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Asbestos Litigation

Each asbestos case is unique, but the general procedure to defend against claims based on asbestos is the same. Your attorney should take a deposition of the plaintiff.

The exposure of a person to asbestos can be triggered by many places, not just an employer or a company. This is why asbestos cases usually involve multiple defendants.

Determine the source of exposure

The identification of asbestos exposure is an important step to file an asbestos claim. Lawyers representing victims typically make use of medical records to determine the source of asbestos. This can assist victims in receiving compensation from the companies liable for asbestos exposure.

Mesothelioma victims and their families require compensation to pay for mesothelioma treatment. Compensation can help families cope emotionally when a mesothelioma diagnosis is announced.

Asbestos lawsuits are complex legal proceedings, and the victims need to know their rights and how the process works. While attorneys are able to handle a variety of aspects of a case they are expected to be involved in the proceedings. This includes responding to discovery requests and taking depositions.

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

In certain instances, victims were exposed to asbestos-containing products made by multiple 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, and it has been responsible for dozens of bankruptcy filings by asbestos manufacturers. Many of these companies have created trust funds to pay compensation to asbestos victims. Despite this, asbestos defendants continue denying the evidence linking asbestos exposure to mesothelioma and lung cancer. This is despite research conducted by doctors like Dr. Irving J. Selikoff Dr. Jacob Churg, and Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond among others.

Making the Database

A lawsuit involving asbestos-related illnesses or mesothelioma differs from a typical personal injury case. In many cases asbestos litigation, there are a lot of the same defendants (companies that are being sued), many of the same law firms representing plaintiffs and many of the same expert witnesses.

To be able to build a successful asbestos defense, attorneys need to have access to a vast database that can pinpoint potential exposure sources. This involves reviewing job sites, talking to coworkers and collecting documents from suppliers and employers. The process also requires finding and interviewing nurses and doctors who are able to testify about asbestos lawsuit - discover this - exposure.

This type of database is difficult to build, particularly when the data has been lost over time. If this happens it could require the reconstruction of a complete claims database as well as an insurance program, typically from multiple sources such as loss runs claims files, internal systems and defense counsel records. This can take years, or even years to complete.

Asbestos lawyers must also have access to a program that allows them locate potential exposure sites and identify potential defendants. Having this information at the fingertips of attorneys can help save time and money.

After the bankruptcy of many asbestos producers, plaintiffs' lawyers searched for new defendants to their lawsuits. As a result, asbestos cases in West Virginia have become defined by tri-annual consolidated trials where the number of defendants is paramount, and suits that name fewer than 100 defendants are a rarity.

Identifying Defendants

Most asbestos cases are founded on factual evidence that is discovered. Many asbestos companies have denied for years that their products could harm people, but after lawsuits began, company documents came to light and revealed evidence of the dangers. These documents can assist plaintiffs establish that certain defendants products caused their injuries. To win a lawsuit, a plaintiff has to demonstrate that the defendant's products were used at his work place, that he breathed in dust from the product and that this exposure was a major reason for his injuries.

Since asbestos cases contain multiple defendants, the process of identifying defendants is different than a typical personal injury case. The key is to build an information database that links employers and their locations, as well as products. This is done by speaking with relatives and coworkers looking over work orders and invoices and obtaining documents from suppliers and vendors and analyzing samples from the plaintiff's home and workplace sites. It is also a good way to identify defendants if one knows the kind of asbestos, such as amosite or chrysotile.

The defendants must take the time to review these facts and pinpoint all possible sources of exposure, which could involve a thorough review of more than forty years of a worker's life through Social Security, union, tax and other records. Because the time lag for asbestos attorneys-related injuries is long, creating an accurate database requires extensive and costly investigation.

Due to the large number of asbestos cases, and the limited resources of many defendants in federal courts, a lot of asbestos cases will be referred to a multidistrict lawsuit (MDL). This allows defendants to share resources and prevent the duplication of discovery.

Case Development

Asbestos lawsuits involve extensive investigation and the review of a large number of documents. This can be a particularly difficult task because asbestos exposure can occur years before a person is diagnosed with a disease. To determine the sources of exposure, lawyers must conduct interviews and review hundreds of pages of documentation such as union documents, employment records 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 certain instances, there could be up to 40 defendants. To do so they must go further down the supply chain and look into companies that may have a connection to asbestos, but have not been named in the lawsuit.

This process is time-consuming, especially when the claimant suffers from mesothelioma or other serious illnesses. Additionally, it is often difficult to find witnesses and to obtain physical evidence.

A mesothelioma attorney will work to identify all defendants and their connections to the victim's exposure. This could require a thorough examination of over 40 years of the victim's history through interviews, as well as a look at their social security, union, and tax records.

A successful asbestos litigation strategy is dependent on extensive experience in a complicated 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 the defense of companies in multi-jurisdictional, global litigation. We serve as National Coordinating Counsel and liaison counsel, representing and managing the interests of many different defendants, including manufacturers of products distributors, suppliers, and contractors. We have a wealth of experience formulating and establishing crucial defenses, expert witness testimony and jurisdictional Case Management Orders.

Prepare for the trial

Lawyers need to carefully prepare their cases before trial to ensure that their clients can present the strongest arguments and evidence possible. This involves reviewing medical records, preparing all witnesses and identifying the exhibits that will be used in the case. This process can take years in complex cases.

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

asbestos attorneys victims' attorneys must also examine the evidence to determine any potential defendants that could be held responsible for the asbestos-related injuries. This includes speaking with family members, colleagues, asbestos abatement workers and asbestos manufacturers, and getting various documents.

Once an attorney has identified a possible defendant, they need to determine the liability of that person. The defendants may be individuals, companies or government agencies. They must be held accountable for their negligent actions.

Congress has proposed several legislative solutions to settle asbestos lawsuits. However, these efforts have failed due to a number of complicated political motives. Asbestos victims and their lawyers are determined to hold negligent asbestos companies accountable for their conduct.

The law firm of Waters Kraus & Paul has handled hundreds of cases throughout New York state and across the country. Our lawyers have held asbestos producers insurance companies, asbestos manufacturers, and other responsible parties accountable. In Upstate New York, asbestos litigation is centralized in five judicial districts in which cases are assigned to judges that are experienced with asbestos-related issues.

The Asbestos Litigation Group is open to AAJ Regular Life, Life, Sustaining, and President's Club members. Members of the Asbestos Litigation Group network and discuss legal issues strategies, as well as at Winter and annual conventions.