Georgia Law
Asbestos Exposure Lawsuits
Unlike many countries, the United States has a legal framework in place that makes substantial compensation for asbestos-related injuries a real possibility. In order to pursue an asbestos lawsuit in Georgia, the plaintiff must prove that he/she was exposed to the defendant's asbestos containing product. Without this proof, a lawsuit is not possible. To prove this exposure, the plaintiff can use any of three different methods:
- A Plaintiff's testimony that he/she worked with or around an asbestos-containing product.
- A Plaintiff's identification by name of an employee with whom he/she worked and testimony from that employee that he/she (the plaintiff) used the asbestos-containing product(s).
- Testimony from a co-worker identifying the plaintiff by name as working in the same vicinity with him and stating that he/she (the co-worker) used the defendant's asbestos-containing product(s).
Georgia law indicates that a single exposure to an asbestos-containing product is sufficient to cause mesothelioma, and can be used as grounds to bring a lawsuit. There can also be more than one "proximate cause" for mesothelioma. This means that if you were exposed to asbestos-containing products from several different companies you do not have to establish that any one of their products was more than a "contributing factor" to your mesothelioma (it would be extremely difficult to determine which particular product actually caused the mesothelioma tumors).
