Asbestos cases often turn on expert testimony: doctors and scientists explaining how a specific exposure could cause a specific disease. This category covers the rules that decide whether a court will let that testimony in. The central concept is admissibility, whether evidence is reliable enough for a jury to hear.
Two standards dominate. The Daubert standard, applied through Federal Rule of Evidence 702, asks a judge to screen expert methods for reliability. In some states the older Frye standard applies instead, which asks whether a method is generally accepted in its field. You'll see both, along with Daubert scrutiny and Rule 703, which governs the data an expert may rely on.
Other terms address proof that's specific to asbestos claims, like product identification, tying your illness to a particular company's material, and how an expert witness is qualified in the first place. These rules can decide a case before trial. Every term below links to a full plain-language definition.
Terms in this category
- AdmissibilityAdmissibility is whether a judge will allow a piece of evidence or expert testimony to be presented to the ju…
- Admission by Party-OpponentAn admission by a party-opponent is a statement by a party to a lawsuit, or by its employees or agents on mat…
- Ancient Documents RuleThe ancient documents rule allows old documents, generally at least 20 years old, to be authenticated and, in…
- Attorney-Client PrivilegeThe attorney-client privilege protects confidential communications between a lawyer and a client made to get …
- AuthenticationAuthentication is the showing, required before a document or object can be used as evidence, that it is what …
- Authorship-Context DisclosureAuthorship-context disclosure is the requirement that an expert witness, treating physician, or report author…
- Business Records ExceptionThe business records exception is a hearsay rule that allows records made and kept in the regular course of a…
- Coworker TestimonyCoworker testimony is evidence from people who worked alongside an injured person, describing the jobs, condi…
- Daubert StandardThe Daubert standard is the test federal judges use to decide whether an expert witness's testimony is reliab…
- Death CertificateA death certificate is the official government record of a person's death, listing the date, place and causes…
- Expert WitnessAn expert witness is a person with specialized training, experience, or credentials who is permitted to give …
- Exposure AffidavitAn exposure affidavit is a sworn written statement describing how, where and when a person was exposed to asb…
- Frye StandardThe Frye standard is a rule some courts use to decide whether expert scientific testimony can be admitted. Un…
- Learned TreatiseA learned treatise is a published text, journal article or similar work recognized as a reliable authority in…
- Product IdentificationProduct identification is the evidence showing which specific asbestos-containing products a person was expos…
- Reliance MaterialsReliance materials are the documents, data, studies and records that an expert witness reviewed or relied on …
- Rule 702Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence is the rule that decides whether an expert witness can testify in f…
- Rule 703Rule 703 is a Federal Rule of Evidence that lets an expert witness form opinions based on facts or data that …
- SpoliationSpoliation is the destruction, loss or significant alteration of evidence that should have been preserved for…
- Treating PhysicianA treating physician is a doctor who cares for a patient for medical reasons, as opposed to an expert hired f…
- Work Product DoctrineThe work product doctrine protects documents and materials prepared by or for a party or its lawyer in antici…
Terms in this category
Browse the full Lexicon, or talk it through with a member of our litigation team, not a screener, at 833-4-ASBESTOS.