Asbestos In Your Area

Asbestos in the State of Delaware

Asbestos Exposure in Delaware

The state of Delaware has one of the oldest court systems in the country and also one of the most corporate-business friendly. Corporations in Delaware are not controlled by many of the regulations, which mean that it is no surprise that most of the credit card companies who are responsible for millions of Americans being in a never-ending cycle of debt and that have written pro-corporate, anti-citizen legislations are located in this state. However, despite all of these facts, there was a flood of lawsuits on asbestos exposure that were filed in Delaware, beginning in 2005, and 80 per cent of the plaintiffs were not from Delaware, nor were the firms that represented these plaintiffs, which seems to go against the grain, considering Delaware's history of being pro-corporation.

The reasons for these lawsuits being filed in Delaware is because the state allows joint and several liability, which is not available in many states. This is helpful for asbestos cases where the plaintiff is bringing action against many defendants, which is common in asbestos related lawsuits. Delaware also has no limits on punitive damages. The Delaware Attorney General is also a former plaintiff's asbestos lawyer, which is good news for future defendants.

Delaware's body of law has 101 chapters and chapter 78 is dedicated to asbestos issues. This chapter of Delaware law contains detailed definitions, regulation and penal codes related to asbestos, more so than any other state in the country.

At-Risk Occupations and Locations in Delaware

One of the world's worst and largest corporate polluters is located in Delaware - DuPont Chemical Corporation. This company, along with oil refineries that are run by Getty, Texaco and Sunoil, has been accused of exposing employees to asbestos fibers. Another site that has been identified as having frailable asbestos materials in use is the Dover Air Force Base. (An interesting fact is that 30 per cent of mesothelioma victims are former members of the United States Armed Forces.)

Asbestos Related Deaths in Delaware

Delaware is the second smallest state in the country, bigger only than Rhode Island in terms of area with a population 10 per cent of New York's. Through a 20 year period, beginning in about 1979, there were 249 asbestos exposure related deaths that were reported. Most of these were from asbestosis, and not mesothelioma like most of the deaths throughout the rest of the country, in fact, the asbestosis deaths are more than double that of mesothelioma - asbestosis claiming 169 of the 249 deaths. The breakdown of deaths in Delaware from asbestosis and mesothelioma are as follows:

New Castle County
Asbestosis - 98
Mesothelioma - 48

Sussex County
Asbestosis - 60
Mesothelioma - 23

Kent County
Asbestosis - 11
Mesothelioma - 9

To date there have been 111 people who have filed asbestos related lawsuits in Delaware since 1979.

Legal Resources for Delaware Residents

The statute of limitations in Delaware for personal injury lawsuits and wrongful death lawsuits is two years, which begins when the problem is discovered or should have been discovered. Delaware has no specific statute about asbestos or asbestos law.

The more recent history in Delaware courts for asbestos lawsuits is pro-victim, which has awarded damages for personal injury cases and wrongful death cases. The statute of limitations in Delaware is slack because it realizes that mesothelioma and asbestosis are not discovered until 15 to 50 years after asbestos exposure. However, the Delaware law is clear that the plaintiff's only make on party - the last of which that caused asbestos exposure, to be held liable for mesothelioma damages.

DaimlerChrysler is one of the larger names in Delaware that is associated with exposure to asbestos. DaimlerChrysler has been sued for asbestos related diseases caused by their brake products used in the vehicles. The Superior Court of Delaware disagreed with the defendant when they tried to say that their brake products had no medical links to asbestos related diseases such as mesothelioma. The Superior Court of Delaware denied the defendants request in 2006 that expert testimony regarding the relationship between their brake products and mesothelioma to be excluded.

Most cases prior to the DaimlerChrysler case have revolved around determining who is responsible to pay out the damages for mesothelioma cases. In Nai versus Electric hose & Rubber Co. and Dravo Corporation, Delaware's Superior Court was determining who would be the insurance company that was responsible to pay the plaintiff's damages, as ordered by a Worker's Compensation Board. The man had died from mesothelioma in 2001 and the suit was filed and completed in 2002, where it was decided that the insurance company who was the coverage provider in 1979 (when the victim was last exposed to asbestos).

Due to this ruling of the Superior Court in Delaware, it is noted that the last party who was associated with asbestos exposure will be held liable to pay damages to the victim, regardless of the number of times that the victim was exposed to asbestos at other locations.

However, in Roslyn S. McFaul versus Anchor Packing Company, et al, a court decision made in 2007 denied summary judgment. This case determined that a court should look close at the case to determine which company was really the last to expose a victim to asbestos. This case was for the wife of a man who had perished from mesothelioma in 2004 and had filed suit against two companies who disagreed who was at fault and responsible for the latest asbestos exposure. The Court denied summary judgment because the case facts weren't clear as to which was the last.

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