ABA Action On Asbestos Gets Insurer Applause

By Steven Brostoff, Washington Editor

NU Online News Service, Feb. 11, 3:46 p.m. EST, Washington? Advocates of asbestos litigation reform are hailing today's vote by the American Bar Association calling for the establishment of medical standards in asbestos legal activity.

"This is a great sign," said Gary Karr, a representative of the Washington-based American Insurance Association. "The American Bar Association is the nation's most influential group of lawyers. The vote signals the need for reform, and soon."

Michael Baroody, executive vice president of the Washington-based National Association of Manufacturers, said the ABA's action represents yet another voice in the growing chorus urgently calling on Congress to enact legislation that solves the nation's litigation crisis once and for all.

Mr. Baroody spoke on behalf of the Asbestos Alliance, a coalition that includes the Downers Grove, Ill.-based Alliance of American Insurers.

Congress, Mr. Baroody said, must step in to ensure that the sick and dying obtain the compensation they deserve, while protecting the other victims of asbestos litigation. These are the shareholders, employees and communities that are injured when companies are made the targets of thousands of frivolous lawsuits, he said.

At a meeting in Seattle today, the ABA's House of Delegates voted 70 percent to 30 percent to support establishment of medical standards for plaintiffs in asbestos lawsuits.

Only plaintiffs who meet the medical criteria would be able to recover damages. Other plaintiffs who were exposed to asbestos, but who do not manifest the necessary medical condition, would be able to sue only if their condition worsens to the point that it meets the standard.

Congress is expected to consider legislation establishing medical standards shortly.

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ABA Action On Asbestos Gets Insurer Applause

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