Never-ending Asbestos Litigation
There seems to be no end to some of the asbestos litigation ongoing in the US and other countries around the world, with hundreds of class action lawsuits looking for damages against the manufacturers of asbestos siding, tile, shingles, and hundreds of other household goods and building products.
More than $80 billion in damages has already been paid out to over 700,000 claimants, with millions more in various stages of the litigation process.
While many experts have predicted that the number of asbestos cases would eventually decline — with the widespread use of asbestos ceasing in the 1970s — asbestos litigation is actually on the increase.
Several large insurers have warned this year of additional costs in the hundreds of millions of settling new asbestos cases in 2011, partially fueled by over-zealous lawyers adding anyone vaguely exposed to asbestos to class action lawsuits.
Judges and juries continue to award large verdicts and favor plaintiffs, creating a feedback loop that could likely see asbestos litigation grow for years to come.
Ingenious claims are also arising for damages to be awarded in cases of indirect responsibility, with businesses being sued for “civil conspiracy” by plaintiffs who can’t prove any asbestos exposure directly.
Other companies have been targeted in lawsuits that claim they are responsible for the actions of other companies that took their initial products and added asbestos to them, opening up the door for suits against a much larger pool of companies.