Exposure Affidavit

An exposure affidavit is a sworn written statement describing how, where and when a person was exposed to asbestos or to a particular company's products. Asbestos trusts commonly accept affidavits from the claimant, a family member or a coworker as evidence of exposure.

Origin

Affidavits are a long-standing form of sworn evidence in American courts. Asbestos bankruptcy trusts built them into their distribution procedures as an accepted way to show exposure, especially when other records were lost or when the injured person has died.

Significance in Asbestos Context

Most trust claims must show exposure to that trust's company products, and that product exposure usually must have happened before the trust's cutoff date, often December 31, 1982 or December 31, 1986. Many trusts also look at cumulative exposure from all sources, which can come from any period, with at least ten years between first exposure and diagnosis. An affidavit typically names the job sites, years, trades and products involved, and explains how the person knows. Because it is sworn, it must be truthful and accurate; trusts audit claims, and defendants in lawsuits may compare trust affidavits with deposition testimony. A good affidavit is specific, consistent with other evidence, and limited to what the person actually saw or knows.

Example Sentence

Because the plant's records were gone, his brother-in-law signed an exposure affidavit describing the Kaylo pipe covering they handled together from 1966 to 1971.

Related Terms

Bankruptcy Trust Claim, Trust Distribution Procedures, Approved Site List, Product Identification, Coworker Testimony, Exposure History, Bankruptcy Trust Transparency

Notes

• Write down what you remember: job sites, years, products, brand names and who worked beside you.
• Sign only what you know to be true; ask your lawyer to correct anything that is not exactly right.
• Keep copies of every affidavit you sign, so later testimony can stay consistent.