WASHINGTON — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has introduced long-awaited, compromise legislation designed to end what he calls the "asbestos litigation crisis" that has bankrupted scores of companies.
Hatch proposes to create a new U.S. Court of Asbestos Claims to handle all lawsuits from people seeking compensation for diseases from asbestos exposure. It would distribute set payments for different types of symptoms and diseases. Hatch says that would end frivolous lawsuits, and a few large "runaway" settlements.
Claims would be paid on a "no-fault basis" from funds and trusts established by companies that have been named as defendants in lawsuits, and their insurance companies.
"There can be no doubt that our nation faces an asbestos litigation crisis," Hatch told the Senate Thursday.
"More than 60 companies have been forced into bankruptcy, and the number of claims continues to rise as does the number of companies pulled into the web of this abusive litigation, often with little, if any, culpability," he said.
"More than 600,000 people have filed claims and more than 8,400 companies have been named as defendants in asbestos litigation. This has become such a gravy train for some abusive trial lawyers that over 2,400 additional companies were named in the last year alone," he said.
Hatch added, "We need to ensure that the truly sick get paid, while providing stability to our economy by stemming the rampant litigation that has resulted in a tidal wave of bankruptcies, endangering jobs and pensions."
Last week, Hatch printed in the Congressional Register a draft of his 110-page bill to seek feedback from other senators. He said he received numerous suggestions and made several changes.
"We're not done, but we have made significant progress," he said.
Hatch said the new system would allow litigants to have a reasonable expectation of the size of rewards they may receive before they file claims, and could make payments within a few months — instead of the several years that the current system takes.
Hatch said it could more easily allow people to file claims without lawyers — which would also avoid large payments made to lawyers that Hatch said are draining resources available for the sick.
Hatch said companies and insurers are supporting his legislation that calls for $90 billion of funding from the industry and insurers, with an additional $4 billion to $6 billion available from current asbestos trusts.
Also, Hatch said, "Non-sick claimants will no longer deplete resources that should pay the truly sick victims."
The bill, called the Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2003, now goes to Hatch's Judiciary Committee for consideration.
E-mail: leed@dgsys.com