Atlanta, GA, July 27--Asbestos deaths have increased 400%, while deaths related to silicosis have dropped 70%, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control, which asbestos lawsuit reformers see as further evidence for their position that the legal system handling these claims needs an overhaul.
The number of asbestosis deaths increased from 77 deaths (annual age-adjusted death rate: 0.54 per million population) in 1968 to 1,493 deaths (6.88 per million) in 2000, according to a recent CDC report.
The report compares the periods 1968 to 1981 with 1982 to 2000, noting that silicosis mortality declined steadily and, since 1993, was the least recorded category of related lung impairment.
Geographically, asbestosis increased substantially throughout the United States, particularly in the coastal states, where asbestos was used frequently in shipbuilding, while there was either little change or a decline in other lung impairments, which tend to occur in the mining and industrial regions of the country.
A big factor, the report notes, is the decline in the coal mining work force since the 1920s, and the loss of heavy industry contributing to the declining number of workers being exposed to silica dust, along with dust limits.
The Rand Institute for Civil Justice began analyzing asbestos litigation in the early 1980s, and calls it the longest-running and most expensive category of tort litigation in U.S. history.
In a report released earlier this year, Rand found companies had paid about $70 billion for 730,000 asbestos claims from the 1970s through 2002. An additional 100,000 claims were filed in 2003. When it did its first assessment in 1982, Rand found $1 billion had been paid for 21,000, and a 2002 update found $54 billion had been paid on 600,000 claims through 2000--reflecting a $16 billion increase in two years (BestWire, April 8, 2004).
Advocates for asbestos litigation reform see the CDC report as reinforcement of their position.
Though the percentage increase in the CDC study may appear high, the actual number of deaths--1,493--is "tiny" when compared with the actual number of cases filed each year, said Gary Karr, a spokesman with the American Insurance Association.
The numbers from the CDC report also illustrate that "people who are not sick are suing way more than those who are," Karr said. There are even cases with a questionable diagnosis, along with lawsuits filed by those suffering no diminished lung capacity, he said. "They are swamping the system."
With the CDC expecting asbestos claims to rise in the next decade, these claimants may find it increasingly difficult to get timely or adequate compensation because of the "enormous" amount of money now being spent on litigating claims for the nonsick, and for those who will never develop an asbestos-related illness, said Mark Behrens, a partner in the law firm of Shook, Hardy & Bacon in Washington, D.C., and counsel to the insurer nonprofit Coalition for Litigation Justice.
"Current estimates indicate that up to 90 percent of the claimants who file asbestos claims today have no medically cognizable injury or impairment. The CDC report highlights the urgent need for courts and legislatures to prioritize the treatment of asbestos cases," Behrens said.
There is nothing surprising or shocking about the CDC numbers, when considering dates of asbestos usage and the latency period from first exposure to disease, said Randy Maniloff, with Philadelphia-based law firm Christie, Pabarue, Mortensen and Young.
"These factors have long been understood by those involved in asbestos litigation and I doubt this report will change anything, or register more than a blip on anyone's radar screen," said Maniloff, a coverage attorney representing insurers. "However, the CDC report serves as a reminder that
just because a lot of the people presently filing asbestos claims are 'unimpaired,' does not mean that they will always be 'unimpaired.'"
Ohio now has a bill requiring those filing asbestos lawsuits to meet medical criteria for a catastrophic illness before their case can be heard before a judge. It's the first state in the country to have such a measure.
The CDC report reinforces the fact that the sickest patients need to have their cases heard first, said Jenny Camper, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Alliance for Civil Justice. "It isn't fair that people fighting fatal diseases also must fight through a court system that allows a flood of claims from people who aren't even sick."
