Madison County Asbestos Suits Declining

November 30, 2006 - An area of the country that’s become known as a hotbed for asbestos lawsuits is finally showing a decline in filed suits this year.  Madison County, Illinois, which began seeing a huge number of asbestos-related lawsuits in the late 1980s, reports that 287 asbestos-related lawsuits have been filed in the county so far this year, down from 375 filed in 2005 and 477 filed in 2004. In 2003, a whopping 953 cases were initiated.

The numbers come from a report recently released by business group Illinois Civil Justice League.  According to KMOV-TV, the group sites two possible reasons for the decline in numbers.  First, says league president Ed Murnane, judges have been making it harder for plaintiffs to file asbestos cases in the county. Secondly, local attorneys believe that the decrease in mining in the area has led to a similar decrease in cases of asbestos-related diseases, which can take anywhere from 10 to 40 years to surface.

In the late 1980s, local attorneys began contacting labor unions about asbestos exposure, notes KMOV.  Many workers jumped on the bandwagon and filed asbestos suits against employers.  The county soon developed a reputation for being a “magnet for lawsuits”, says Murnane.