A Series of Articles About Asbestos Lawsuits in Madison County

Here's a link to the series of articles in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch today about asbestos cases in Madison County. Though the Post-Dispatch has been complaining for years about class actions and medical malpractice cases in Madison County (as opposed to asbestos), here's the spin today:

While class-action settlements and complaints about medical malpractice insurance have dominated court-related news here and around the nation, asbestos litigation is the big-ticket item in Madison County . . . Class-action settlements are often touted at dollar amounts that bear only slight resemblance to what is eventually paid out, and big medical malpractice awards, though well-publicized, are relatively rare.

One unusual thing about the series is that it mentioned the fact that defense lawyers, as well as plaintiffs' lawyers, make money from asbestos cases:

More than 30 firms based in St. Louis and the Metro East area represent defendants . . . Hundreds of support staff, from clerks to paralegals, are involved.

One defense lawyer whose client is frequently named in asbestos suits said that mesothelioma claims have been the source of significant revenue for lawyers representing accused corporations.

The articles contain little or nothing about the victims of asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma, or the outrageous conduct by certain corporations that allowed the asbestos tragedy to occur. For the latter, you can look here and here.

Finally, the paper says that Madison County has "[a] history of intimidation that makes some judges wary of crossing the powerful plaintiff bar." There's not a single quote to back up this ludicrous claim. But hey, what do you expect from the Post-Dispatch when writing about plaintiffs' lawyers?

UPDATE 9/20/04 The Post-Dispatch series continues here, here and here. There's more in the first-linked article about the so-called "history of intimidation," including two anonymous quotes of the type I complained were missing. I still think the claim is nonsense.

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