Asbestos cases turn on legal rules built up over decades of litigation. This category explains the doctrines that decide who's responsible, how much, and whether a case can even be filed. If you're weighing a claim, these are the concepts your attorney will be working with.
Several terms deal with fault. Negligence, strict liability, and the duty to warn ask whether a company should have told workers about the danger. Causation is often the hardest fight, which is why courts developed tools like the substantial factor test and the each and every exposure doctrine to handle diseases caused by fibers from many products over many years.
Others deal with who pays and when. Joint and several liability, successor liability, and parent-company liability decide which businesses can be pursued, including companies that bought the original manufacturer. Timing rules like the discovery rule and the statute of repose can make or break a case, since asbestos disease often surfaces decades after exposure. A survival action lets a family continue a claim after a loved one dies.
Every term below links to a full plain-language definition.
Terms in this category
- Alternative LiabilityAlternative liability is a doctrine that shifts the burden of proof when a plaintiff shows that each of sever…
- Asbestos Presumption LawAn asbestos presumption law is a statute, most commonly found in workers' compensation systems, that legally …
- Assumption of RiskAssumption of risk is a legal defense arguing that an injured person knew about a danger, understood it, and …
- CausationCausation is the legal requirement that a plaintiff prove the defendant's conduct or product actually caused …
- Choice of LawChoice of law is the set of rules a court uses to decide which state's (or country's) laws govern a case when…
- Collateral EstoppelCollateral estoppel, also called issue preclusion, is a rule that stops a party from re-arguing a specific fa…
- Collateral Source RuleA legal doctrine that prevents a defendant from reducing the damages they owe by pointing to money the injure…
- Comparative NegligenceComparative negligence is a rule courts use to reduce a plaintiff's compensation by the percentage of fault a…
- Component Parts DoctrineA legal principle that limits the liability of a company that made a non-defective part when injury was cause…
- Contra Non ValentemContra non valentem is a legal doctrine that pauses the deadline for filing a lawsuit when the injured person…
- Contributory NegligenceContributory negligence is a legal doctrine that can completely bar an injured person from recovering damages…
- Design DefectA design defect is a legal claim that a product is unreasonably dangerous because of the way it was designed,…
- Discovery RuleThe discovery rule is a legal principle that delays the start of the deadline to file a lawsuit (the statute …
- Dual Capacity DoctrineA legal rule that allows an injured worker to sue their employer outside the workers' compensation system whe…
- Duty of CareA duty of care is a legal obligation to act with reasonable caution so you don't cause harm to others. In an …
- Duty to WarnThe legal obligation of a manufacturer, supplier, or employer to give clear, timely warnings about known or k…
- Each and Every Exposure DoctrineThe each and every exposure doctrine is the argument that every identifiable exposure to asbestos above ordin…
- Eggshell Skull DoctrineThe eggshell skull doctrine is a long-standing rule in personal injury law that says a wrongdoer must take th…
- Exclusive RemedyThe exclusive remedy rule says that when a worker is hurt or made ill by their job, workers' compensation is …
- Failure to WarnFailure to warn is a legal claim that a company knew (or should have known) its product was dangerous but did…
- Feres DoctrineThe Feres doctrine bars active-duty service members from suing the United States for injuries that arise from…
- ForeseeabilityForeseeability is a legal concept that asks whether a reasonable company or person should have anticipated th…
- Fraudulent ConcealmentFraudulent concealment is the wrongful act of hiding important facts that someone had a duty to disclose, in …
- Gross NegligenceGross negligence is conduct that goes far beyond ordinary carelessness. It is an extreme departure from the s…
- Informed ConsentInformed consent is the process of being given, and understanding, the material facts, risks, benefits, and a…
- Intentional Tort ExceptionThe intentional tort exception is a narrow way around the workers' compensation exclusive remedy rule. In sta…
- Joint and Several LiabilityA rule that lets a plaintiff collect the full amount of a damages award from any one defendant who was found …
- Last Injurious Exposure RuleThe last injurious exposure rule is a workers' compensation rule for occupational diseases that places the wh…
- Learned Intermediary DoctrineA legal rule that lets a manufacturer satisfy its duty to warn end users by warning a knowledgeable middle pa…
- Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA)The LHWCA is a federal workers' compensation law that pays medical care, disability benefits, and survivor be…
- Maintenance and CureMaintenance and Cure is a no-fault maritime obligation requiring a shipowner or employer to pay a seaman's da…
- Market Share LiabilityMarket share liability is a legal theory that lets an injured person recover damages from a group of manufact…
- NegligenceNegligence is the legal claim that someone caused harm by failing to act with the care a reasonable person or…
- Nonparty FaultNonparty fault is a rule in some states that lets a jury assign a share of responsibility to people or compan…
- Parent-company liabilityParent-company liability is the legal principle under which a corporation that owns or controls a subsidiary …
- Precautionary PrincipleThe precautionary principle is the idea that when an activity threatens serious or irreversible harm to peopl…
- PreemptionPreemption is the principle that federal law overrides conflicting state law. When a federal statute or regul…
- Premises LiabilityPremises liability is the legal rule that holds property owners and those who control a property responsible …
- Product LiabilityProduct liability is the area of law that holds manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, and retailers respons…
- Proximate CauseProximate cause is the legal requirement that a defendant's conduct be closely enough connected to a plaintif…
- Res Ipsa LoquiturA legal doctrine that lets a jury infer that a defendant was negligent based on the nature of the harm itself…
- Separate Disease RuleThe separate disease rule says that a person who has a nonmalignant asbestos disease, such as pleural plaques…
- Single Disease RuleThe single disease rule treats all of a person's asbestos-related conditions as one injury, so one lawsuit mu…
- Sophisticated User DoctrineThe sophisticated user doctrine (or defense) is an argument used by asbestos defendants (usually product manu…
- Sovereign ImmunitySovereign immunity is a legal doctrine that protects federal, state, and certain other government entities fr…
- Statute of ReposeA statute of repose is a strict deadline that cuts off the right to sue a defendant a set number of years aft…
- Strict LiabilityStrict liability is a legal rule that holds a manufacturer or seller responsible for harm caused by its produ…
- Substantial Factor TestThe Substantial Factor Test is a legal rule for deciding whether a particular asbestos exposure helped cause …
- Successor LiabilitySuccessor liability is a legal doctrine that can hold a company responsible for the debts and injuries caused…
- Superseding CauseA superseding cause is an event or act by someone else, occurring after a defendant's conduct, that is so une…
- Survival ActionA survival action is a lawsuit brought by the estate of someone who has died, continuing the legal claims tha…
- Third-Party ReleaseA third-party release is a provision in a bankruptcy plan that wipes out claims against companies or people w…
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.