Some county court systems are taking what some might consider to be drastic measures to cope with the flood of asbestos exposure lawsuits that have been filed in recent years.

Cook County is one of the counties touted as extremely efficient at dealing with the huge caseload.

“You know what they say, ‘Justice delayed is justice denied,’” said Cook County Judge William Maddux, 72. Maddux oversees all of the county’s asbestos lawsuits. “Let’s get justice.”

Controversial Measures

While Cook County is one of the largest state court systems in the country, and is regarded as a “judicial hellhole” by pro-business types, it only has 716 active asbestos cases. In northern Ohio’s Cuyahoga County, by contrast, 37,000 cases were jammed in the system at the end of last year.

Some court systems are following Cook County’s lead and sidelining cases involving people who do not show actual symptoms of asbestos-related diseases.

Maddux is also denying requests for continuances left and right, giving defense lawyers and plaintiffs’ lawyers about one year to prepare for trial, which is no small task considering many cases involve more than 50 defendants.

“We’re entering a new world on asbestos litigation nationally,” said Mark Behrens, a defense lawyer. “We’re not seeing junk cases filed in large numbers anymore.”

Dissent

However while refusing to take cases in which the plaintiff has not yet shown symptoms may make perfect sense with certain illnesses, it poses an interesting problem with asbestos. Mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos exposure, has a latency period of many years. Many people who have mesothelioma file lawsuits as soon as they discover the cancer for fear that they will be ineligible to file by the time symptoms manifest.

In addition, many of these people could use money from the lawsuit to keep up with early treatment costs.

Harmed by Asbestos?

If you or a loved one has developed an asbestos-related illness, you may be able to recover compensation for the losses you and your family have sustained. Please contact us today for a free consultation with an experienced asbestos attorney who will answer your questions and outline your options.