The Most Worst Nightmare Concerning Asbestos Litigation Be Realized
Asbestos Litigation
Each asbestos case is distinct however the process for defending claims involving asbestos is similar. Your lawyer will require you to conduct a deposition of the plaintiff.
The source of asbestos exposure could be many, not just one employer or company. This is why asbestos cases typically involve multiple defendants.
Determine the source of exposure
To submit an asbestos claim it is important to identify asbestos lawyer exposure. Attorneys for victims can often use medical records to determine the source of asbestos. This can help victims receive compensation from the companies responsible for asbestos exposure.
Compensation is needed by mesothelioma patients as well as their families to pay for the cost of expensive treatment. Compensation can also assist families in dealing with the emotional burden of mesothelioma diagnosis.
Asbestos cases are complex legal cases. Victims must be aware of their rights and the procedure. While attorneys can handle a lot of aspects of a case, the victims are expected to be involved in their own case. This includes responding to requests for discovery and attending court depositions.
Remember that the statutes are restricted in New York, and you should seek advice from an asbestos lawyer as soon a possible. In the event of not filing an asbestos claim within the required timeframe could result in missing out on financial compensation.
In some cases asbestos-containing products manufactured by multiple companies have been used to expose victims. In such cases, the lawyers representing the victims have to determine the source of all asbestos-containing products, as well the employers and contractors who supplied the materials.
Asbestos litigation is the longest-running mass tort in American history. It has been the cause of dozens of bankruptcy filings by asbestos producers. Many of these companies established trust funds for asbestos victims. However, asbestos defendants continue to contest evidence that links asbestos exposure to mesothelioma lung cancer or other respiratory ailments. This is in spite of the research of doctors like Dr. Irving J. Selikoff and Dr. Jacob Churg.
Developing the Database
A lawsuit involving mesothelioma or other asbestos lawyers-related illnesses differs from a typical personal injury lawsuit. 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 representing plaintiffs, as well as many of the same expert witnesses.
To build a strong asbestos defense, lawyers need to be able to access a large database that can pinpoint potential exposure sources. This involves reviewing the websites of employers, speaking with coworkers and obtaining documents from suppliers and employers. This also involves finding and interviewing nurses and doctors who are able to testify about asbestos exposure.
This type of database is difficult to develop, especially in the event that the data was lost over time. In these cases, it may be necessary to reconstruct an entire insurance program and claims database, using multiple sources, such as loss runs and claim files internal system, as well as defense counsel records. This can take many years or even decades to complete.
Asbestos lawyers must also have access to a software that allows them locate potential exposure sites and identify potential defendants. The information that is at the fingertips of attorneys can save both valuable time and money.
After the collapse of several asbestos producers, plaintiffs' attorneys searched for new defendants to their lawsuits. In the wake of this, asbestos cases in West Virginia are now defined by triannual consolidated trials groups in which volume is the king and suits that name less than 100 defendants is a rarity.
Identifying the defendants
Most asbestos cases are founded on factual evidence that is discovered. Many asbestos companies resisted for decades that their products could harm people, but after the lawsuits started, documents from the company were discovered to provide evidence of the dangers. These documents can assist plaintiffs prove that specific defendants' products caused their injuries. To win a lawsuit, a plaintiff has to demonstrate that the defendant's products were used in the work place, that he breathed in dust from the product, and that this exposure was a major factor in his injuries.
Asbestos cases usually involve several defendants. The process of identifying them is different from a personal injury case. The most important thing is to create an inventory of employers locations, products and locations by interviewing co-workers and relatives looking over work orders and invoices and obtaining documents from suppliers and vendors and analyzing samples from the plaintiff's home as well as employment sites. It can also help to identify defendants if you know the type of asbestos like amosite or chrysotile.
Defendants must carefully look over these facts and determine 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 a worker. Due to the long latency of asbestos-related injuries, it is difficult and costly to create an accurate database.
Due to the large number of asbestos cases and limited resources of defendants in federal courts, a lot of asbestos cases will be assigned to a multi-district lawsuit (MDL). This allows defendants to share resources and prevent duplication of discovery.
Developing a Case
Asbestos lawsuits involve extensive research and the review of many documents. This can be particularly difficult since exposure to asbestos often occurred years before a victim became sick. In order to identify the source of exposure, lawyers need to conduct interviews and review thousands of pages of documentation such as the employment records, union documents social security and tax records as well as medical and laboratory reports.
The attorneys representing the plaintiffs must also do everything they can to find other defendants. In some cases, there can be as many as 40 defendants. To accomplish this they need to look further down the supply chain and look into entities with a possible nexus to asbestos that have not been named in the litigation.
This process can be extremely long, particularly when the plaintiff suffers from mesothelioma, or other serious illnesses. Additionally, it is often difficult to locate witnesses and get physical evidence.
A mesothelioma lawyer will identify the identity of all defendants who could be implicated, and their relationship to victim's exposure. This may include a thorough examination of the past 40 years of the victim's life, which may include interviews and a look at their social security and union, as well as tax records.
A successful asbestos litigation strategy requires a lot of experience in this complex area of law. At McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia we have been at the forefront of asbestos litigation since the time of our establishment in 1994 and are nationally recognized as leaders in the defense of firms involved in industry-wide, multi-jurisdictional litigation. We are the National Coordinating Counsel and liaison counsel as well as representing the interests of a variety of different defendants, including manufacturers of products, suppliers, distributors and contractors. We have extensive experience formulating and drafting key defenses including expert testimony, jurisdictional Case Management Orders.
Preparing for trial
Lawyers must be careful in preparing their cases for trial in order to ensure that their clients' arguments and evidence are as strong as they can be. This includes reviewing medical records, preparing all witnesses and identifying evidence to be used in the case. This process can take years in complex cases.
Before developing mesothelioma, many asbestos sufferers develop a less severe disease, such as asbestosis or the pleural plaque or pleural fibrosis. Asbestosis can cause chest pain, coughing, and breathing difficulties.
Lawyers for asbestos victims must also review the evidence to determine potential defendants that could be held accountable for the asbestos-related harms. This involves interviewing family members, colleagues, asbestos abatement workers and asbestos manufacturers, as well as gathering various documents.
Once a lawyer has identified a defendant, they must then determine the liability of the party. The defendants could be businesses, individuals or government agencies. They are accountable for their negligent acts.
Congress has offered a variety of legislative remedies to resolve asbestos lawsuits. These efforts haven't been successful due to a range of complicated political issues. Asbestos victims and their lawyers are still committed to holding negligent 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 involvement in asbestos exposure. In Upstate New York, asbestos litigation is centralized 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 of the asbestos lawyers Litigation Group network and discuss legal issues strategies, and also at annual and Winter conventions.