Asbestos litigation is complex, and the stakes are high. Asbestos was a commonly used building and industrial material, eventually phased out due to serious health concerns. However, because of the nature of asbestos and the illnesses it causes, asbestos litigation has unique challenges.

Asbestos and Disease

Asbestos is a naturally-occurring fibrous silicate made up of tiny, glass-like fibers. These fibers have several properties that led to the widespread use of asbestos. They are an extremely good insulator. Their glass-like nature makes them resistant to temperature changes. Additionally, their fibrous structure allows air to sit between the fibers, adding to the insulation. The fibers do not burn or melt easily, even at industrial temperatures. This makes asbestos ideal for a host of industrial and construction purposes and led to the material’s widespread use starting during the Industrial Revolution. However, the material has been linked to a number of life-threatening diseases, including asbestosis and mesothelioma.

Asbestosis is the formation of plaque and irritation on the lungs of people exposed to asbestos. The irritation and plaque on lung tissue cause symptoms similar to emphysema or COPD. This includes shortness of breath, persistent coughing, and coughing up blood. There is no cure, and physicians are limited to supportive therapy. Supportive therapy means treating the symptoms of an illness and making a person as comfortable as possible. The first recorded asbestosis death was English asbestos worker Nellie Kershaw in 1924. The first lawsuits over the disease were filed in 1929.

Mesothelioma is another disease closely linked to asbestos exposure. It is a cancer of the tissues that line the ribcage, often mistakenly called a lung cancer. It does produce some symptoms in common with lung cancer, including chest pain, difficulty breathing, and painful coughing. The earliest reports of mesothelioma — which link it to asbestos — predate reports of asbestosis. These reports date to 1898. Mesothelioma is a particularly nasty form of cancer. Even with aggressive treatment, more than two-thirds of patients die within two years of diagnosis.

Asbestos Legal Issues

Patients suffering from asbestos-related illnesses have several challenges in getting legal help. Most of the issues are because asbestosis, mesothelioma, and other asbestos-related diseases can take decades to manifest. This can complicate pinning down an exposure. Additionally, many companies that mined, machined, or used asbestos as an end product have gone out of business, been bought out, undergone mergers or changed their name. Additionally, many jurisdictions have statutes of limitations, a time limit preventing individuals from taking legal action after a certain amount of time.

Many asbestos lawsuits take the form of class action lawsuits. Class action lawsuits are a type of group lawsuit in which a group of plaintiffs allege that they have suffered similar harm from the same defendant. Class action lawsuits are designed to streamline the legal process by condensing what could be dozens, hundreds or even thousands of individual lawsuits into a single lawsuit. This saves time and resources for everyone involved. For example, the plaintiffs can pool their resources, the defendant only has to face a single lawsuit, and the legal system only has to try a single case.