New Life for Old Asbestos Cases?
An attempt is being made in Maryland to kick start some 13,000 asbestos cases that had been set aside by the courts. Fighting through a bottleneck of cases would be a victory in this case, as it's too often a battle just to get a plaintiff's day in court.
The effort, as our mesothelioma lawyers understand it, involves a proposal to have a number of those old cases lumped together based on similarities. These are cases that were previously put on the back burner because plaintiffs alleged asbestos exposure, but not sickness. Plaintiff attorneys say many of those individuals have since fallen ill, and now hope to have their cases heard together. It may ultimately reduce the damages per litigant, but it would ensure their cases could be heard sometime in the next decade, and the grouping would likely bolster their chances of a win.
The Baltimore Circuit Court has yet to rule on the proposal. However, the action is being sharply contested by defendant lawyers for allegedly bypassing certain due process procedures in an effort they contend is intended to pressure them into resolving potentially weaker cases.
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