Asbestos Litigation

Every asbestos case is different however the general procedure for defending against such claims is the same. Your attorney should take a deposition of the plaintiff.

The exposure of an individual to asbestos can come from multiple sources, not just a single employer or company. This is why asbestos cases typically involve multiple defendants.

Identifying the source of exposure

Identifying asbestos exposure is an important step in submitting an asbestos claim. Often, victims' attorneys may use medical documents to determine the source of asbestos. This could help victims receive compensation from the companies liable for their asbestos exposure.

Mesothelioma sufferers and their families require compensation to pay for mesothelioma treatments. Compensation can help families cope emotionally with a mesothelioma diagnoses.

Asbestos cases can be a complicated legal cases. Victims need to know their rights and procedures. While attorneys can handle a lot of aspects of a case the victims are expected to be involved in the case too. This includes responding to requests for discovery and attending depositions.

Remember that the statutes are restricted 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 unable to collect on financial compensation.

In a few instances asbestos-containing products produced by multiple companies have been used to expose victims. In these cases, lawyers representing the victims will need to identify all the asbestos-containing products, and the companies and contractors that supplied the materials.

Asbestos lawsuits are the longest-running mass tort of American history. It has been responsible for numerous bankruptcy filings from asbestos producers. Many of these companies have created trust funds to compensate asbestos victims. But asbestos defendants continue to dispute evidence that links asbestos exposure and mesothelioma, lung cancer or other respiratory diseases. This is despite research by doctors like Dr. Irving J. Selikoff and Dr. Jacob Churg, and Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond among others.

The process of creating the Database

A case involving asbestos-related diseases or mesothelioma differs from a typical personal injury case. In many cases, asbestos litigation involves many of the same defendants (companies that are being sued) as well as many of the same law firms that represent plaintiffs, as well as many of the same expert witnesses.

To be able to build a successful asbestos defense, lawyers need to be able to access a large database that will help them identify potential exposure sources. This includes reviewing the job site, talking to coworkers, and obtaining documents from suppliers and employers. This involves finding and interviewing doctors or nurses who may be able testify regarding asbestos exposure.

Making this kind of database can be challenging particularly when the data was lost or destroyed over the course of time. In these instances it is possible to reconstruct a complete insurance program and claims database, using multiple sources, such as loss runs and claim files internal system, as well as defense counsel records. This can take years, or even decades, to complete.

Asbestos lawyers must also have access to a program that allows them to locate potential exposure sites and identify potential defendants. The information that is available to attorneys can help save time and money.

After the mass bankruptcies of asbestos producers, plaintiffs' lawyers sought new defendants to list in their lawsuits. Because of this, asbestos cases in West Virginia are now defined by triannual consolidated trials groups in which volume is the king and suits naming less than 100 defendants is not common.

Identifying the defendants

Most asbestos cases are based on factual evidence that is discovered. Many asbestos companies denied for many years that their products could cause harm to people, but after lawsuits began, company documents emerged to reveal evidence of the dangers. These documents can assist plaintiffs prove that specific defendants' products caused their injuries. To prevail in a lawsuit, the plaintiff must show that the defendant's product was in use at his workplace and that the worker was exposed to it through inhalation of dust and that exposure was a significant cause of his injuries.

Asbestos cases typically involve multiple defendants. The process of identifying them differs from a personal injury case. Through interviews with coworkers and family members, examining invoices and work orders, getting documents from suppliers and vendors, and analyzing asbestos samples taken from the plaintiff's workplace as well as home it is possible to establish an online database that links employers, locations, and products. The type of asbestos used - amosite, chrysotile, or crocidolite - is useful in identifying defendants since each product is made by an individual manufacturer.

The defendants must take the time to review these facts and pinpoint all possible sources of exposure. This can involve a examination of more than 40 years of a person's life through Social Security, union, tax and other records. Because the time between asbestos injuries is so long, the creation of an accurate database is a lengthy and costly research.

Because of the large numbers of cases and limited resources of many defendants asbestos cases are often referred to multi-district litigation (MDL) in federal courts. This practice allows defendants the opportunity to share resources, and avoid duplication of discovery.

Case Development

Asbestos lawsuits require extensive research and the examination of many documents. This can be a particularly difficult task because asbestos exposure often occurs years before a person is diagnosed with a disease. To determine the source of exposure, attorneys need to conduct interviews and go through the thousands of pages of documents like employment records, union documents, social security and tax files, and medical and laboratory reports.

The lawyers representing the plaintiffs must do all they can to identify additional defendants. In many cases, the number defendants could be as high as 30 or 40. To achieve this they need to look further down the supply chain and investigate entities with a possible nexus to asbestos, but have not been identified in the lawsuit.

This process can be very lengthy, especially if the claimant has mesothelioma or other serious illnesses. Additionally, it is often difficult to find witnesses and to obtain physical evidence.

A mesothelioma lawyer will identify the identity of all defendants who could be implicated, and their connection to the victim's exposure. This could be accomplished by a thorough analysis of over 40 years of the victim's history through interviews as well as a review of their social security, union, labor and tax records.

A successful asbestos litigation strategy depends on extensive experience in a complicated area of law. Since its inception back 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, global litigation. We act as National Coordinating Counsel, and liaison counsel. We represent and represent the interests of a broad array of defendants, which includes product manufacturers, distributors, and contractors. We have extensive experience in developing and establishing key defenses including expert witness testimony, jurisdictional Case Management Orders.

Preparing for the Trial

Lawyers must carefully prepare their cases prior to trial to ensure that their clients can present the strongest evidence and arguments possible. This involves reviewing medical records, making sure that all witnesses are prepared and identifying evidence to be used in the trial. This process can take years in cases that are complex.

Many asbestos victims have a less severe illness such as asbestosis, fibrous or pleural plaques prior to the development of mesothelioma. Asbestosis symptoms include a tightening of the lungs that can cause breathing difficulties, coughing, chest pain and so on.

Asbestos victims' lawyers must also scrutinize the evidence to find potential defendants that could be held responsible for asbestos-related injuries. This may involve interviewing coworkers and family members, asbestos asbestos manufacturers, asbestos abatement workers and obtaining a variety.

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

Many legislative solutions to solve asbestos litigation have been proposed in Congress. However, these attempts have failed due to a variety of complex political reasons. Asbestos victims as well as their lawyers and the government are determined to hold asbestos companies accountable for their behavior.

Waters Kraus & Paul is an attorney firm that has handled hundreds cases in New York State and across the nation. Our lawyers have held asbestos attorneys producers, insurance companies, and other responsible parties accountable. In Upstate New York, asbestos litigation is concentrated in five judicial districts in which cases are assigned to judges who are familiar with asbestos issues.

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.