In recent months there has been much talk about limiting the damages that asbestos victims may recover. This only serves to further insulate culpable wrongdoers from the huge financial exposure they righfully face. This ultimately results in diminished relief for asbsestos victims.
The following was provided by the April 2006 edition of the American Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA) publication "Trial":
- "Asbestos bailout legislation has been on Congress’s front burner in recent months-the Senate bill was blocked in February but is likely to reemerge–and state legislatures are following suit. Bills in statehouses nationwide would create unnecessary and unfair hurdles for people claiming injury from asbestosis or asbestos-related cancer. The state proposals are modeled after legislation drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council. These bills generally include provisions that would cap noneconomic damages, eliminate joint and several liability, bar the consolidation of cases, limit expert testimony, and impose medical criteria standards that have been proposed by the American Bar Association (ABA) for people filing claims involving nonmalignant asbestos-related disease."