The impact of a 22-year-old evidence ruling in a 1993 asbestos lung cancer lawsuit has been trickling through recent Asbestos litigation throughout the U.S. Courts.

Back in 1993, in the case of Daubert v. Merrell Down Pharmaceuticals Inc., the presiding judge ruled that a medical hypothesis called the “every exposure theory” was inadmissible in court. Despite this, plaintiffs in asbestos lawsuits continue to attempt to invoke this concept from time to time, often with unsatisfactory outcomes. As applied to asbestos lawsuits, the hypothesis holds that every asbestos exposure a person suffers contributes to any asbestos-related disease they eventually develop, including asbestos lung cancer.

In a more recent asbestos lawsuit, the family of a man who died from mesothelioma and asbestos lung cancer alleges that he contracted these diseases from asbestos exposure from asbestos-bearing products in his workplace. This allegedly included an adhesive made by Amchem Incorporated that included asbestos. The asbestos lawsuit hinged on the allegations that this asbestos exposure caused the man’s asbestos lung cancer.

To support these allegations, the plaintiffs called in an expert witness that testified that the asbestos-bearing adhesive was a factor in the deceased mans’ asbestos cancers. However, the defense was able to invoke the Daubert decision and asserted that the plaintiff’s expert testimony was challenging the legally-discredited “every exposure” hypothesis, an idea that has proven inadmissible in court for the past 22 years. Based on this, the courts ruled that the idea that the man’s lung cancer was caused by asbestos could not hold up in court and the court ruled the plaintiff’s expert testimony inadmissible.

Asbestos Lawsuits

Asbestos lawsuits are a complex area of U.S. law. Asbestos first came into widespread use during the Industrial Revolution, roughly the same time as the American Civil War. By the early years of the 20th century, medical science had amassed substantial evidence that asbestos exposure could cause diseases like asbestos lung cancer and others serious illnesses. Despite this, asbestos use was not fully phased out until the 1980s in the United States. As such, millions of working Americans have suffered asbestos exposure and may eventually have to file asbestos lawsuits to recoup potential costs associated with asbestos lung cancer or mesothelioma.

Despite the fact that asbestos has more-or-less stopped being used in the United States, many asbestos diseases like asbestos lung cancer can take decades to fully develop. As such, many asbestos lawsuits currently working through the court system stem from asbestos exposures dating back decades. In fact, asbestos lawsuits are still working their way through the courts wherein plaintiffs were exposed to asbestos while building U.S. Navy ships that fought in World War II.

This Asbestos Lawsuit is Case No. 23-6555, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.