Asbestos Litigation
Each asbestos case is unique however the general procedure for defending against such claims is the same. Your lawyer will ask you to conduct an interview with the plaintiff.
The cause of asbestos exposure could be numerous, not only one company or employer. This is why asbestos cases usually involve multiple defendants.
Identifying the source of exposure
Identifying asbestos exposure is a crucial step in filing an asbestos claim. Often, the attorneys of victims can use medical documents to determine the source of asbestos. This can assist victims in obtaining compensation from the companies that are responsible for their asbestos exposure.
Mesothelioma victims and their families require compensation to pay for mesothelioma treatment. Compensation can help families cope emotionally with the mesothelioma diagnosis.
Asbestos lawsuits can be a complicated legal cases, and victims need to know their rights and the way in which the process operates. While attorneys are able to handle a variety of aspects of a case, they are expected to participate in the process. This includes responding to discovery requests and attending court depositions.
It is also crucial to keep in mind that the statutes of limitations in New York are limited, and it is essential to consult an experienced asbestos lawyer as soon as you can. In the event of not filing an asbestos claim within the required time frame could result in a denial on financial compensation.
In certain instances victims have been exposed to asbestos products manufactured by various companies. In these cases, victims lawyers may be required to identify the manufacturer of each product, in addition to the employers or contractors who supplied asbestos-containing materials.
Asbestos litigation has been the longest-running mass tort of American history. It has been responsible for dozens bankruptcy filings from asbestos manufacturers. Many of these companies have set up trust funds to pay compensation to asbestos victims. However, asbestos defendants continue to dispute evidence that links asbestos exposure and mesothelioma, lung cancer, or other respiratory illnesses. This is despite studies conducted by doctors such as Dr. Irving J. Selikoff, Dr. Jacob Churg, and Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond among others.
Making an Database
A mesothelioma lawsuit or other asbestos-related illnesses is different from any typical personal injury lawsuit. In many cases asbestos litigation, there are many of the same defendants (companies that are being sued) as well as many of the same law firms that represent plaintiffs and many of the same expert witnesses.
To be able to build a successful asbestos defense, attorneys need to be able to access a large database that will help them identify potential exposure sources. This involves reviewing job sites, interviewing co-workers and collecting documents from suppliers and employers. This involves locating and interviewing nurses or doctors who might be able to be able to testify about asbestos exposure.
Developing this type of database can be a challenge particularly when the data was deleted or lost over time. In these situations, it may be necessary to rebuild an entire insurance program and claims database making use of multiple sources, including loss runs, claim files, internal system and defense counsel records. This can take years, or even years, to complete.
Asbestos attorneys must also have access to a program that lets them find potential defendants and potential exposure sites. Attorneys can save time and money by having this information at their fingertips.
After the bankruptcy of many asbestos producers, plaintiffs' attorneys sought out new defendants for their lawsuits. In the end, asbestos cases in West Virginia have become defined by tri-annual consolidated trial groups in which volume reigns supreme and suits naming fewer than 100 defendants are a rarity.
Identifying Defendants
The actual basis of asbestos cases is often established through discovery. Asbestos companies have denied for a number of years that their products could cause harm, but once lawsuits began documents from the company revealed evidence of the dangers. These documents can be used to prove that certain defendants products caused injuries. 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 exposure to the product was a major cause of his injuries.
Since asbestos cases involve multiple defendants, the process of identifying defendants is different from an ordinary personal injury case. By interviewing family and coworkers members, examining invoices and work orders, getting documents from suppliers and vendors, and analyzing asbestos samples from the plaintiff's work place and home it is possible to create a database that links employers, locations, and products. The type of asbestos used - amosite, chrysotile, or crocidolite - can also be useful in identifying defendants since each product is made by an individual manufacturer.
The defendants are required to thoroughly look over these facts and determine all possible exposure sources. This could include a look at more than 40 years of records from Social Security, tax, union, and other records of the worker. Because the time between asbestos-related injuries is so long, the creation of an accurate database requires extensive and costly discovery.
Due to the sheer number of cases and the limited resources of many defendants, many asbestos cases are transferred to multi-district litigation (MDL) in federal courts. This practice allows defendants to share resources and prevent duplicate discovery.
Case Development
Asbestos suits require a lot of research and the examination of numerous documents. This can be particularly challenging because exposure to asbestos typically occurred years before a victim developed a health issue. In order to identify the sources of exposure, attorneys must conduct interviews and carefully go through thousands of pages of documentation such as the employment records, union documents as well as social security and tax files, and medical and laboratory reports.
The attorneys representing the plaintiffs must do all they can to locate other defendants. In many instances, the number of defendants could be as high as 30 or 40. To do so they must go further down the supply chain and look into entities with a possible nexus to asbestos, even if they haven't been named in the litigation.
This process can be very time consuming, especially when the plaintiff is suffering from mesothelioma and other severe diseases. In addition, it is often difficult to locate witnesses and obtain physical evidence.
A mesothelioma lawyer will attempt to determine the identity of all defendants and their connections to the victim's exposure. This could require a thorough review of more than 40 years of the victim's life via interviews as well as a review of their social security, union, and tax records.
A successful asbestos litigation strategy requires a wealth of knowledge of this complicated legal field. At asbestos exposure litigation , Kluger, Clark & Intoccia we have been at the forefront of asbestos litigation since our founding in 1994 and are experts in the nation's defense of businesses involved in industry-wide multi-jurisdictional litigation. We serve as National Coordinating Counsel, and liaison counsel. We represent and manage the interests of a broad variety of defendants, including product manufacturers, distributors and contractors. We have a wealth of experience creating and establishing key defenses including expert witness testimony, jurisdictional Case Management Orders.
Prepare for Trial
Lawyers must meticulously prepare their cases before trial to ensure that their clients can present the strongest arguments and evidence possible. This involves reviewing medical records and preparing all witnesses. It also involves identifying exhibits that will be used during the trial. This process can take a long time in cases that are complex.
Many asbestos sufferers develop a less severe disease such as asbestosis, the pleural plaque or fibrosis, prior to the mesothelioma's development. Asbestosis can cause coughing, chest pain, and difficulty breathing.
Lawyers for asbestos victims must also carefully examine the evidence in order to determine potential defendants who could be held accountable for the asbestos-related injuries. This includes interviewing coworkers or family members, asbestos manufacturers, asbestos abatement employees and obtaining a variety of documents.
After an attorney has identified a possible defendant, they must determine the liability of the person. The defendants could be businesses, individuals, or government agencies. They must be held accountable for their wrongful actions.
A variety of legislative solutions to end asbestos litigation have been proposed in Congress. However, these initiatives have failed due to a variety of complicated political motives. Asbestos victims along with their lawyers and government remain determined to hold negligent asbestos firms accountable for their conduct.
The law firm of Waters Kraus & Paul has handled hundreds of cases in New York state and across the country. Our lawyers have held asbestos manufacturers insurance companies, asbestos manufacturers, and other responsible parties accountable. In Upstate New York, asbestos litigation is handled by five judicial districts, where cases are assigned to judges familiar with asbestos issues.
The Asbestos Litigation Group is open to AAJ Regular, Life, Sustaining and President's Club members. Members interact and discuss legal issues and strategies on the group's plaintiff-only list server during the annual and winter conventions, and in educational seminars on asbestos litigation.