West virginia chamber of commerce ask legislature to consider asbestos reforms

CHARLESTON - The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce met this week to discuss recommendations to the legislature to make the state more “business friendly”. High on their list of needed changes is relief in the civil justice system. The Chamber claims that the civil justice system puts them at a disadvantage when competing for investors with other states. According to a spokesman for the Chamber, employers feel that they accept significant risks when they choose to be in business in West Virginia. High among those risks are the danger of being sued, and the risks associated with lawsuits. They take the chance that they’ll have to spend money defending themselves or settle lawsuits to avoid a trial. He noted that the Public Policy Institute of New York conducted a study that found that the court costs in West Virginia are the highest in the U.S. on a per capita basis. The Chamber of Commerce supports tort reform that will make the court system more equitable for defendants. They want West Virginia lawmakers to look at states like Ohio and Virginia to see how they have added reforms into their state codes and laws. One major issue on the docket for the upcoming session will be the asbestos issue. On one side of the issue are employers and major corporations, who say that many are facing suit for asbestos exposure or being threatened with one. On the other side are trial lawyers and advocates for victims of asbestos exposure, particularly those suffering from mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos. The advocates for the victims are afraid that reform will shortchange those dying from illnesses caused by exposure to asbestos. West Virginia has been ranked fourth on the list of judicial hellholes by the American Tort Reform Association. ATRA names there “list of shame” each year, naming jurisdictions where they say defendants are at a disadvantage because judges routinely and systematically decide points of law in favor of plaintiffs in civil suits. According to the Chamber of Commerce, they hear from employers who are being sued because their company allegedly sold a product that contained asbestos in the 1950s. The risk of ending up in court over asbestos issues and facing a defendant who may or may not have been diagnosed with mesothelioma drives the cost of doing business in West Virginia into the unprofitable ranges. The Chamber points out that these lawsuits do not affect “McDonalds kind of companies”. Rather, the spokesman said, those most likely to be sued for an asbestos issue are the companies that pay “the wages that everybody wants”. This is the reason that the Chamber of Commerce is taking a voice in the issue, the spokesman said. “We’re hearing from the businesses who have the kind of jobs that everybody wants.” A recent Senate bill that was debated in November is an example of the sort of reform the Chamber would support. Under that bill, plaintiffs in suits would have to prove that the person had actually been exposed to asbestos, and would need to have an X-ray read by a physician who is providing treatment. “That would speed payments for people who are legitimately injured and ill,” the spokesperson said. It would eliminate plaintiffs who signed onto a multiple plaintiff suit without any evidence of disease. According to the Chamber, the current asbestos lawsuits are a great deal like outdated workers compensation systems that made workers comp payments without any proof of injury. Those who deserve payments, they say, should get them and should get them n a timely manner. “If they’ve been exposed (to asbestos) and they are sick, or they have a reasonable chance at getting sick because they have lung impairment, then we need ways to take care of those people, and they shouldn’t have to sue anybody to get help.” (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)