You Will Meet Your Fellow Asbestos Litigation Enthusiasts. Steve Jobs Of The Asbestos Litigation Industry

Asbestos Litigation

Each asbestos case is unique however, the general procedure for defending such claims is the same. Your attorney will want you to conduct a deposition of the plaintiff.

The source of asbestos exposure can be numerous, not just one employer or business. This is the reason asbestos attorney cases usually involve multiple defendants.

Find out the source of exposure

The identification of asbestos exposure is an important step in filing an asbestos claim. Lawyers for victims often use medical records to determine the source of asbestos. This could help victims receive compensation from the companies that are responsible for their asbestos exposure.

Mesothelioma patients and their families require compensation to cover the cost of mesothelioma-related treatment. Compensation can also assist families in dealing with the emotional burdens of mesothelioma being diagnosed.

Asbestos lawsuits are complex legal proceedings, and the victims need to know their rights and how the process works. While attorneys can handle many aspects of a case the victims are expected to be involved in their case as well. This includes responding promptly to discovery requests and participating in depositions in court.

Remember that the statutes of limitations are restricted in New York, and you should consult an asbestos attorney as soon as you can. If you don't file your claim within the stipulated time frame you could be unable to collect on financial compensation.

In certain instances victims have been exposed to asbestos-containing products produced by several companies. In these cases, victims' attorneys will have to determine the source of all asbestos-containing products as well as the contractors and employers who supplied the materials.

Asbestos litigation is the longest-running mass tort in American history, and it has been the cause of hundreds of bankruptcy filings from asbestos producers. Many of these companies have set up trust funds to pay compensation to asbestos victims. Despite this, asbestos defendants continue denying the evidence linking asbestos exposure to mesothelioma and lung cancer. This is despite the findings of doctors like Dr. Irving J. Selikoff and Dr. Jacob Churg.

The process of creating the Database

A mesothelioma lawsuit or other asbestos-related diseases differs from a typical personal injury case. In many asbestos litigation cases, plaintiffs are represented by the same law firms as well as the same expert witnesses.

To build a strong asbestos lawyer defense, attorneys need to be able to access a large database that can identify possible exposure sources. This includes examining the work site, speaking with coworkers and obtaining documents from suppliers and employers. This involves locating and interviewing doctors or nurses who may be able testify regarding asbestos exposure.

This kind of database is difficult to build, particularly when the data has been lost over time. If this happens it may necessitate the reconstruction of a complete claims database as well as an insurance program, typically from multiple sources like loss runs claims files, internal systems, and defense counsel records. It could take years, or decades to complete.

Asbestos lawyers also need access to a software that allows them to locate potential exposure sites and identify potential defendants. Having this information at the fingertips of lawyers can save both valuable time and money.

After the bankruptcy of many asbestos producers, plaintiffs' attorneys looked for new defendants for their lawsuits. As a result of this asbestos cases in West Virginia are now defined by triannual consolidated trial groups where volume is the rule and suits naming less than 100 defendants is not common.

Identifying the defendants

The actual 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 began the company's documents provided evidence of the dangers. These documents can be used to prove that particular defendants products caused injuries. To win a case, a plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant's product was in use at his workplace and that the worker was exposed to it inhaling dust, and that the exposure was a significant reason for his injuries.

Since asbestos cases contain multiple defendants, the method of identifying defendants is different from a typical personal injury case. The most important thing is to create an information database that links employers locations, products and locations through interviews with co-workers and relatives, reviewing work orders and invoices as well as documents from vendors and suppliers and analyzing samples from the plaintiff's residence and employment websites. The type of asbestos involved - amosite, chrysotile, or crocidolite - can also be helpful in identifying defendants as each product is manufactured by an individual manufacturer.

The defendants are required to thoroughly look over these facts and determine all possible exposure sources. This may include a look at more than 40 years of records from Social Security, tax, union and other documents of the worker. Because the latency of asbestos-related injuries is so long, creating an accurate database requires a lot of time and costly investigation.

Due to the huge number of asbestos cases, and the limited resources of many defendants in federal courts, many asbestos cases will be referred to a multidistrict lawsuit (MDL). This allows defendants to share resources and prevent duplicate discovery.

Case Development

Asbestos suits require extensive research and the examination of numerous documents. This can be a difficult task because asbestos exposure often occurs years before the victim becomes ill. To determine the sources of exposure, lawyers must conduct interviews and go through the thousands of pages of documents such as union documents, employment records social security and tax records, and medical and laboratory reports.

The lawyers representing the plaintiffs must also do everything they can to find other defendants. In certain instances, there could be as many as 40 defendants. To achieve this they must go further down the supply chain and research entities with a possible nexus to asbestos, but have not been identified in the lawsuit.

This process can be extremely lengthy, especially if the claimant suffers from mesothelioma and other severe illnesses. It is also difficult to find witnesses and gather physical evidence.

An attorney for mesothelioma will try to determine the identity of all defendants and the connection to the victim's exposure. This can be a thorough analysis of the last 40 years of the victim's life, including interviews and a review their social security, labor, union and tax records.

A successful asbestos litigation strategy requires a lot of experience in this complex legal field. Since its inception at the beginning of 1994, McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia has been at the forefront in asbestos litigation and is a leader in the nation in defending businesses in multi-jurisdictional, industry-wide litigation. We serve as National Coordinating Counsel and liaison counsel, representing and representing the interests of a variety of different defendants including product manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and contractors. We have a wealth of experience formulating and drafting key defenses, expert testimony and jurisdictional Case Management Orders.

Preparing for trial

Lawyers must carefully prepare their cases prior to trial to ensure that their clients are able to present the strongest evidence and arguments possible. This involves reviewing medical records and preparing all witnesses. It also involves identifying the exhibits that will be used during the trial. This process can take years long in complex cases.

Many asbestos sufferers develop a less severe disease such as asbestosis, the pleural plaque or fibrosis, prior to the mesothelioma's development. Asbestosis symptoms can include tightening of the lungs that could cause breathing problems, coughing and chest pain.

Attorneys for asbestos victims must also review the evidence to identify potential defendants who might be accountable for the asbestos-related harms. This may involve interviewing coworkers, family members, asbestos lawyer manufacturers, asbestos abatement workers and obtaining various documents.

After a lawyer has identified a potential defendant, they need to determine the liability of that person. The defendants could be businesses, individuals, or government agencies. They are held accountable for their negligent acts.

Congress has enacted a number of legislative remedies to resolve asbestos lawsuits. The efforts have not been successful due to a range of complicated political issues. Asbestos victims and their lawyers are still determined to hold negligent asbestos companies accountable for their conduct.

Waters Kraus & Paul is an attorney firm that has handled hundreds of cases in New York State and across the country. Our lawyers have held insurance companies, and other responsible parties accountable for their involvement in the 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 welcomes all AAJ members including regular, life sustainer, 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.