May 30 2005
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is to be applauded for taking action to protect the rights of true victims of asbestos-related illness and ensure they promptly receive their full compensation, the Center for Individual Freedom said late last week.
"The committee has voted to create a $140 billion fund to compensate those made ill by exposure to asbestos," said Marshall Manson, vice president for public affairs. "Currently these individuals are victims not only of asbestos itself, but of a judicial system gone mad."
Pointing to a study by the RAND Institute, Manson noted that trial attorneys have bogged down the court system with 730,000 asbestos-related claims, 90 percent of which are for non-malignant conditions. This rampant baseless legal action has driven 100 defendant companies into bankruptcy, so legitimate plaintiffs can hope to receive only pennies on the dollar at best. And from that, they must pay attorney and transaction fees that climb as high as 60 percent, Manson added.
"The new fund would eliminate the asbestos lawsuit feeding frenzy and put compensation where it belongs, in true victims' pockets," Manson said. Under the committee's proposed legislation, victims could apply to the fund for payment without the assistance of a lawyer. The fund would be financed by defendant companies and their insurers, not taxpayers, according to Manson.
"It's imperative Congress take action this year to establish this fund, otherwise legitimate asbestos victims will continue to be disadvantaged at the hands of trial lawyers out for their own benefit," Manson said. "The Senate Judiciary Committee has taken the first important step. Now it's up to the full Senate and the House to make this vital fund a reality, and soon," concluded Manson.
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