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Judge delays hearing on asbestos lawsuits in Mississippi

Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. - A circuit judge has given lawyers more time to prepare for a hearing on the status of asbestos cases in three southwest Mississippi counties.

Companies being sued are asking Circuit Judge Lamar Pickard to either dismiss the cases in Jefferson, Copiah and Claiborne counties or order plaintiffs to provide more information about their claims.

During a hearing Monday in Fayette, attorneys for several of the plaintiffs said they didn't receive proper notice and didn't have enough time to respond to motions by the defendants.

Pickard rescheduled the hearing for Oct. 15 in Jefferson County Circuit Court. He also gave plaintiffs an Oct. 12 deadline to file written responses to defense motions.

The courtroom on Monday was crowded with attorneys.

The lawsuits involve thousands of plaintiffs in and outside Mississippi and hundreds of defendants. The defendants are mostly companies where the plaintiffs claimed to have been exposed to asbestos.

Exposure to asbestos can cause asbestosis, in which the fibers get into the lungs and scar them. The lungs get stiff and it becomes difficult for them to take in air or to transfer oxygen to the blood. The condition can lead to frequent lung infections and heart or respiratory failure. There is no effective treatment.

On Aug. 26, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in a case from Bolivar County that such lawsuits must include the names of each defendant being sued, when the plaintiff was exposed and the work site where the exposure occurred. If the information is not provided, the claim should be thrown out, the court said.

Asbestos use in buildings increased substantially after World War II and peaked in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Because asbestos-related illnesses are slow in developing - it can take up to 40 years between the time someone is exposed to the material and dies from it - asbestos deaths will probably increase through the next decade, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Government regulations in the 1970s helped curb the use of asbestos. It is still used, though under heavy regulation.

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