Comments on: The asbestos litigation machine http://overlawyered.com/2008/05/the-asbestos-litigation-machine/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-asbestos-litigation-machine Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Sun, 27 May 2012 13:04:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: E-Bell http://overlawyered.com/2008/05/the-asbestos-litigation-machine/comment-page-1/#comment-11805 E-Bell Thu, 08 May 2008 08:28:12 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/wpblog/?p=6193#comment-11805 This is a good report. Everyone who thinks there's nothing wrong with mass tort litigation should read it. I've had a brief exposure to asbestos litigation on the defense side. What I saw was pretty amazing. These mass tort lawyers go to the union halls and sign people up who <i>might</i> have been exposed to asbestos at some point in their past. They get screened by a hand-picked doctor, who invariably finds that the 85-year-old man who smoked 2 packs a day for 60 years and has recently started to develop shortness of breath has an indeterminate smudge on his chest x-ray. The diagnosis, of course, is asbestosis. Almost invariably, these plaintiffs can't provide any evidence that they were exposed to asbestos-containing products at all, let alone which products they were or which companies made them. It's a shakedown, pure and simple. This is a good report. Everyone who thinks there’s nothing wrong with mass tort litigation should read it.

I’ve had a brief exposure to asbestos litigation on the defense side. What I saw was pretty amazing.

These mass tort lawyers go to the union halls and sign people up who might have been exposed to asbestos at some point in their past. They get screened by a hand-picked doctor, who invariably finds that the 85-year-old man who smoked 2 packs a day for 60 years and has recently started to develop shortness of breath has an indeterminate smudge on his chest x-ray.

The diagnosis, of course, is asbestosis.

Almost invariably, these plaintiffs can’t provide any evidence that they were exposed to asbestos-containing products at all, let alone which products they were or which companies made them.

It’s a shakedown, pure and simple.

]]> By: Anonymous Attorney http://overlawyered.com/2008/05/the-asbestos-litigation-machine/comment-page-1/#comment-11804 Anonymous Attorney Wed, 07 May 2008 16:16:59 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/wpblog/?p=6193#comment-11804 Looks like a solid report. We need John Stossel of ABC to feature it. Looks like a solid report. We need John Stossel of ABC to feature it.

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