Brigette Honaker  |  December 3, 2019

Category: Asbestos

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Baltimore hosts thousands of asbestos related disease lawsuits.The Baltimore court system has proposed a five-year plan to resolve 30,000 lawsuits regarding asbestos related disease such as lung cancer.

There are reportedly almost 30,000 cases pending in the Baltimore court system due to the three decades in which Baltimore was the leading venue for suing asbestos companies. In order to resolve these claims, Baltimore judges have proposed a plan in which they would try 500 asbestos cases a month. With this rate, the pending cases would reportedly be resolved within five years.

Although the proposed plan would resolve the asbestos related disease claims in a relatively timely fashion, the courts have received backlash from a Maryland trial attorney who owns the Orioles baseball team, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The attorney claims that the Baltimore courts’ plan is too ambitious and unrealistic. His law firm, which reportedly filed 83 percent of all new asbestos claims in Maryland this year, argues that it can only handle up to 175 cases a month. This timeline reportedly compensates for the work involved in tracking down records and locate witnesses.

The firm instead proposed another solution: allowing them to consolidate the roughly 20,000 cases they are responsible for. The lawyers argue that this would deal with pending cases in one fell swoop rather than trying them all individually.

Asbestos Related Disease

When asbestos fibers are used in a product, they can become unknowingly released into the air when the items are disturbed. These tiny asbestos fibers can then be inhaled or swallowed. Unfortunately, the body is unable to completely expel asbestos fibers and instead holds them in the body for a long time. Over time, the fibers in the body can cause scarring and inflammation.

Eventually, this damage can lead to cellular changes that cause asbestos related disease, including cancer. Asbestos is related to a variety of cancers including lung cancer, larynx cancer, stomach cancer, and more. Exposure to asbestos is also related to mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer than affects the tissue lining the body (including the lungs).

Some of the claims pending in Baltimore courts involve non-cancer asbestos related disease such as asbestosis. Asbestosis is a chronic lung condition that occurs when asbestos fibers cause inflammation and scaring in the lungs. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, a persistent dry cough, loss of appetite, weight loss, chest pain/tightness, and clubbing of the fingertips and toes (appearing wider and rounder than normal).

People may be at a higher risk for asbestos related diseases if they worked in an at risk occupation. This includes shipbuilders, miners, textile workers, insulators, construction workers, builders, firefighters, railroad workers, and more.

Asbestos diseases take a long time to develop, so people may not be diagnosed with cancer or other issues for years or decades after they were exposed to the material. This can make it difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of asbestos exposure which is part of why lawyers in Baltimore say they need more time to gather evidence for trials.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual asbestos lawsuit or asbestos class action lawsuit is best for you. [In general, asbestos lung cancer lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.] Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

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