Utah Senator Orrin Hatch has been a proponent of asbestos litigation reform for years. The bill co-sponsored by Hatch in 2003 was widely criticized for short-changing victims of asbestos exposure to benefit major corporations who were responsible for the exposure. The bill would have established a fund to pay out benefits to those who were affected by asbestos on a limited schedule of payments. The trust would be funded by contributions from many of the companies that have been targeted as defendants in asbestos and mesothelioma lawsuits.
Hatch's home state, Utah, is not currently facing an asbestos litigation crisis. In fact, there are currently no asbestos personal injury or product liability suits in the Utah trial courts, though there have been suits in the past. This is despite the fact that Utah is home to a site that processed vermiculite from the asbestos-contaminated W.R. Grace mine in Libby, Montana. In 2004, the EPA warned that asbestos contamination in the area surrounding the Utah site could possibly put nearby neighbors and passers by at risk of asbestos exposure. Those exposures may engender lawsuits or class action suits in the future.
Hatch's home state, Utah, is not currently facing an asbestos litigation crisis. In fact, there are currently no asbestos personal injury or product liability suits in the Utah trial courts, though there have been suits in the past. This is despite the fact that Utah is home to a site that processed vermiculite from the asbestos-contaminated W.R. Grace mine in Libby, Montana. In 2004, the EPA warned that asbestos contamination in the area surrounding the Utah site could possibly put nearby neighbors and passers by at risk of asbestos exposure. Those exposures may engender lawsuits or class action suits in the future.
