About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

27 Washburn L.J. 454 (1987-1988)
Asbestos Abatement: The Second Wave of the Asbestos Litigation Industry

handle is hein.journals/wasbur27 and id is 470 raw text is: Asbestos Abatement: The Second Wave of the Asbestos Litigation Industry I. Introduction ............................................................ 454 II. Background: Uses and Hazards of Asbestos .................................. 456 III. The Importance of Asbestos Abatement ..................................... 459 A . In G eneral .......................................................... 459 B. Federal Legislation ................................................... 460 C . State R egulations .................................................... 465 IV. Financing the High Costs of Abatement ..................................... 467 A . H igh C osts ......................................................... 467 B. Government Funding ................................................. 469 C. Asbestos Abatement Litigation ......................................... 471 1. O verview ........................................................ 471 2. Identifying the Defendants ......................................... 476 3. Theories of Liability ............................................... 483 V . C onclusion .............................................................. 493 I. INTRODUCTION The hazardous health effects of asbestos have been recognized for centu- ries,' but the study, documentation and increasing concern over these hazards have developed primarily in the past twenty years.2 Thousands of lawsuits for personal injuries due to asbestos have resulted in billions of dollars in claims against the manufacturers of asbestos products.3 Some describe this phenome- non as the asbestos litigation industry.'4 The magnitude of the asbestos prob- lem continues to evolve, and a growing area of concern is asbestos abatement.5 Asbestos abatement involves the process of identifying buildings that contain 1. See G. PETERS & B. PETERS, SOURCEBOOK ON ASBESTOS DISEASES: MEDICAL, LEGAL, AND ENGINEERING ASPECTS BI (1980)[hereinafter SoURCEBOOK](knowledge of diseases related to asbestos exposure date back 2000 years); cf B. CASTLEMAN, ASBESTOS: MEDICAL AND LEGAL ASPECTS 1 (1984)(ancient historian referred to slaves using bladder skin or respirator to avoid asbes- tos dust). 2. See Note, Products Liability Issues in School Asbestos Litigation, 10 AM. J.L. & MED. 467, 470 (1985)(health hazards of occupational asbestos exposure studied by scientists and doctors in last 20 years); see also Rosenberg, The Dusting ofAmerica: A Story of Asbestos-Carnage, Cover-up, and Litigation, 99 HARV. L. REV. 1693, 1696 (1986)(increased awareness of dangers from low concentra- tion asbestos dust after Dr. Selikoff's report in 1965). 3. See Jackson v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp., 750 F.2d 1314, 1336 (5th Cir. 1985)(Clark, C.J., dissenting)(between 1970 and 1982 $1,000,000,000 spent by asbestos companies for litigation, dam- age awards and settlements), cert. denied, 106 S. Ct. 3339 (1986); id. at 1335-36 (24,000 claimants by 1983 and 500 new suits docketed per month); Sand, Impact on Civil Litigation of OSHA's Asbestos Standard, and Recordkeeping Requirements, in ASBESTOS REGULATION, REMOVAL, AND PROHIBI- TION 105, 107 (1987)(estimate of asbestos personal injury suits in future range 60,000 to double or triple that number); Selikoff, Twenty Lessons from Asbestos, 10 EPA J., May 1984, at 21, 23 (esti- mated total payments to asbestos victims $40,000,000,000 to $150,000,000,000); 75 Percent of State Asbestos Statutes Enacted in Last Two Years, BNA Survey Finds, 15 Prod. Safety & Liab. Rep. (BNA) 77, 78 (1987)[hereinafter Asbestos Statutes](estimated 40,000 cases pending by late 1986). 4. See Anderson, Asbestos Product Liability Litigation: What Can Be Done About It, 38 ARB. J., Sept. 1983, at 3, 3. Injured workers bringing asbestos claims have created what has been named the asbestos litigation industry. Id. The industry includes insurance companies, lawyers, court reporters and photocopy suppliers, but the injured workers are almost forgotten. Id. A plaintiff actually receives only 10-25e of every dollar spent on an asbestos case. Id. at 5. The author suggests an arbitration program rather than litigation for asbestos-related injuries. Id. at 6. 5. See Jackson v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp., 750 F.2d 1314, 1337 (5th Cir. 1985)(Clark, C.J., dissenting)(growing area of potential suits from use of asbestos in construction), cert. denied, 106 S. Ct. 3339 (1986); see also In re School Asbestos Litig., 789 F.2d 996, 1000 (3d Cir. 1986)(magnitude of problem enormous and growing).

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most