"Ask Me Anything:10 Answers To Your Questions About Asbestos Litigation
Asbestos Litigation
Each asbestos case is distinct however the process to defend these claims is the same. Your attorney will want you to conduct depositions of the plaintiff.
The exposure of an individual to asbestos can be triggered by many places, not just one employer or company. This is why asbestos cases usually involve multiple defendants.
Determine the source of exposure
The identification of asbestos exposure is a crucial step to file an asbestos claim. Lawyers for victims often make use of medical records to determine the source of asbestos. This could help victims receive compensation from the companies responsible for asbestos exposure.
Mesothelioma victims and their families are entitled to compensation to cover expensive mesothelioma-related treatment. Compensation can assist families in dealing with emotional stress with a mesothelioma diagnoses.
Asbestos lawsuits are complicated legal cases, and victims must be aware of their rights and the way in which the process operates. While attorneys are able to handle many aspects of a case they are expected to participate in the process. This includes responding to discovery requests and attending depositions in court.
Be aware that the statutes are limited in New York, and you should consult an asbestos attorney (click the up coming web page) as soon as you can. If you do not submit your claim within the specified time frame you could be denied on financial compensation.
In some instances asbestos lawsuits-containing products manufactured by multiple companies have been used to expose victims. In these instances, victims lawyers may be required to identify the manufacturer of each product, as well as the employers or contractors who supplied asbestos-containing materials.
Asbestos litigation is the longest-running mass tort in American history. It has been responsible for dozens of bankruptcy filings by asbestos manufacturers. Many of these companies set up trust funds for asbestos victims. Despite this asbestos defendants continue to deny the evidence linking asbestos exposure to mesothelioma and lung cancer. This is despite the findings of doctors like Dr. Irving J. Selikoff and Dr. Jacob Churg.
Developing a Database
A case involving mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases is different from any typical personal injury case. In many cases asbestos litigation, there are a lot of the same defendants (companies who are being sued), many of the same law firms that represent plaintiffs, as well as many of the same expert witnesses.
To be able to build a strong defense in an asbestos case attorneys need access to a vast database that can identify possible sources of exposure. This includes examining the job site, talking to coworkers and obtaining documents from employers and suppliers. This involves finding and interviewing nurses or doctors who might be able to be able to testify about asbestos exposure.
The creation of this type of database can be a challenge, especially in cases where the data was lost or destroyed over the course of time. When this occurs it may require the reconstruction of a complete claims database and insurance program, often from multiple sources like loss runs, claim files, internal systems, and defense counsel records. This can take many years or even years to complete.
Asbestos attorneys must also have access to a program that allows them to identify potential defendants and locate potential exposure sites. Lawyers can save time and money by having this information available to them.
After the bankruptcy of many asbestos producers, plaintiffs' attorneys sought out new defendants for their lawsuits. As a result of this, asbestos cases in West Virginia are now defined by triannual consolidated trials groups where volume is king and suits naming less than 100 defendants is not common.
Identifying defendants
The actual basis of asbestos cases is often established through discovery. Many asbestos companies resisted for many years that their products could harm people, but when lawsuits began, company documents came to light and revealed evidence of the dangers. These documents can be used to prove that specific products of the defendants caused injuries. In order to win a lawsuit the plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant's products were used at 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 method of identifying defendants is different from a typical personal injury case. By interviewing family and coworkers members, examining invoices and work orders, obtaining documents from vendors and suppliers and analyzing asbestos samples from the plaintiff's workplace and home it is possible to create an online database that links employers as well as locations and products. The type of asbestos involved such as amosite, chrysotile or Crocidolite - could be useful in identifying defendants since each product is produced by an individual manufacturer.
Defendants must carefully examine these facts and determine all possible sources of exposure. This can include a thorough review of more than 40 years of records from Social Security, tax, union and other documents of a worker. Because the latency of asbestos injuries is so long, establishing an accurate database requires extensive and costly research.
Because of the large numbers of cases and the limited resources of defendants asbestos cases are often referred to multi-district litigation (MDL) in federal courts. This allows defendants to share resources and prevent duplicate discovery.
Case Development
Asbestos suits require a lot of investigation and the review of many documents. This can be a difficult task, since asbestos exposure can occur years before a person is diagnosed with a disease. In order to identify the sources of the exposure, attorneys must conduct interviews and carefully review the thousands of pages of documents such as the employment records, union documents as well as social security and tax records, and medical and laboratory reports.
The plaintiffs' attorneys must do all they can to identify other defendants. In many instances, the number of defendants could be as high as 30 or 40. To achieve this, they need to examine the supply chain to investigate entities that may have a link to asbestos but who are not mentioned in the lawsuit.
This process can be very long, particularly if the claimant has mesothelioma or any other serious illness. It is also difficult to find witnesses and to gather evidence.
An attorney for mesothelioma will try to determine the identity of all defendants and their connection to the victim's exposure. This may be a thorough analysis of the last 40 years of the victim's life, which may include interviews as well as a review of their social security and union, as well as tax records.
A successful asbestos litigation strategy requires a lot of experience in this complex legal field. At McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia we have been at the forefront of asbestos litigation since our founding in 1994 and are national leaders in defending companies involved in industry-wide, multi-jurisdictional litigation. We are the National Coordinating Counsel and liaison counsel as well as representing the interests of a variety of different defendants, including manufacturers of products, suppliers, distributors and contractors. We have a wealth of experience formulating and drafting important defenses such as expert testimony and jurisdictional Case Management Orders.
Preparing for trial
Lawyers need to carefully prepare their cases before trial to ensure that their clients have the strongest arguments and evidence possible. This includes reviewing medical records and prepping all witnesses. It also involves identifying exhibits that will be used in the trial. This process can take a long time in complicated cases.
Before developing mesothelioma, many asbestos victims develop a lesser disease like asbestosis, the pleural plaque or pleural fibrosis. Asbestosis symptoms can include tightening of the lungs which can cause breathing difficulties, coughing, and chest pain.
Asbestos victims' attorneys must also scrutinize the evidence to determine any potential defendants who could be held accountable for the asbestos injuries. This includes speaking with coworkers, family asbestos lawyers abatement workers, asbestos abatement employees and asbestos manufacturers, and getting various documents.
Once a defendant has been identified An attorney must determine the responsibility of this party. The defendants may be individuals, corporations or government agencies. They must be held accountable for their wrongful actions.
Several legislative remedies to resolve asbestos litigation have been proposed in Congress. These efforts haven't been effective due to a myriad of complex political factors. Asbestos victims as well as their lawyers and the government remain committed to holding 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 lawyers have held insurance companies, and other responsible entities accountable for their part in asbestos exposure. In Upstate New York asbestos litigation is centralized into five judicial districts, where cases are assigned 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 plaintiff-only list server at the annual and winter conventions and participate in educational seminars on asbestos litigation.