Medical Monitoring

Medical monitoring is a remedy that pays for future diagnostic testing for people whose toxic exposure has raised their risk of serious disease, such as asbestos-related cancer. Some states allow it even before any disease appears; others allow it only as part of damages for a present injury, or not at all.

Origin

Courts began recognizing medical monitoring claims for toxic exposure in the 1980s and 1990s, reasoning that early detection helps patients and that the exposed person should not bear the cost of testing caused by someone else's wrongdoing. States split on the question, and in 1997 the U.S. Supreme Court declined to allow lump-sum monitoring damages for an asymptomatic worker under federal railroad-worker law.

Significance in Asbestos Context

For people exposed to asbestos who are not yet sick, and for people with plaques or asbestosis who face higher cancer risk, regular checkups can catch disease earlier. Medical monitoring claims try to make the responsible parties pay for those exams, such as chest X-rays, CT scans and breathing tests, either as a lump sum or through a court-supervised fund. States that allow claims without a present injury usually require significant exposure, a significantly increased risk, and proof that monitoring beyond normal care is reasonably necessary; other states require a present physical injury, and some reject the claim altogether. Monitoring is more often available as part of damages in an existing asbestos disease case, or through class settlements and community programs, such as those created after environmental exposures. Whether or not a legal claim exists, screening decisions should be made with a doctor; low-dose CT screening for lung cancer, for example, has its own eligibility guidelines.

Example Sentence

The settlement for the neighborhood around the old vermiculite plant included a medical monitoring program offering residents chest imaging every few years.

Related Terms

Fear of Cancer Damages, Low-Dose CT Screening, Chest X-Ray, Unimpaired Claimant, Environmental Exposure, Class Action, Pleural Plaques

Notes

• Tell your doctors about your asbestos exposure so they can decide what screening is appropriate for you.
• Keep all screening results over time; changes can be important evidence.
• Whether you can recover monitoring costs depends on your state and your diagnosis; ask a lawyer.