Asbestos/Silica Litigation Reform: S.B. 15 (2005)

| December 12, 2016

Established medical criteria for all pending and future asbestos claims,

Established medical criteria for all pending and future asbestos claims, including a requirement that all claimants submit a qualifying medical report with a pulmonary function test that demonstrates physical impairment. Provided that all pending asbestos claims that have not been scheduled for trial within 90 days afterthe effective date, except for cases involving cancer, are subject to the multi- district litigation court process. Assured that the most seriously ill—those suffering from mesothelioma or other malignancy caused exposure to asbestos or silica—will receive expedited trials and adequate compensation for their injuries. Required that each asbestos case be tried on its own merits, not as a “bundle” of claims that may include a few truly sick claimants and dozens of unimpaired claimants. Shut down the “mass screening” of potential asbestos and silica claimants that has resulted in tens of thousands of unimpaired asbestos claims in the courts.