New York Asbestos Litigation

In New York, mesothelioma and lung cancer victims can find compensation through an expert mesothelioma lawyer. These illnesses are often caused by exposure to asbestos. The symptoms may not be apparent for a long time.

Judges who oversee the cases of NYCAL have developed a system that favors plaintiffs. A recent ruling could further weaken the rights of defendants.

Upstate New York Asbestos Litigation Dockets

Asbestos litigation is different than the typical personal injury lawsuit. These cases involve many defendants (companies who are being in court) and law firms representing plaintiffs as well as multiple expert witnesses. These cases are usually focused on specific work locations since asbestos was used to create a variety products and many workers were subjected to it during their work. Asbestos victims are often diagnosed with serious illnesses such as mesothelioma or lung cancer.

New York has its own unique method of handling asbestos lawsuit litigation. In fact, it is one of the largest dockets in the United States. It is administered under a special Case Management Order. This CMO was designed to handle asbestos cases that have a large number of defendants. The Judges involved in the NYCAL docket have experience in asbestos cases. The docket is also the site of some of the highest plaintiff verdicts in the past.

The New York Court of Appeals has recently made some significant changes to the NYCAL docket. In 2015 the political system in Albany was shaken to its core by the conviction of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on federal corruption charges. Silver was accused of killing every reasonably created tort reform bill that was passed by the legislature for more than 20 years, while working for the plaintiffs' firm Weitz & Luxenberg.

Justice Sherry Klein Heitler, the long-time head of the NYCAL docket, was dismissed in April 2014 amidst reports that she'd given the Weitz & Luxenberg law firm "red-carpet treatment." She was replaced by Justice Peter Moulton, who implemented a number of changes to the docket.

Moulton implemented new rules in the NYCAL docket that requires defendants to provide evidence that their products are not responsible for the plaintiffs' mesothelioma. In addition, he implemented the new policy that he did not dismiss cases until all expert witness testimony was complete. This new policy could have significant effects on the speed of discovery for cases in the NYCAL docket, and could lead to an outcome that is more favorable for defendants.

In other New York asbestos news, an federal judge from the Eastern District of Virginia recently dismissed MDL 875 and ordered all asbestos cases in the future to be transferred to another district. This will hopefully lead to more uniform and efficient handling of these cases, because the MDL currently MDL has earned itself reputation for a history of abuse of discovery as well as unjustified sanctions and minimal evidentiary requirements.

Central New York Asbestos Litigation Dockets

After years of corruption and mismanagement by former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the scandals concerning his ties to asbestos lawyers have brought attention to New York City's asbestos docket that is rigged. Justice Peter Moulton is now presided over NYCAL and has already held a town hall meeting with defense attorneys to listen to complaints about a "rigged" system that favors one mighty asbestos law firm.

Asbestos litigation is different from the typical personal injury lawsuit, with many of the same defendants (companies that are sued) as well as plaintiffs (people who file the lawsuits). Asbestos litigation also includes similar workplaces where workers were exposed asbestos, leading to mesothelioma and lung cancer. This can result in huge case verdicts, which can clog the court dockets.

To limit this problem To address this issue, several states have passed laws that limit the types of claims that can be filed. These laws typically address issues including medical requirements, two-disease regulations expedited case scheduling, forum shopping, joinders, the right to punitive damages and successor liability.

Despite these laws, some states continue see a high number of asbestos lawsuits. In an effort to cut down on the number of filings and speed up the resolution process, some courts have created special "asbestos dockets" which apply a set of different rules for these cases. The New York City asbestos court is one example. It requires applicants to meet certain medical standards and has rules for two diseases. It also uses an accelerated schedule.

Some states have passed laws that limit the amount of punitive damage that can be awarded in asbestos cases. These laws are intended to discourage bad conduct and offer more compensation to victims. Whatever the case is filed in a state or federal court, you should work with a New York mesothelioma lawyer to learn more about the laws that affect your particular situation.

Alfred Sargente concentrates his practice in toxic tort and environment litigation, product liability and commercial litigation. He also handles general liability issues. He has extensive experience in defending clients from claims that claim exposure to lead, asbestos and World Trade Center dust in both New York and New Jersey. He has also defended cases alleging exposure to other contaminants and hazards like noise, mold, vibration and environmental contaminants.

