Our broken asbestos litigation is a problem that affects many citizens in Michigan, and there's no doubt it's not an easy problem to solve. With so many different people involved, from sick victims to businesses that want to avoid bankruptcy, it's difficult to find a one-size-fits-all policy.


The courts today are overloaded with asbestos cases -- many filed by people who aren't sick. Meanwhile, victims of asbestos exposure who are sick wait years for their court date. Tragically, some victims will die of their asbestos-related illnesses before seeing the inside of a court room.


Many asbestos victims are veterans who were exposed during their military service. But while civilian victims exposed to asbestos on the job can hold their employers liable for their illnesses, veterans don't have that option. The law prevents veterans from suing the federal government, their employer when they were in the military, and most companies that once supplied asbestos to the government are non-existent today. This set of circumstances leaves virtually no avenue to compensation for veterans with asbestos-related illnesses.


Some in Michigan's state legislature think they've found that solution in HB 5851, which would set strict medical criteria to determine who can and can't file asbestos lawsuits.

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But while HB 5851 will lessen the load on the courts, it will still leave our sick veterans out in the cold. So while this bill is a good first step towards instilling some fairness in the system for some asbestos victims, it will do almost nothing to help sick veterans get the compensation they need. In short, HB 5851 doesn't really solve the problem.


What's needed is a national solution that will take the asbestos claims process out of the overburdened court system once and for all. In the U.S. Senate, just such a solution has been proposed.


S. 3274, also known as the FAIR Act, would create a national asbestos victims' trust fund that would compensate all sick victims of asbestos exposure, including veterans, quickly and fairly. Sick victims seeking compensation from this fund wouldn't need to point to a specific guilty party in order to receive compensation. The fund would be paid for by defendants and their insurers -- no tax dollars would be spent.


Over the generation, veterans have sacrificed much for the good of our country. For this reason, veterans deserve to be treated fairly and with respect. Veterans who are sick with asbestos-related illnesses need a national victims' trust fund. I call on senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin to support S. 3274, the Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act.


Source: Eric "Larry" Halverson in OurMidland.com


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