injuries.

Since asbestos cases contain multiple defendants, the process of identifying defendants is different than the typical personal injury case. Through interviews with coworkers and family members, looking over invoices and work orders, obtaining documents from suppliers and vendors, and analyzing asbestos samples taken from the plaintiff's workplace as well as home it is possible to create an online database that links employers locations, workplaces, and products. It is also possible to identify defendants if one knows the kind of asbestos, like amosite or chrysotile.

The defendants are required to thoroughly examine these facts and determine all possible sources of exposure. This can include a thorough review of more than 40 years of records from the Social Security, tax, union and other records of a worker. Because the time lag for asbestos-related injuries is so long, creating an accurate database is a lengthy and costly investigation.

Due to the large number of asbestos cases and the limited resources of defendants in federal courts, many asbestos cases will be referred to a multi-district lawsuit (MDL). This gives defendants to share resources, and also avoid duplicate discovery.

Case Development

Asbestos suits require extensive study and examination of numerous documents. This can be particularly difficult because exposure to asbestos typically was a long time before the victim was diagnosed with a disease. In order to identify the sources of the exposure, attorneys need to conduct interviews and go through the thousands of pages of documents including employment records, union documents, social security and tax files and medical and laboratory reports.

The attorneys representing the plaintiffs must do all they can to identify other defendants. In many cases, the number defendants could be as high as 30 or 40. To accomplish this, they need to examine the supply chain to investigate companies that could have a nexus with asbestos, but are not included in the lawsuit.

This process is often very long and time-consuming, particularly when a claimant is suffering from mesothelioma or other serious diseases. In addition, it is often difficult to locate witnesses and to obtain physical evidence.

A mesothelioma attorney will work to establish all potential defendants and their connections to the victim's exposure. This may involve a thorough review over the past 40 years of the victim's life, including interviews as well as a review of their social security as well as labor, union, and tax records.

A successful asbestos litigation strategy relies on years of experience in a tangled area of law. Since its inception in 1994, McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia has been at the forefront of asbestos litigation and is a leader in the nation in defending businesses in multi-jurisdictional litigation that spans the entire industry. Denver asbestos lawyer are the National Coordinating Counsel, and liaison counsel. We represent and represent the interests of a broad variety of defendants, including distributors, manufacturers and contractors. We have extensive experience in creating and establishing key defenses as well as expert witness testimony and jurisdictional Case Management Orders.

Preparing for the Trial

Lawyers must be careful in preparing their cases for trial in order to ensure that their clients' evidence and arguments are as strong as they can be. 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 cases that are complex.

Before developing mesothelioma asbestos victims develop a lesser disease like asbestosis, pleural fibrosis or pleural plaque. Asbestosis symptoms include tightening of the lungs which may cause difficulty breathing, coughing and chest pain.

Attorneys for asbestos victims must also carefully examine the evidence in order to determine potential defendants that could be held responsible for the asbestos-related injuries. This may involve interviewing coworkers and family members, asbestos asbestos manufacturers, asbestos abatement workers and obtaining a variety of documents.

Once a lawyer has identified a possible defendant, they must then determine the liability of the person. 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 lawsuits. However, these attempts have failed due to a variety of complex political reasons. Asbestos victims and their lawyers are still committed to holding negligent asbestos companies accountable for their actions.

Waters Kraus & Paul is a law firm that has handled a variety of cases in New York State and across the nation. Our lawyers have held asbestos producers as well as 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 interact and discuss legal issues and strategies on the Group's only for plaintiffs list server during the annual and winter conventions, as well as in seminars for education on asbestos litigation.
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