Southern New York Asbestos Litigation Dockets

Thousands of people have died from asbestos exposure in New York. Mesothelioma patients and their families have filed lawsuits in five counties against companies that manufacture of asbestos-containing products to seek compensation. Mesothelioma lawsuits that succeed hold negligent asbestos companies accountable for their reckless decisions to prioritize profits over public safety.

New York mesothelioma lawyers are skilled in representing clients from diverse backgrounds against the nation's largest asbestos manufacturers. Their legal strategies may result in a generous settlement or trial verdict.

asbestos attorney litigation has a long history in New York, and continues to be the subject of news. According to the 2022 national report on mesothelioma claim submissions by KCIC, New York is the third most popular state for filing mesothelioma claims, after California and Pennsylvania.

The state's judiciary has been hit by the flood of asbestos lawsuits. In 2015, former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was convicted on federal corruption charges partly related to the millions of dollars in referral fees he received from the politically-powerful plaintiffs' law firm Weitz & Luxenberg from handling asbestos cases. Justice Sherry Klein Heitler was replaced as NYCAL's manager in the wake of the scandal. She had been in charge of NYCAL since the year 2008.

Justice Heitler was succeeded as NYCAL judge by Justice Peter Moulton, who has clarified that defendants cannot obtain summary judgment unless they have an "scientifically solid valid, credible and admissible scientific study" that shows the measured exposure of a plaintiff was too low to cause mesothelioma. This effectively ends the possibility that NYCAL defendants will be able to obtain summary judgment.

Additionally, Justice Moulton has ruled that a plaintiff has to prove some injury to his or her health from exposure to asbestos in order for a court to award compensatory damages. This ruling, combined with a ruling from the beginning of 2016 which ruled that medical monitoring was not a tort claim makes it almost impossible for an asbestos defense lawyer to prevail on a NYCAL Summary Motion for Judgment.

In the case that Judge Toal was the judge in a mesothelioma suit filed against DOVER Green, the company is accused of violating asbestos work practices regulations when it renovated Manhattan campus buildings in October 2013 to raise funds for a fundraiser. The lawsuit asserts that DOVER GREENS didn't follow CAA and asbestos NESHAP regulations because it failed to inform and inspect the EPA prior to commencing renovations, or to properly removing, storing and dispose of asbestos and appointing a trained representative on site during renovations.

Eastern New York Asbestos Litigation Dockets

asbestos lawsuit-related personal lawsuits for death and injury clogged federal court dockets, and judges' resources were drained, making it difficult for them to address criminal matters or other important civil disputes. The overflowing litigation prevented prompt compensation of victims and frustrated innocent families. It also led to companies to spend excessive amounts of money on defense.

Asbestos claims are filed by individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma or other asbestos-related illnesses after being exposed to asbestos in a work environment. The majority of cases are filed by shipyard workers, construction employees, employees and other tradesmen who worked on structures that contained or were made with asbestos-containing materials. These individuals were exposed by asbestos fibers that were dangerous during the process of manufacturing or while working on the actual structure.

The first significant mass tort was asbestos litigation. From the late 1970s until early 1980s, asbestos exposure triggered a flood of personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. This was the case in both state and federal courts across the nation.

Plaintiffs in these lawsuits contend that their ailments were caused by the negligence in the production of asbestos products and that companies did not warn them about the dangers of asbestos exposure. More than half of asbestos lawsuits are filed in federal courts.

In the early 1990s, after recognizing that this litigation constituted "terrible calendar congestion," District Judge Jack B. Weinstein and New York Supreme Court Justice Helen Freedman jointly consolidated for settlement, pretrial and discovery purposes hundreds of federal and state cases that claimed asbestos exposure at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Judge Weinstein and Justice Freedman handled these cases, which were referred to as the Brooklyn Navy Yard consolidation, under the supervision of a Special Master.

A number of defendants were involved in asbestos claims in the past. The defendants list included Garlock, Inc; H & A Construction Company, as successors to Spraycraft Corporation; CRH, Inc. as the successor to E.I. Dupont; W.R. Grace and Company; Empire-Ace Insulation Manufacturing Company Bell/Atlas Asbestos Corp.; and DNS Metal Industries, Inc.