Liability is crucial in asbestos cases, as it determines who will be held legally responsible for the injuries and harm caused by asbestos exposure. Establishing liability is essential because the diseases and illnesses resulting from asbestos exposure were entirely preventable.
The vast majority of asbestos cases stem from occupational exposure, especially for those in the trades and mining. Exposure also occurred secondhand or through contaminated consumer products such as talcum powder. According to the 2023 KCIC report, cases with purely non-occupational asbestos exposure account for about 1% of cases.
It’s critical that you contact an experienced asbestos litigation attorney to guide you through the process, including determining liability and filing for compensation.
Determining Liability in an Asbestos Case
Asbestos lawsuits are based on three legal principles: negligence, strict liability, product liability, and breach of warranty.
Negligence occurs when a party fails to exercise reasonable care, resulting in harm to others. In asbestos cases, a court or jury could find a company negligent if it knew about the dangers of asbestos but failed to warn workers or take adequate safety measures, including signage and providing PPE.
To prove negligence, a plaintiff must prove four points:
- The defendant had a legal duty to the plaintiff.
- The defendant’s conduct violated that duty.
- The defendant’s negligence caused the plaintiff’s injury, i.e., causation.
- The injury resulted in damage to the plaintiff.
Causation is often the most challenging part to prove, as the burden is on the plaintiff to prove that asbestos exposure was a critical factor in causing their disease. Most cases have medical probability, which details the frequency of asbestos exposure, duration of exposure, and proximity to asbestos-containing products.
Strict liability applies when a party is held liable for harm caused by their actions or products, regardless of whether they were negligent. In asbestos cases, companies that manufactured or distributed asbestos-containing products could be held strictly liable for the injuries caused by those products.
While a strict liability claim requires proof similar to the four points of negligence, it differs in two ways. First, the plaintiff does not need to prove the defendant acted negligently. The fact that asbestos is inherently dangerous is enough to establish that the company breached its duty of care. Furthermore, a legal duty to a plaintiff is established when the defendant is a commercial supplier, such as a manufacturer or seller of the asbestos product, instead of a casual seller.
Product liability holds manufacturers and sellers responsible for injuries caused by defective products. In asbestos cases, product liability claims may be brought against companies that produced or sold unreasonably dangerous asbestos-containing products.
A breach of warranty occurs when a company sells an unsafe asbestos product that causes cancer. The company can be held liable for breaching an implied warranty of safety, which ensures that a product is safe for its intended use.
A company can also be held liable for breaching an express warranty if it makes a false claim about an asbestos product that leads someone to buy or use it. For example, if a manufacturer or seller claims that an asbestos product is safe, but it turns out to be harmful, they may be liable to anyone who relied on the claim and was injured.
It’s important to note that asbestos, specifically mesothelioma lawsuits, are not filed against the employer but against the companies that manufactured the asbestos-containing products.
Who Can We Hold Liable for Asbestos Exposure?
Determining who is responsible for asbestos exposure can be difficult. Often, there is more than one defendant, and any number of them could be held liable. Each state has different laws on dividing responsibility. Defendants can include:
- Manufacturers made various asbestos-containing products for commercial, industrial, and consumer use. The manufacturers knew about the health hazards but did not warn workers and the public.
- Suppliers, distributors, and installers of asbestos products can be held liable if they fail to provide the proper protective equipment and training.
- Mining Companies knew the risks associated with asbestos, yet they failed to take the proper safety precautions and provide protective equipment. They also failed to warn workers and the public about the risks, placing miners and nearby residents at high risk of exposure. In the U.S., there were active asbestos mines in 35 states, with the last mine closing in 2002.
- Employers have a duty to provide safe working conditions for their employees. However, many employers that used asbestos products did not warn their workers about the dangers of asbestos or provide proper safety equipment or training.
- Owners of asbestos-contaminated properties have differing levels of liability depending on the state. But, property owners are expected to keep their premises safe and clear of asbestos. If asbestos is discovered on a property, the owner has a duty to use a certified asbestos abatement company to remove it.
It is also essential to know that a person does not need to be employed by a company to hold it liable. For example, a contractor exposed to asbestos at an off-site location may have a legal claim against the property owner. Many municipal buildings (schools, jails, courthouses, etc.), especially those built in the 1950s and 1960s, can contain asbestos, harming non-employees.
Types of Asbestos Lawsuits
There are several ways to seek asbestos liability compensation: verdicts, settlements, and bankruptcy trust claims. Families may also be able to file wrongful death claims.
An asbestos lawsuit may also include damages that cover lost wages, medical expenses, and other related expenses such as medical treatment and compensation for pain and suffering.
Parties Liable for Asbestos Exposure
The dangers of asbestos are well known. Companies hid its effects for decades but are now held rightfully liable for their actions. Here are some of the ways these big companies are being held responsible.
Johns Manville
Johns Manville was responsible for manufacturing asbestos from 1858 till the 1980s. They have an extensive history in asbestos lawsuits, which led to the formation of the Johns Manville Trust Fund, which started in 1988 and had a balance of $2.5 Billion. Johns Manville filed for bankruptcy in 1982 before establishing the trust, which had $520 million added to it due to the sheer volume of claims they had received from the people exposed to their dangerous products.
