Asbestos Litigation

Every asbestos case is different, but the general procedure to defend against such claims is the same. Your attorney will want to take a deposition of the plaintiff.

The exposure of a person to asbestos can be triggered by multiple sources, not just an employer or a company. That's why asbestos cases often involve multiple defendants.

Find out the source of exposure

In order to file an asbestos claim, it is essential to determine the source of asbestos exposure. Often, attorneys representing victims can work with medical records to determine the source of asbestos. This can assist victims in obtaining compensation from the companies responsible for their asbestos exposure.

Mesothelioma sufferers and their families need compensation to cover expensive mesothelioma-related treatment. Compensation can assist families in dealing with emotional stress with the mesothelioma diagnosis.

Asbestos lawsuits are complex legal proceedings, and the victims must be aware of their rights and the way in which the process operates. While attorneys are able to handle a variety of aspects of a case, victims are expected to participate in their case as well. This includes responding quickly to discovery requests and participating in depositions in court.

It is also crucial to remember that the statutes of limitations in New York are limited, and it is important to speak with an experienced asbestos lawyer whenever you can. If you fail to file your claim within the specified timeframe, you could lose out on financial compensation.

In some instances asbestos-containing products produced by multiple companies have been used to expose victims. In these cases, lawyers representing the victims need to identify all the asbestos-containing products, and the contractors and employers who supplied the asbestos-containing products.

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 established trust funds to pay compensation to asbestos victims. Yet asbestos defendants continue to deny the evidence linking asbestos exposure to mesothelioma or lung cancer. This is despite research conducted by doctors like Dr. Irving J. Selikoff and Dr. Jacob Churg, and Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond, among others.

Developing a Database

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

In order to develop a viable defense in an asbestos-related case attorneys need access to a comprehensive database that can help identify potential exposure sources. This involves reviewing the work site, speaking with coworkers, and obtaining documents from suppliers and employers. This involves locating and interviewing nurses or doctors who may be able to provide evidence regarding asbestos exposure.

Developing this type of database can be challenging particularly in situations where the data has been deleted or lost over time. In these cases, it may be necessary to reconstruct the entire insurance program and claims database using multiple sources including loss runs, claim files internal system, as well as defense counsel records. It could take years, or even years to complete.

Asbestos lawyers should also have access to a software that allows them locate potential exposure sites and to identify potential defendants. This information is available to attorneys can save both valuable time and money.

After the collapse of several asbestos producers, plaintiffs' lawyers searched for new defendants to 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 lawsuits that name less than 100 defendants are rare.

Identifying the defendants

Most asbestos cases are based on factual evidence that is discovered. Asbestos firms have denied for many years that their products could cause harm, but once the lawsuits began the company's documents exposed evidence of the dangers. These documents can be used to prove that certain defendants products caused injuries. In order to win a lawsuit the plaintiff must prove that the defendant's product were used in his workplace, and that he inhaled dust from the product, and that the exposure was a major cause of his injuries.

Because asbestos cases contain multiple defendants, the method of identifying defendants is different from a typical personal injury case. By interviewing family and coworkers members, looking over invoices and work orders, getting documents from suppliers and vendors, and analyzing asbestos samples collected from the plaintiff's workplace and home it is possible to create an online database that links employers, locations, and products. It is also possible to identify defendants if you know the type of asbestos such as amosite or chrysotile.

Defendants must carefully look over these facts and identify all possible sources of exposure. This may include a review of over 40 years of records from Social Security, tax, union and other documents of workers. Because the time lag for asbestos-related injuries is long, establishing an accurate database requires a lot of time and costly discovery.

Because of the large numbers of cases and the limited resources of many defendants, many asbestos cases are transferred to multi-district litigation (MDL) in federal courts. This gives defendants to pool resources and also avoid duplicate discovery.

Case Development

Asbestos lawsuits involve extensive research and the examination of many documents. This can be particularly challenging because asbestos lawsuit exposure often occurred years before a victim became sick. To determine the sources of the exposure, lawyers need to conduct interviews and go through thousands of pages of documentation like employment records, union documents as well as tax and social security files and medical and laboratory reports.

The plaintiffs' lawyers also have to do everything they can to locate additional defendants. In some cases, there can be as high as 40 defendants. To do so they must go further down the supply chain and look into organizations that could have a connection to asbestos that have not been named in the litigation.

This process can be extremely long and time-consuming, particularly when a claimant is suffering from mesothelioma and other severe illnesses. Additionally, it is often difficult to locate witnesses and get physical evidence.

A mesothelioma lawyer will attempt to determine the identity of all defendants and their connection to the victim's exposure. This could require a thorough examination 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 attorneys litigation strategy relies on extensive experience in a complicated area of law. At McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia We have been at the forefront of asbestos litigation since the time of our establishment at the beginning of 1994. We are also national leaders in defending 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 broad range of defendants, including distributors, manufacturers, and contractors. We have extensive experience formulating and drafting important defenses including expert testimony, jurisdictional Case Management Orders.

Preparing for trial

Lawyers must meticulously prepare their cases before trial so that their clients can present the strongest evidence and arguments possible. This includes reviewing medical records, preparing all witnesses and identifying the exhibits that will be used in the case. The process can take lengthy in cases that are complex.

Many asbestos sufferers are diagnosed with a less serious disease such as asbestosis, the pleural plaque or fibrosis, prior to the mesothelioma's onset. Asbestosis symptoms can include tightening of the lungs that can cause breathing difficulties, coughing and chest pain.

Attorneys representing asbestos victims must also look over the evidence to identify potential defendants that could be held accountable for the asbestos-related injuries. This includes interviewing coworkers, family asbestos abatement workers, asbestos abatement employees and asbestos manufacturers, as well as getting various documents.

Once a defendant is identified as a possible defendant, an attorney must determine the responsibility of the defendant. The defendants can be businesses, individuals or government agencies. They are held accountable for their wrongful actions.

Congress has enacted a number of legislative solutions to end asbestos lawsuits. However, these attempts have not been successful due to a number of complex political reasons. Asbestos victims and their lawyers are still committed to holding negligent asbestos companies accountable for their actions.

The law firm of Waters Kraus & Paul has handled hundreds of cases in New York state and across the country. 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 handled by five judicial districts where cases are assigned to judges who are familiar with asbestos lawsuit matters.

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