What NOT To Do With The Asbestos Litigation Industry

Asbestos Litigation

Each asbestos case is unique however, the general procedure for defending claims involving asbestos is the same. Your lawyer will ask you to take a deposition of the plaintiff.

The cause of asbestos exposure can be many, not just one company or employer. This is why asbestos cases usually involve multiple defendants.

Find out the source of exposure

The identification of asbestos exposure is a crucial step to file an asbestos claim. Attorneys for victims can often use medical records to determine asbestos' source. This can help victims get compensation from companies responsible for their asbestos exposure.

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

Asbestos cases can be a complicated legal cases. The victims must be aware of their rights and procedures. While attorneys are able to handle a variety of aspects of a case they are expected to participate in the proceedings. This includes responding to requests for discovery and attending 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 attorney whenever you can. If you fail to file your claim within the specified time frame you could be unable to collect on financial compensation.

In some instances victims were exposed to asbestos products manufactured by several companies. In these instances, lawyers representing the victims have to determine the source of all asbestos-containing products, as well the contractors and employers who supplied the asbestos-containing products.

Asbestos litigation is the longest-running mass tort in American history. It is responsible for numerous 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 such as Dr. Irving J. Selikoff and Dr. Jacob Churg, and Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond among others.

Making the Database

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

To build a successful defense in an asbestos case, attorneys must have access to a vast database that can help identify potential exposure sources. This includes looking over the websites of employers, speaking with coworkers and obtaining records from employers and suppliers. This also involves finding and interviewing doctors and nurses who are able to testify about asbestos exposure.

This type of database is difficult to develop, especially when the data has been lost over time. In these situations it is possible to recreate the entire insurance program and claims database making use of multiple sources, including loss runs, claim files, internal system and defense counsel records. It could take years, or even years to complete.

Asbestos attorneys must also have access to a software that permits them to identify potential defendants and locate potential exposure sites. Attorneys can cut down on time and money by having this information readily available.

Following the massive bankruptcies of many asbestos manufacturers, plaintiffs' lawyers sought new defendants to list in their lawsuits. In the end asbestos cases in West Virginia have become defined by tri-annual consolidated trial groups where the volume is paramount and lawsuits that name less than 100 defendants are rare.

Identifying the defendants

The truthful basis of asbestos lawsuits is often established through discovery. Many asbestos companies denied for many years that their products could cause harm to people, but once the lawsuits started, documents from the company emerged to reveal evidence of the dangers. These documents can assist plaintiffs prove that specific defendants' products caused their injuries. To win a case the plaintiff must show that the defendant's product was in use at his work site and that the worker was exposed to it by inhaling dust and that the exposure was a significant cause of his injuries.

Asbestos cases often involve multiple defendants. The method of identifying them differs from a personal injury lawsuit. The key is to build an information database that links employers, locations and products by interviewing co-workers and relatives looking over work orders and invoices as well as documents from vendors and suppliers, and analyzing samples from the plaintiff's home and workplace sites. The type of asbestos used - amosite, chrysotile or Crocidolite - could be useful in identifying defendants since each product is made by the same manufacturer.

Defendants must carefully review these facts and identify any potential sources of exposure. This could involve a thorough review of more than 40 years of a worker's life through Social Security, union, tax and other records. Because the time between asbestos-related injuries is so long, creating an accurate database requires extensive and costly discovery.

Due to the sheer number of cases and the limited resources of defendants asbestos cases are often being referred to as multi-district litigation (MDL) in federal courts. This practice allows defendants to share their resources and avoid the duplication of discovery.

Case Development

Asbestos suits require extensive research and the examination of many documents. This can be particularly challenging since exposure to asbestos often was a long time before the victim was diagnosed with a disease. To pinpoint the source of the asbestos exposure, attorneys must conduct interview and carefully go through thousands of pages of documents, such as employment records and union documents tax files, social security files, medical and lab reports.

The plaintiffs' lawyers also have to do everything they can to locate additional defendants. In certain instances, there could be as high as 40 defendants. To achieve this they must go further down the supply chain and research companies that may have a connection to asbestos that have not been named in the litigation.

This process is long, particularly if the claimant has mesothelioma, or other serious illnesses. It can be difficult to find witnesses and collect physical evidence.

An attorney for mesothelioma will try to determine the identity of all defendants and the connection to the victim's exposure. This could include a thorough examination of the past 40 years of the victim's life, which may include 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 complicated area of law. At McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia We have been at the forefront of asbestos litigation since our inception in 1994 and are national leaders in defending businesses involved in industry-wide multi-jurisdictional litigation. We serve as National Coordinating Counsel, and liaison counsel. We represent and manage the interests of a broad range of defendants, including distributors, manufacturers and contractors. We have extensive experience in formulating and drafting crucial defenses such as expert testimony and jurisdictional Case Management Orders.

Preparing for trial

Lawyers must meticulously prepare their cases ahead of trial to ensure that their clients have the strongest evidence and arguments possible. This includes reviewing medical records and preparing all witnesses.  Palatine asbestos lawyer  involves identifying exhibits that will be used at the trial. The process can take lengthy in cases that are complex.

Many asbestos patients are diagnosed with a less serious disease like asbestosis, the pleural plaque or fibrosis, prior to the mesothelioma's onset. Asbestosis can cause chest pain, coughing, and breathing problems.

Attorneys representing asbestos victims must also carefully examine the evidence in order to identify potential defendants that could be held accountable for the asbestos injuries. This involves interviewing coworkers, family, asbestos abatement workers and asbestos manufacturers, in addition to obtaining various documents.

Once a defendant is identified as a possible defendant, an attorney must determine the legal liability of this party. The defendants may be individuals, corporations or governmental agencies. They must be held responsible for their wrongful actions.

Many legislative solutions to solve asbestos litigation have been formulated in Congress. The efforts have not been successful due to a range of complicated political factors. Asbestos victims as well as their lawyers and the government remain determined to hold 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 attorneys have held insurance companies and other responsible parties accountable for their role in asbestos exposure. In Upstate New York asbestos litigation is divided into five judicial districts which are assigned cases by judges with experience in asbestos cases.

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 the annual and winter conventions, and in educational seminars on asbestos litigation.