Snapshot of Justice: Asbestos Cases are Not Overwhelming Our Courts

ASBESTOS CASES ARE NOT OVERWHELMING OUR COURTS

According to the most recent national data from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), in 2005:

• Only .5 percent of all tort cases tried in state courts were asbestos cases. ^[1]
• Juries decided 83 asbestos claims. ^[2]
• Plaintiffs prevailed in 45 asbestos trials. ^[3]
• Plaintiffs succeeded in roughly half of jury-decided asbestos cases. ^[4]
• Asbestos plaintiff award winners constituted less than .6 percent of plaintiff award winners in all state tort trials. ^[5]
• The median damage award in asbestos cases was $682,000. However, it is important to note that DOJ award data do not take into account post-trial activity (such as award modifications) and appeals. ^[6]

Updated June 2010

NOTES
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[1] U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Tort Bench and Jury Trials in State Courts, 2005,” NCJ 228129 (November 2009) at 2 (Table 1), found at http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/tbjtsc05.pdf.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Id. at 4 (Table 4).

[4] Ibid.

[5] Id. at 5 (Table 5).

[6] Ibid.