Why is it that West Virginia’s court system is so clogged up with Asbestos tort proceedings? The answer is very simple, claimants and their legal representatives are seeking to get the most money from the companies and individuals they claim against. That is reasonable, but the attorneys seek out Mississippi and West Virginia as two of the places where they can get the best results for their claim. West Virginia is seen as being very hard on the defendants of such cases.
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Is this a strange title? Yes. When you look at the number of times the media and the courts are looking at Asbestos related civil actions as “mass” then we realize where the problem lies.

There are mass torts. Civil trials where a number of people who are either suffering or have been diagnosed as potentially suffering from the results of asbestos inhalation take up a combined case against those who are “responsible” for their “suffering”. We can say that manufacturers of a product must be responsible for its careful use, but sometimes there is little proof of an individual’s contact with the particular manufacturer’s product. However, the cases go ahead and when one source of damages is exhausted then the same group of people reapply for the next manufacturer or user of asbestos they can sue.
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The heyday of Asbestos production was the 1970′s but it was years later that problems arose in the workers who were involved in the making and demolishing or homes, offices and factories with Asbestos material in them. We have no idea how long it will take for the results of the 9/11 tragedy to be manifest in people’s health. Everyone from the police and the firemen, to the office workers and those in the schools around the World Trade Center were covered with dust and debris. Unfortunately Osama bin Laden will not be around to be sued in approximately 20 years time. One of the big problems for the people who suffer from the various after effects of exposure to asbestos fibers is the length of time from the initial exposure to the cancer or pneumoconiosis appearing.
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We’re not here to point the finger at individuals or companies. We’re here to show how one incident on asbestos poisoning can establish principles and practices that affect the law of a country (in this case the United States) and a State (in this case West Virginia).

The plan was straightforward. The aim was to produce hydroelectric power. The result would be cheap and effective electrical generation. To create the power, they first dug a tunnel from Hawks Nest to Gauley Bridge. This was to divert the flow of the New River under the Gauley Mountain. The construction would need to have a dam built at the Hawks Nest end of the tunnel and the water would then flow through the new tunnel. It all sounds like one of those dream-come-true projects.
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It has long been known that inhalation of asbestos fibers leads to many severe, often chronic illnesses. These ailments can be serious: respiratory illnesses, such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma are among some of the most widely reported. Mesothelioma is a rare and often deadly form of lung cancer that has been linked directly to asbestos exposure. There are a host of separate health concerns, including asbestos warts, pleural plaques, and pleural thickening. Pleural thickening refers to the appearance of widespread scarring along the lining of the lungs, and is often seen in mesothelioma patients who have been exposed to asbestos fibers. This exposure often comes from individuals working in close proximity to asbestos; this happens either directly, such as in professions like mining, or indirectly through products containing asbestos. Indirect exposure occurs in industries like those involved in either the manufacture or production of building materials, especially insulation, roofing tiles, Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditiong (HVAC), and flame-retardant materials.
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