Asbestos Litigation

Each asbestos case is distinct, but the general process for defending such claims is the same. Your attorney should interview the plaintiff.

The source of asbestos exposure can be numerous, not just one company or employer. This is the reason asbestos cases usually involve multiple defendants.

Determining the Source of Exposure

Recognizing asbestos exposure is an important step in submitting an asbestos claim. Often, the attorneys of victims can work with medical records to determine the source of asbestos. This can help victims get compensation from the companies that are accountable for asbestos exposure.

Compensation is required by mesothelioma patients and their families to cover the expense of expensive treatment. Compensation can assist families in dealing with emotional stress when a mesothelioma diagnosis is announced.

Asbestos cases can be a complicated legal cases. The victims must be aware of their rights and the process. While attorneys are able to handle a variety of aspects of a case the victims are expected to be involved in their own case. This includes responding to discovery requests and attending depositions.

Remember that the statutes of limitations are restricted in New York, and you should consult an asbestos attorney as soon as you can. If you fail to submit your claim within the stipulated time frame you could be unable to collect on financial compensation.

In some instances, victims have been exposed to asbestos-containing products made by several companies. In these cases, victims lawyers may be required to identify the manufacturers of each product, in addition to the contractors or employers who provided the asbestos-containing materials.

Asbestos litigation is the longest-running mass tort in American history. It has been responsible for numerous bankruptcy filings from asbestos producers. Many of these companies have established trust funds for asbestos victims. However, asbestos defendants continue to dispute evidence that links mesothelioma and asbestos exposure lung cancer or other respiratory ailments. This is despite the findings of doctors such as Dr. Irving J. Selikoff and Dr. Jacob Churg.

The process of creating an Database

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

To build a viable defense in a case involving asbestos attorneys need access to a comprehensive database that can pinpoint potential sources of exposure. This includes looking over job sites, talking to coworkers and collecting information from suppliers and employers. The process also requires the search for and interviewing doctors and nurses who can testify regarding asbestos exposure.

This kind of database can be difficult to develop, especially when the data has been lost over time. In these instances, it may be necessary to rebuild an entire insurance program and claims database, making use of multiple sources, such as loss runs and claim files internal system, as well as defense counsel records. This could take a number of years or even years to complete.

Asbestos attorneys must also have access a program which permits them to identify potential defendants and potential exposure sites. The information that is at the fingertips of lawyers can help save time and money.

Following the massive bankruptcies of many asbestos producers the plaintiffs' lawyers were seeking new defendants to name in their lawsuits. Because of this asbestos cases in West Virginia are now defined by triannual consolidated trial groups where volume is king and suits that name less than 100 defendants is a rarity.

Identifying Defendants

The actual basis of asbestos lawsuits is often established through discovery. Asbestos companies denied for many years that their products could cause harm, but after the lawsuits began documents from the company provided evidence of the dangers. These documents can be used to prove that specific defendants products caused injuries. To prevail in a lawsuit, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant's product was utilized at his workplace and that they were exposed to it through inhalation of dust, and that the exposure was a significant reason for his injuries.

Asbestos cases typically involve multiple defendants. The method of identifying them differs from a personal injury case. The most important thing is to create an inventory of employers locations, products and locations by interviewing co-workers and relatives looking over work orders and invoices as well as documents from suppliers and vendors and analyzing samples taken from the plaintiff's home and work sites. The type of asbestos involved - amosite, chrysotile, or crocidolite - is useful in identifying defendants since each product is made by a different manufacturer.

Defendants must carefully examine these facts and determine all possible exposure sources. This may include a review of over 40 years of records from Social Security, tax, union and other documents of a worker. Due to the long latency of asbestos-related injuries, it's difficult and costly to create an accurate database.

Due to the huge number of asbestos cases and the insufficient resources of defendants in federal courts, a lot of asbestos cases will be assigned to a multi-district lawsuit (MDL). This practice allows defendants to share their resources and avoid duplication of discovery.

Case Development

Asbestos suits require extensive research and the examination of a variety of documents. This can be a challenge since exposure to asbestos often occurred long before the victim was diagnosed with a disease. To identify the sources of exposure, lawyers must conduct interviews and carefully go through thousands of pages of documentation like the employment records, union documents as well as tax and social security files as well as medical and laboratory reports.

The plaintiffs' lawyers also must do all they can to locate additional defendants. In certain instances, there could be up to 40 defendants. To achieve this they need to look further down the supply chain and investigate entities with a possible nexus to asbestos that have not been identified in the lawsuit.

This process can be extremely lengthy, especially if the claimant has mesothelioma or any other serious illness. Additionally, it is often difficult to locate witnesses and to obtain physical evidence.

An attorney for mesothelioma will try to determine the identity of all defendants and their connection to the victim's exposure. This can be a thorough analysis of the last 40 years of the victim's life, including interviews and a review their social security and union, as well as tax records.

A successful asbestos litigation strategy is dependent on extensive experience in a complex 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 represent the interests of a wide variety of defendants, including product manufacturers, distributors, and contractors. We have extensive experience in creating and implementing important defenses including expert testimony, jurisdictional Case Management Orders.

Prepare for trial

Lawyers need to 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, gathering all witnesses and identifying the exhibits that will be used in the trial. This process can be several years in the case of complex cases.

Before developing mesothelioma, many asbestos attorney sufferers develop a less severe disease such as asbestosis, and pleural plaque. Asbestosis symptoms include a tightening of the lungs which may cause difficulty breathing, coughing, and chest pain.

asbestos lawyers victims' lawyers must also carefully review the evidence to find possible defendants who could be held responsible for the asbestos injuries. This involves interviewing co-workers or family members, asbestos lawsuit manufacturers, asbestos abatement workers and obtaining a variety.

Once a defendant has been identified, an attorney must determine the responsibility of the defendant. The defendants could be individuals, companies or governmental organizations. They must be held accountable for their wrongful actions.

Congress has enacted a number of legislative solutions to end asbestos attorney lawsuits. However, these initiatives have not been successful due to a variety of complex political reasons. Asbestos victims as well as their lawyers and the government are determined to hold negligent asbestos companies accountable for their actions.

Waters Kraus & Paul is a law firm that has handled hundreds cases in New York State and across the country. Our attorneys have held manufacturers, insurance companies and other responsible entities accountable for their part in asbestos exposure. In Upstate New York, asbestos litigation is handled by five judicial districts, where cases are assigned to judges who are familiar with asbestos matters.

The Asbestos Litigation Group is open to AAJ Regular Life, Sustaining, and President's Club members. Members meet and discuss legal issues and strategies on the Group's plaintiff-only list server during the annual and winter conventions and participate in educational seminars on asbestos litigation.