Product Identification in Mesothelioma Lawsuits
In the case of product liability, it is legally necessary for the counsel to name and prove the brand name and manufacturer. This includes
lawsuits involving toxic materials such as
asbestos. In an asbestos case, the
lawyer is obliged to show not only that asbestos caused the illness, but that it was a specific brand of asbestos manufactured by a particular company.
This can be exceedingly difficult. The main reason is because in typical cases, an illness such as mesothelioma can take decades to appear after initial exposure. In fact, research and data collection on specific asbestos manufacturers, installers and users of asbestos products, and structures in which asbestos was present has become a legal specialty all its own. Some law firms in the U.S. have spent years building informational databases on asbestos manufacturers and products and jobsites in which asbestos was used or present to any degree.
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were one place at which many workers were
exposed to asbestos, particularly during the Second World War. Others were
exposed at
steel plants as well as power generation facilities and building sites. Determining the manufacturer in these cases is a daunting task involving countless hours of library research, searches of old industrial records and the examination of thousands of photographs as well as interviews of eyewitnesses.
Companies are dissolved (go out of business), but more often - especially in the mania of corporate mergers and acquisitions that started in the 1980's and continue unabated - corporations fall under the ownership of larger corporations. Fortunately, by skillfully and painstakingly examining court documents and financial records, it is possible to determine where ultimate liability lies.
Another factor in the plaintiff's favor is that in civil cases, the reliability of an eyewitness' memory in these instances is rarely challenged.