Notes

What NOT To Do In The Asbestos Litigation Industry
Asbestos Litigation

Each asbestos case is distinct, but the general process for defending claims involving asbestos is similar. Your attorney should take a deposition of the plaintiff.

The exposure of an individual to asbestos can come from multiple sources, not just an employer or a company. That's why asbestos cases often involve multiple defendants.

Identifying www.youtube.com of exposure

In order to make an asbestos claim, it is crucial to pinpoint asbestos exposure. Often, the attorneys of victims can work with medical records to determine the cause of asbestos. This could help victims receive compensation from the companies that are responsible for their asbestos exposure.

Compensation is needed by mesothelioma patients as well as their families to pay for the expense of expensive treatment. Compensation can also assist families in dealing with the emotional burden of mesothelioma diagnosis.

Asbestos cases can be a complicated legal cases. The victims must be aware of their rights and the procedure. While attorneys can handle many aspects of a case the victims are expected to be involved in the case too. This includes responding to discovery requests and participating in depositions in court.

It is also important to keep in mind that the statutes of limitations in New York are limited, and it is essential to seek out an experienced asbestos attorney whenever you can. If you do not file your claim within the stipulated timeframe you could be unable to collect on financial compensation.

In some instances, victims have been exposed to asbestos-containing products produced by multiple companies. In such cases, the lawyers representing the victims need to identify all the asbestos-containing products, as well the companies and contractors that supplied the asbestos-containing products.

Asbestos litigation is the longest-running mass tort in American history, and it has been responsible for hundreds of bankruptcy filings from asbestos manufacturers. Many of these companies set up trust funds for asbestos victims. But asbestos defendants continue to challenge evidence that links mesothelioma and asbestos exposure lung cancer, or other respiratory illnesses. This is despite studies conducted by doctors such as Dr. Irving J. Selikoff Dr. Jacob Churg, and Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond, among others.

Making the Database

A lawsuit involving asbestos-related diseases or mesothelioma differs from a typical personal injury case. In a lot of asbestos litigation cases, plaintiffs are represented by the same law firms and same expert witnesses.

In order to develop a successful defense in a case involving asbestos, attorneys must have access to a comprehensive database that can identify potential exposure sources. This includes reviewing job sites, interviewing co-workers and getting documents from suppliers and employers. This also involves the search for and interviewing nurses and doctors who can testify about asbestos exposure.

Making this kind of database can be challenging particularly in situations where the data has been deleted or lost over time. In these situations it could be necessary to reconstruct the entire insurance program and claims database, using multiple sources like loss runs, claim files internal system, as well as defense counsel records. It can take years, or even decades, to complete.

Asbestos lawyers must also access a program which allows them to identify potential defendants and potential exposure sites. Lawyers can save time and money by having this information readily available.

Following the massive bankruptcy of many asbestos manufacturers attorneys for plaintiffs sought new defendants to name in their lawsuits. As a result of this asbestos cases in West Virginia are now defined by triannual consolidated trial groups in which volume is the king and suits that name less than 100 defendants is not common.

Identifying the Defendants

Often, asbestos cases are founded by factual evidence that's later discovered. Many asbestos companies have denied for many years that their products could cause harm to people, but once the lawsuits started, documents from the company came to light and revealed evidence of the dangers. These documents can help plaintiffs establish that certain defendants products caused their injuries. In order to win a lawsuit the plaintiff must prove that the defendant's products were used in his workplace, that he inhaled dust from the product, and that this exposure was a major cause of his injuries.

Since asbestos cases involve multiple defendants, the method of identifying defendants is different than a typical personal injury case. Through interviews with coworkers and family members, looking over invoices and work orders, getting documents from vendors and suppliers and analyzing asbestos samples collected from the plaintiff's workplace as well as home, it is possible to create an information database that connects employers as well as locations and products. It is also possible to identify defendants if you know the type of asbestos, such as amosite or chrysotile.

The defendants are required to thoroughly review these facts, and identify all possible sources of exposure. This may include a look at more than 40 years of records from Social Security, tax, union and other records of a worker. Due to the lengthy latency of asbestos-related injuries, it can be difficult and costly to create an accurate database.

Due to the huge number of cases and the insufficient resources of many defendants, many asbestos cases are transferred to multi-district litigation (MDL) in federal courts. This allows defendants to share their resources and reduce duplication of discovery.

Case Development

Asbestos lawsuits require extensive research and the examination of a large number of documents. This can be a challenge because exposure to asbestos typically occurred years before a victim developed a health issue. To determine the source of exposure, lawyers must conduct interviews and go through thousands of pages of documentation such as union documents, employment records tax and social security files and medical and laboratory reports.

The plaintiffs' attorneys must do all they can to identify other defendants. In certain instances, there could be up to 40 defendants. To accomplish this they need to look further down the supply chain and research companies that may have a connection to asbestos, but have not been named in the lawsuit.

This process is often very time consuming, especially when the plaintiff is suffering from mesothelioma, or other serious diseases. It is also difficult to find witnesses and gather physical evidence.

A mesothelioma lawyer will determine the potential defendants and their connection to victim's exposure. This may involve a thorough review over the last 40 years of the victim's life, including interviews and a review their social security and union, as well as tax records.


A successful asbestos litigation strategy requires extensive experience in this tangled area of law. Since our founding in 1994, McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia has been at the forefront in asbestos litigation and is a leader in the nation in defending companies in multi-jurisdictional litigation that spans the entire industry. We act as National Coordinating Counsel, and liaison counsel. We represent and represent the interests of a broad variety of defendants, including product manufacturers, distributors and contractors. We have a wealth of experience creating and establishing key defenses, expert witness testimony and jurisdictional Case Management Orders.

Prepare for the trial

Lawyers must carefully prepare their cases for trial to ensure that their clients' evidence and arguments are as strong as they could be. This involves reviewing medical records, making sure that all witnesses are prepared and identifying exhibits to be used in the case. This can take a lot of time in complicated cases.

Before developing mesothelioma, many asbestos victims develop a lesser disease like asbestosis, and pleural plaque. Asbestosis can cause chest pain, coughing, and breathing problems.

Attorneys representing asbestos victims should also examine the evidence in order to identify potential defendants who could be held responsible for the asbestos-related harms. This includes speaking with family members, coworkers asbestos abatement workers, asbestos abatement employees and asbestos manufacturers, as well as getting various documents.

Once a defendant has been identified An attorney must determine the liability of the party. The defendants can be businesses, individuals or government agencies. They must be held responsible for their wrongful actions.

Congress has enacted a number of legislative solutions to end asbestos lawsuits. The efforts have not been effective due to a myriad of complex political factors. Asbestos victims, their lawyers and the government remain determined to hold negligent asbestos firms accountable for their actions.

Waters Kraus & Paul is a law firm that has handled hundreds of cases in New York State and across the nation. Our attorneys have held asbestos producers as well as insurance companies and other responsible parties accountable. In Upstate New York asbestos litigation is centralized into five judicial districts, which are assigned cases by judges with experience in asbestos matters.

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 plaintiff-only list server, at annual and winter conventions and participate in educational seminars on asbestos litigation.

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