Editorial: Why do the Residents of the United States get the Lion’s Share of the Money?

I am just off the road from a summer trip with family and friends and would like to get back into researching and providing to you my weekly asbestos blogs that focus on history related issues. Let me know if you have any particular questions which you would like to see addressed.

Today’s blog is going to be more of an editorial. In summary, with Mesothelioma being a world-wide related health issue, why do the residents of the United States get to sweep the table on recoveries, damages, and retribution for the harms so wrongfully caused?

First, let’s discuss the numbers. In the United States, we have about 3000 new Mesothelioma cases per year. For those which claims are made, the average payouts for a Mesothelioma claim are as follows:

“The average mesothelioma settlement is between $1 million and $1.4 million. The average mesothelioma trial verdict is between $5 million and $11.4 million. In general, settlement payouts are nontaxable under federal tax laws.”

https://www.asbestos.com/mesothelioma-lawyer/settlements/#:~:text=The%20average%20mesothelioma%20settlement%20is,nontaxable%20under%20federal%20tax%20laws.

The payments per claim have substantially increased over the years as in the late 1980s, when we settled my father’s claim, the average Mesothelioma settlement was closer to $200,000 to $300,000 if my memory serves me correctly. The increase, in my opinion, is directly related to the potential recoveries under the Asbestos Bankruptcy Trusts in combination with the high quality of the Plaintiffs’ attorneys who have become experts at pursuing these claims. These attorneys have now had over 40 years to hone their claims to a fine point including having developed documents and themes which are stunning in the depth and support; in many situations, at their own cost. They don’t always win, but even at 50/50, it scares many of the United States based defendants into settling rather than rolling the dice.

In the United States, the Plaintiff’s attorneys typically get 33% or so of the net recovery and front the expenses.

On the flip side, there are a similar number of Mesothelioma cases in the United Kingdom each year (2700 such cases per https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/mesothelioma#:~:text=There%20are%20around%202%2C700%20new,cases%20(2016%2D2018).

However, the amount per case settlement is about 10% of that in the United States. As stated in a fairly comprehensive 2014 study by the Department for Work & Pensions entitled, Study into average civil compensation in mesothelioma cases:

“Using a variety of measures, average compensation awarded ranged from £137,000 to
£153,531 and average legal costs ranged from £22,000 to £28,407. The estimates were
based on a survey of 2,334 mesothelioma claims settled between 2007 and 2012.”

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/269880/research-report-858.pdf

Now, imagine the lack of payments and lack of access to remedies in impoverished countries such as Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan?

Even in other developed countries, the Mesothelioma rate is high and recovery is problematic. Take Italy for example, and you will find in the 2009 publication entitled Asbestos Cases in the Italian Courts: Duelling with Uncertainty by Nadia Coggiola:

To this day, asbestos is one of the principal causes of professional cancers in Italy, and the
human, social and economic costs of the asbestos epidemic are very high. It was, for example,
estimated that it cost the National Social Insurance for the compensation of workers’ injuries and
diseases (I.N.A.I.L.) 152 million Euros between 1998 and 2006 to compensate the injured workers
of Eternit, one of Italy’s primary asbestos manufacturers.

https://indret.com/wp-content/themes/indret/pdf/678_en.pdf at page 4. I could not find a publication with the average Mesothelioma settlement per person, but this publication contains excellent information as a starting point on the difficulties of prevailing in a civil case that is venued in the Italian court system.

My point is not that settlements are too high or too low, or to take shots at venues; rather, it is to show that the United States based Mesothelioma cases suck up resources that might otherwise be available to others or that could otherwise be allocated towards research and treatments for the better good. It also ties up money, in Bankruptcy Trusts and otherwise, that might be better used by Mesothelioma sufferers in other countries; especially given that this is a global issue and the main asbestos manufactures shipped their products globally.

That is my two-cents. As I begin my studies over the next year on ship breaker worker exposure to asbestos in developing countries, you will hear this theme over and over.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments or by email to TheAsbestosBlog@gmail.com. Also, let me know if you want to help. Thank you. Marty