Johns Manville’s asbestos-ridden products, including insulation, ceilings, flooring, and other fireproofing materials, were used in various applications.
Raybestos
Raybestos, a prominent automotive parts manufacturer, produced asbestos products like brake linings and clutch pads. Despite awareness of the dangers of asbestos, they persisted in manufacturing these products. As a result, they can be held liable for any health problems arising from asbestos exposure.
One way they tried to mitigate the effects of the lawsuits coming forward was by creating spinoff companies, one of which was called Raytech. Raytech took control of Raybestos’ non-asbestos business assets in 1987. In this, Raybestos/Raymark agreed that RayTech would not be held responsible for any of the asbestos liabilities, but this agreement became obsolete after they filed for bankruptcy.
Raybestos/Raymark and Raytech both filed for bankruptcy in 1989. In 2001, Raytech created the Raytech Corporation Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust. In 2020 alone, the trust paid out $1.2 million.
Flintkote
Flintkote was founded in 1901 and operated from 1917 to 1987. It was best known for its roofing materials, which were manufactured with asbestos. Unlike other companies, Flintkote stopped manufacturing products containing asbestos after 1982 and, in 1984, completely stopped distributing them, but by then, it was too late.
Flintkote’s insurance company continued to pay settlements until 2001 when it went into debt. Before that, the company had sold its construction, stone, and cement manufacturing plants to pay for all the asbestos-related claims. In 2004, the company filed for bankruptcy to pay for the claims still coming in.
Bondex
Bondex, founded in 1959 and headquartered in St. Louis, was known for producing joint compounds, roofing cement, and paints for the construction industry and home building and repair projects. Unlike others, Bondex is still technically operating as a subsidiary of RPM Inc. after the latter filed for bankruptcy in 2010.
In 2016, RPM Inc. launched the Bondex Trust due to the high volume of cases they were receiving. They could not keep up with the financial liabilities of the cases coming in. Before 2003, the claims were not as frequent, and RPM managed to cover
3M
3m, which was previously known as The Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, operated in over 70 countries from the 1930s through the 1980s. They produced various products, including cloth, caulking, tape, laminate, and adhesives, all containing asbestos.
What sets 3M apart from other asbestos manufacturers is its protective equipment, which was falsely advertised as protecting users against asbestos. These protective masks and other equipment are the primary source of their lawsuits today.
Another significant difference with 3M is that they never declared bankruptcy. They have handed out nearly $300 million in settlements and have handled thousands of asbestos-related claims.
CertainTeed
CertainTeed produced asbestos-containing products from the 1930s to 1993. These included cement pipes, roof coatings, and other construction materials. They also made products for shipbuilding and water utilities.
Since 2002, the company has had more than $2 billion in asbestos liability claims. Until 2020, it handled all liability claims annually, but with more than 60,000 asbestos lawsuits, 3,200 of them in active litigation, the company was forced to file bankruptcy.
John Crane
Unlike others, John Crane, with headquarters in Morton Grove, IL, is still operational and has not filed for bankruptcy. It started in 1917 as the Crane Packing Company in Chicago and grew into the leading engineering sealing systems company with 19 manufacturing sites and more than 6,500 employees in more than 50 countries.
They originally manufactured packing and gaskets, which are still among their product lines. In the late 1990s, competitors began to shut down, which allowed John Crane to expand its line and become a global presence.
Today, John Crane has not filed for bankruptcy and continues litigating asbestos cases. They are known for their “no-settle-regardless-of-merits ” policy.
GE
GE, or General Electric Company, was founded in 1892 and is still operational. It grew into one of the world’s largest companies, with over $25 billion in revenue before 1980. GE was the primary manufacturer of electronics, light bulbs, electricity, and power-generating equipment, and it used asbestos in numerous products.
Steam turbines, installed in 22,000 locations throughout the United States, were one of the primary uses of asbestos.
Foseco
Foseco manufactures brick linings, flow control products, crucibles for use with molten metals, and temperature measurement systems. Because these products were made to be heat resistant, they all contained asbestos.
Like many other companies at this time, Foseco knew about the health hazards of asbestos but continued to manufacture it and not tell its workers. In 1976, however, due to the pressure of customers and their insurers, Foseco decided to stop manufacturing asbestos entirely.
The company has still not filed for bankruptcy. They continue to handle cases through settlements and jury trials.
Phillip Carey
Phillip Carey, which was merged with Rapid-American in 1972, was responsible for manufacturing industrial equipment such as boilers, pipes, generators, and more. They started getting lawsuits in 1974 after it was taken over by Rapid-American, which took over the responsibility of all of the asbestos lawsuits.
The company faced around 275,000 asbestos claims; in 2013, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Rapid-American settled about 75,000 of the claims and was between $100 million and $500 million in debt.
Vogelzang Law is Here to Help
At Vogelzang Law, we are always committed to our clients and bring them the justice they deserve. We have brought over $300 million in verdicts nationwide for our clients and will continue to fight to get them more.
Please contact us if you have any questions about potential exposure or want to know more about your rights.
