H.B. 292 helps asbestos victims while resolving litigation crisis
COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- After months of hearings and
meetings with interested parties, Ohio lawmakers passed H.B. 292, reforming
the way asbestos claims are litigated in the state. The bill is now on its way
to Gov. Bob Taft.
"We want to thank the members of the House and Senate who worked so hard
to pass this bill. The process was fair, open and thorough," said David
Hansen, chairman of the Ohio Alliance for Civil Justice, a coalition of 200
organizations, including the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Ohio Manufacturers
Association, National Federation of Independent Business/Ohio, Ohio Business
Roundtable and others.
H.B. 292 establishes clear medical criteria for making claims of injury
from exposure to asbestos. By doing so, the bill:
- Allows people with mesothelioma and other serious asbestos-related
illnesses to get fair and timely compensation;
- Allows people who become sick in the future to seek compensation at
that time;
- Unburdens Ohio court dockets of thousands of claims by people who are
not sick;
- Saves Ohio jobs, pensions and investments by keeping businesses out of
bankruptcy.
"While offering immediate help to people who desperately need it,
including those with deadly mesothelioma, H.B. 292 will resolve a crisis in
Ohio's courts as well as save businesses and jobs," Hansen said.
The bill's reasonable medical criteria are based on those developed by the
American Medical Association. According to testimony offered by Dr. James N.
Allen, M.D, Vice-Chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at The Ohio
State University and head of the Interstitial Lung Disease Clinic at the Ohio
State University Medical Center, "The criteria established in this bill are
meant to provide a very basic kind of screening to ensure that truly sick
plaintiffs are able to move forward with their cases and receive
compensation."
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SOURCE Ohio Alliance for Civil Justice
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Related links:
CONTACT:
David Hansen, +1-614-348-1233, or Emily
Foster, +1-614-232-8309, both for Ohio Alliance for Civil Justice
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