State Supreme Court order favors the sickest patients

A look at the costs:
Claimants get 42 cents of every dollar spent on litigation.
Lawyer fees and other related costs get the remaining 58 cents.
Litigation has cost businesses and insurance companies more than $70 billion.
Opponents of Michigan's new court order say 10 new judges will be needed to cover cases, but it's unknown how many cases will be dropped.
Source: Rand Institute for Civil Justice, Detroit News research

Questionable asbestos cases have plagued the courts in Michigan and across the nation for 40 years. So it was good to see the Michigan Supreme Court issue an administrative order that says all asbestos-related cases in the state must be judged on their own merits.


That should eliminate many of the non-injury cases that clog the courts and it will give precedence to those cases that involve the sickest of claimants. No longer will trial lawyers in Michigan be able to bundle cases, which often is done to leverage larger settlements.

Follow up:

Many of the cases that are packaged together include plaintiffs who aren't sick at all or have non-cancerous illnesses that are sometimes tied to asbestos exposure.


Asbestos lawsuits can be filed based on exposure, not actual injury, and it's estimated that two-thirds of claimants across the nation do not have any symptoms. People file lawsuits today because they think they might get sick tomorrow and are afraid money won't be available. More than 70 companies have been forced into bankruptcy because of this practice.


It's a serious issue for Michigan because of the significant manufacturing presence we have here. Southfield's Federal Mogul Corp. was sued into bankruptcy because it bought a company that made asbestos brake linings. The auto companies have tens of thousands of asbestos cases pending against them.


They might get some relief from the court's 4-3 ruling that said all cases must now be judged individually. Cases involving the most seriously ill people will be put at the top of the docket and the money those people are due won't be watered down by those whose cases that aren't as dire, Justice Stephen Markman wrote in his opinion.


He's right. In the last year, courts across the country have found that an alarming number of doctors rubber-stamped diagnoses that said patients were sick, yet they never saw the patient and barely reviewed the X-rays. Their credentials have further been debased because they were paid by lawyers based on the frequency by which they found asbestos-related illnesses.


How much of that has occurred in Michigan is unknown, but it underscores the need for reform.


An even better solution would be to eliminate asbestos cases from the courts entirely. Federal legislation that would create a $140 billion trust fund was derailed last year but has been revised. It deserves a fair hearing and passage to protect patients and corporations.


Among its provisions are rules requiring people to meet medical criteria to receive compensation; shielding taxpayers from responsibility and imposing fines and jail time for fraudulent claims. People who get sick should be fairly compensated. Michigan's new standard will ensure that happens and is a step in the right direction.


Source: The Detroit News


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