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Asbestos Litigation

Each asbestos case is distinct however the process for defending claims involving asbestos is the same. Your lawyer will require you to take depositions of the plaintiff.

A person's exposure to asbestos can be triggered by many places, not just one employer or company. This is the reason asbestos cases typically involve multiple defendants.

Determine the source of exposure

To file an asbestos claim, it is important to identify asbestos exposure. Often, the attorneys of victims can work with medical records to determine the source of asbestos. This can assist victims in obtaining compensation from the companies accountable for asbestos exposure.

Compensation is essential for mesothelioma patients as well as their families to cover the cost of costly treatment. Compensation can also assist families in dealing with the emotional burden of mesothelioma diagnosis.

Asbestos lawsuits can be a complicated legal proceedings, and the victims need to understand their rights and the way in which the process operates. 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 requests for discovery and taking depositions.

Remember that the statutes of limitations are limited in New York, and you must consult an asbestos lawsuit attorney immediately if you are able to. Failing to file an asbestos claim within the required timeframe could result in the loss on financial compensation.

In some cases asbestos-containing products manufactured by several companies have been used to expose victims. In these cases, the victims lawyers may be required to identify the manufacturers of each product, in addition to the contractors or employers who supplied the asbestos-containing products.

Asbestos litigation is the longest-running mass tort in American history. It has been the cause of hundreds of bankruptcy filings from asbestos manufacturers. Many of these companies have created trust funds to pay compensation to asbestos victims. However, asbestos defendants continue to challenge evidence that links asbestos exposure and mesothelioma, lung cancer, or other respiratory illnesses. This is in spite of the research of doctors such as Dr. Irving J. Selikoff and Dr. Jacob Churg.

Developing an Database

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

To build a strong asbestos defense, lawyers need to have access to an extensive database that can identify possible exposure sources. This involves reviewing the job site, talking to coworkers and obtaining documents from suppliers and employers. The process also involves finding and interviewing doctors and nurses who can testify about asbestos exposure.

The creation of this type of database can be challenging, especially in cases where the data has been lost or destroyed over the course of time. When this happens, it can necessitate the reconstruction of a complete claims database as well as an insurance program, usually from a variety of sources, including loss runs, claim files, internal systems, and defense counsel records. It can take a long time or even years to complete.

Asbestos lawyers also need access to a software that allows them to find potential exposure areas and identify potential defendants. Having this information at the fingertips of lawyers can save both valuable time and money.

Following the bankruptcy of a number of asbestos producers, plaintiffs' lawyers looked for new defendants for their lawsuits. As a result of this, asbestos cases in West Virginia are now defined by triannual consolidated trials groups in which volume is the king and lawsuits naming less than 100 defendants is rare.

Identifying the defendants

The factual foundation of asbestos lawsuits is often established through discovery. Many asbestos companies denied for years that their products could harm people, but once the lawsuits started, documents from the company came to light and revealed evidence of the dangers. These documents can be used to prove that specific products of the defendant caused injuries. To prevail in a lawsuit, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant's product were used at his work place, that he breathed in dust from the product, and that this exposure was a major factor in his injuries.

Because asbestos cases contain multiple defendants, the process of identifying defendants is different than an ordinary personal injury case. By interviewing family and coworkers members, looking over 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 build a database that links employers, locations, and products. It is also possible to identify defendants if you know the type of asbestos like amosite or chrysotile.

The defendants are required to thoroughly look over these facts and determine the possible sources of exposure. This could include a review of over 40 years of records from Social Security, tax, union, and other documents of the worker. Because the time lag for asbestos-related injuries is long, the creation of an accurate database requires a lot of time and costly research.

Due to the high volume of asbestos cases and the insufficient resources of defendants in federal courts, a lot of asbestos cases will be referred to a multidistrict lawsuit (MDL). This gives defendants the opportunity to share resources and avoid duplication of discovery.

The process of creating a case

Asbestos lawsuits involve extensive research and the examination of a large number of documents. This can be particularly challenging because exposure to asbestos typically occurred years before a victim became sick. To determine the sources of exposure, lawyers must conduct interviews and carefully look over the thousands of pages of documents such as employment records, union documents as well as social security and tax records and medical and laboratory reports.

The plaintiffs' lawyers also must do all they can to identify additional defendants. In many cases, the number of defendants can be as high as 30 or 40. To accomplish this they must go further down the supply chain and look into organizations that could have a connection to asbestos, even if they haven't been named in the lawsuit.

This process is often very long and time-consuming, particularly when a claimant is suffering from mesothelioma and other severe diseases. It can be difficult to find witnesses and gather physical evidence.

A mesothelioma attorney will work to identify all defendants and their connection to the victim's exposure. This may require a thorough examination of over 40 years of the victim's history through interviews and a review of their social security, union, and tax records.

A successful asbestos litigation strategy relies on years of experience in a complicated area of law. At McGivney, 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 firms involved in industry-wide, multi-jurisdictional litigation. We serve as National Coordinating Counsel and liaison counsel as well as managing the interests of many different defendants including product manufacturers distributors, suppliers, and contractors. We have extensive expertise in creating and establishing key defenses including expert witness testimony, jurisdictional Case Management Orders.

Preparing for Trial

Lawyers need to carefully prepare their cases ahead of trial so that their clients have the strongest evidence and arguments possible. This involves reviewing medical records and prepping all witnesses. It also involves identifying the exhibits that will be used in the trial. This can take a lot of time in complicated cases.

Before developing mesothelioma, many asbestos victims develop a lesser disease such as asbestosis, pleural fibrosis or pleural plaque. Asbestosis symptoms include tightening of the lungs that can cause breathing difficulties, coughing and chest pain.

Asbestos victims' lawyers must also scrutinize the evidence to identify any potential defendants who could be held responsible for the asbestos-related injuries. This includes interviewing family members, colleagues asbestos abatement workers, asbestos abatement employees and asbestos manufacturers, in addition to getting various documents.

Once a lawyer has identified a possible defendant, they must determine the liability of that party. The defendants can be individuals, businesses or government agencies. They are accountable for their wrongful actions.

Congress has enacted a number of legislative solutions to settle asbestos lawsuits. However, these efforts have failed due to a number of political issues. Asbestos victims as well as their lawyers and the government remain 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 nation. Our lawyers have held insurance companies and other responsible entities accountable for their part in the asbestos exposure. In Upstate New York, asbestos litigation is concentrated in five judicial districts, where 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 meet and discuss legal issues and strategies on the Group's only for plaintiffs list server during the annual and winter conventions and in educational seminars on asbestos litigation.