CPSIA – Crain’s Says We’re About to Get Sued

In this week’s Crain’s Chicago Business, the news periodical speculate on which mass tort action could succeed asbestos as the next gravy train for plaintiff’s attorneys. And guess who makes a guest appearance??? Asbestos and the legal black hole By: Steven R. Strahler September 28, 2009 Asbestos has lived up to its Greek origin — “inextinguishable” — on legal and medical landscapes alike: Mass tort actions involving asbestos have bankrupted more than 60 makers and users of the once-widespread insulating material, starting with Johns-Manville Corp. in 1982 and claiming Chicago’s USG Corp. in 2001. Odds are, corporate defendants won’t see another mass tort topic like it: more than 700,000 claims pending against 8,000-plus defendants and estimated costs exceeding $250 billion. Because asbestos-related symptoms can take 30 years or more to manifest, the litigation is expected to last until mid-century. . . . . “No, there is no asbestos-like gravy train pulling up in front of the American Bar Assn.,” says Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute. Still, he says, “there are great unknowns, like climate change and latent manifestation of occupational disease.” Among the most likely post-asbestos targets for plaintiffs’ attorneys: . . . . Product liability The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 requires independent testing of children’s products, including cribs and metal jewelry, empowers state attorneys general to file federal actions and increases penalties, all of which will boost opportunities for mass-tort suits.

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CPSIA – Crain’s Says We’re About to Get Sued