Asbestos Litigation
Each asbestos case is distinct however the process for defending such claims is similar. Your lawyer will ask you to conduct an interview with the plaintiff.
The exposure of an individual to asbestos can be triggered by many places, not just a single employer or company. This is why asbestos cases typically involve multiple defendants.
Find out the source of exposure
In order to submit an asbestos claim it is crucial to pinpoint asbestos exposure. Attorneys for victims can often make use of medical records to determine asbestos' source. This could help victims receive compensation from the companies that are accountable for asbestos exposure.
Mesothelioma victims and their families require compensation to cover the cost of mesothelioma treatments. Compensation can help families cope emotionally with a mesothelioma diagnoses.
Asbestos cases are a complex legal cases. Victims need to know their rights and procedures. While attorneys can handle a variety of aspects of a case, they are expected to participate in the process. This includes responding quickly to requests for discovery and attending depositions in court.
Remember that the statutes are limited in New York, and you should consult an asbestos attorney as soon as you can. If you do not submit your claim within the prescribed timeframe you could be denied on financial compensation.
In some cases victims have been exposed to asbestos products manufactured by several companies. In these instances, victims' attorneys will need to identify all the asbestos-containing products, as well the contractors and employers who supplied the asbestos-containing products.
Boynton Beach asbestos attorney 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 established trust funds for asbestos victims. However, asbestos defendants continue denying the evidence linking asbestos exposure to mesothelioma and 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 illnesses or mesothelioma differs from a typical personal injury lawsuit. In many cases asbestos litigation, there are a lot of the same defendants (companies that are being sued) and many of the same law firms representing plaintiffs and many of the same expert witnesses.
To build a strong defense in an asbestos-related case, attorneys must have access to a comprehensive database that can help identify potential sources of exposure. This involves reviewing job sites, talking to coworkers and obtaining records from employers and suppliers. This also involves tracking down and interviewing nurses and doctors who are able to testify about asbestos exposure.
This kind of database can be difficult to create, particularly in the event that the data was lost over time. If this happens it could necessitate the reconstruction of a complete claims database as well as an insurance program, often from a variety of sources, including loss runs, claim files, internal systems, and defense counsel records. This can take many years or even years to complete.
Asbestos lawyers must also access to a software that permits them to identify potential defendants and potential exposure sites. This information is available to attorneys can save time and money.
Following the massive bankruptcies of asbestos producers the plaintiffs' lawyers were seeking new defendants to name in their lawsuits. In the wake of this, asbestos cases in West Virginia are now defined by triannual consolidated trial groups where volume is the rule and lawsuits naming less than 100 defendants is rare.
Identifying defendants
The truthful basis of asbestos cases is often established through discovery. Asbestos companies have denied for a number of years that their products could cause harm, but after lawsuits started, documents from the company exposed evidence of the dangers. These documents can help plaintiffs establish that certain defendants products were responsible for their injuries. To prevail in a lawsuit, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant's product were used at his workplace, and that he inhaled dust from the product and that exposure to the product was a major cause of his injuries.
Because asbestos cases contain multiple defendants, the method of identifying defendants is different from the typical personal injury case. The most important thing is to create an information database that links employers locations, products and locations by speaking with relatives and coworkers as well as reviewing work orders and invoices and obtaining documents from suppliers and vendors and analyzing samples taken from the plaintiff's residence and employment websites. It is also a good way to identify defendants if you know the type of asbestos such as chrysotile or amosite.
The defendants must take the time to review these facts and pinpoint all possible sources of exposure. This may require a review of more than forty years of a worker's existence through Social Security, union, tax and other documents. Because the time between asbestos injuries is so long, establishing an accurate database requires a lot of time and costly discovery.
Due to the huge number of cases and limited resources of defendants Many asbestos cases are referred to multi-district litigation (MDL) in federal courts. This allows defendants to share resources and prevent duplication of discovery.
Case Development
Asbestos lawsuits involve extensive investigation and the review of many documents. This can be a challenge because asbestos exposure often occurred years before a victim was diagnosed with a disease. To pinpoint the source of asbestos exposure, lawyers must conduct an interview and examine thousands of documents like employment records and union documents tax files, social security files, medical and lab reports.
The attorneys representing the plaintiffs have to do everything they can to find additional defendants. In some cases, there can be as many as 40 defendants. To do this, they need to look down the supply chain to investigate companies that could have a connection with asbestos but who are not mentioned in the lawsuit.
This process can be extremely time consuming, especially when the plaintiff is suffering from mesothelioma or other serious diseases. It is also difficult to find witnesses and collect physical evidence.
An attorney for mesothelioma will try to determine the identity of all defendants and their connections to the victim's exposure. This may be accomplished by a thorough analysis of over 40 years of the victim's life through interviews and a review of their social security, union, labor and tax records.
A successful asbestos litigation strategy depends on extensive experience in a complex area of law. Since our founding in 1994, McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia has been at the forefront in asbestos litigation and is a national leader in the defense of companies in multi-jurisdictional, global litigation. We are the 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 extensive experience in establishing and developing important defenses including expert testimony, jurisdictional Case Management Orders.
Prepare for the trial
Lawyers must carefully prepare their cases prior to trial to ensure that their clients can present the strongest evidence and arguments possible. This includes reviewing medical records, making sure that all witnesses are prepared and identifying the exhibits that will be used in the case. The process can take several years in the case of complex cases.
Before developing mesothelioma, many asbestos patients develop a lesser disease such as asbestosis, pleural fibrosis or pleural plaque. Asbestosis symptoms include tightening of the lungs that could cause breathing problems, coughing, and chest pain.
Asbestos victims' attorneys must also scrutinize the evidence to determine any potential defendants who could be held liable for the asbestos-related injuries. This may involve interviewing coworkers or family members, abatement workers, asbestos manufacturers and obtaining a variety.
Once a lawyer has identified a defendant, they need to determine the liability of that person. The defendants can be businesses, individuals, or government agencies. They must be held accountable for their actions.
A variety of legislative solutions to end asbestos litigation have been formulated in Congress. However, these initiatives have not been successful due to a variety of complicated political motives. Asbestos victims and their lawyers remain 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 insurance companies and other responsible entities accountable for their part in the asbestos exposure. In Upstate New York, asbestos litigation is centralized in five judicial districts in which cases are assigned to judges 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, at annual and winter conventions and participate in educational seminars on asbestos litigation.