Medically Reviewed by: Jonathan Sharp | August 19th, 2019
A class-action lawsuit is a case brought by a group of people with the same grievance who are represented by a member or few members of the group. Courts were once inundated with mesothelioma class action lawsuits, forcing dozens of asbestos companies to declare bankruptcy. Afterward, asbestos trust funds were set up for victims to file legal claims. Today, most people seek compensation via personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits instead of class action suits.
In most cases, no. Asbestos class actions were common in the 1980s and 1990s, but courts rarely certify them today. People diagnosed with mesothelioma now typically pursue an individual personal injury claim, a wrongful death claim, or a claim with an asbestos trust fund instead.
That can sound like a door closing, but for most families it’s the better path. A class action lawsuit splits one settlement across a whole group. An individual mesothelioma lawsuit is built around your own work history, diagnosis, and losses, so the compensation reflects what actually happened to you.
If you come across an ad for a mesothelioma class action, don’t sign anything until someone who knows asbestos law has looked at it. A free case evaluation can tell you which legal action fits your situation.
Two U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the late 1990s explain why mesothelioma claims stopped moving through class actions.
In Amchem Products, Inc. v. Windsor (1997), the Court threw out a nationwide settlement meant to resolve asbestos claims for a huge group of people at once, including people who were already sick and people who had been exposed but weren’t sick yet. The justices said a shared history of asbestos exposure wasn’t enough to make them one group. Their work histories, illnesses, and needs were too different: people who were already sick wanted payment now, while the others needed protection for the future.
Two years later, in Ortiz v. Fibreboard Corp. (1999), the Court rejected another asbestos settlement class, this one built around Fibreboard’s limited insurance money. Again, the class lumped together people whose claims had very different values without protecting each group’s interests.
Both rulings came back to Rule 23, the federal rule for class actions, which requires common questions of law and representatives who adequately protect everyone in the class (see History of Class Action Lawsuits below). Asbestos litigation struggled to meet both tests. The rulings didn’t ban asbestos class actions outright, but they made broad settlement classes very hard to certify, so each mesothelioma case now generally stands on its own.
For people diagnosed today, the practical effect is that each claim is built and valued on its own. Courts with busy asbestos dockets still group cases together for scheduling and pretrial work, but every plaintiff keeps an individual claim. Companies that went bankrupt now pay through trusts rather than class settlements, which is where much asbestos compensation comes from today.
Here’s how the two paths compare in practice:
| Class Action | Individual Claim | |
| Who Controls the Case | Class representatives decide on behalf of the group | The patient or family controls their own case |
| Timeline | Can take years to resolve for the whole group | Often resolves faster, especially trust fund claims |
| Payout Basis | One shared settlement divided among the group | Based on the individual’s own exposure, diagnosis, and damages |
| Opting Out | Group members may be able to opt out in some cases | Not applicable — this is already an individual claim |
No two mesothelioma cases are alike. Different job sites, products, diagnoses, and family situations all change what a claim is worth. That’s why an individual lawsuit or trust fund claim usually reflects a person’s situation far more accurately than a class action would, and why one family’s mesothelioma lawsuit settlement can look very different from another’s.
In practice, an individual claim lets your attorney pursue every company tied to your exposure, not just the defendants named in a group case. You decide whether to accept a settlement offer, and you can file trust fund claims alongside your lawsuit. For a family juggling treatment and appointments, that control often matters as much as the final number.
While victims of asbestos exposure may no longer file under a class action lawsuit, there are still options available. Most mesothelioma claims follow one or more of these paths:
Many people pursue more than one at the same time, depending on which companies are still in business. What a case is worth depends on its details; our page on mesothelioma settlements explains what affects mesothelioma compensation. Every path also has a filing deadline, called a statute of limitations, so it pays to get legal advice from mesothelioma attorneys early.
Getting started is simpler than most families expect. A lawyer will usually ask for three things: medical records confirming the diagnosis, a work history listing employers and job sites, and any military service details. You don’t need to know which products contained asbestos. Identifying them is part of the attorney’s job, and many firms will come to you if travel is hard.
Do you have more questions? Like, are class action settlements taxable? Or can I deduct attorney fees from a settlement? We’re here to help. Reach out through our free case evaluation form to learn what options best fit your individual case.
The United States bases its civil law on common law, in which legal precedents are established by the courts, following the example of traditional British courts. Ancient English law allowed large groups of people to file a single complaint in court, which persisted throughout English and Colonial American history.
In 1842, the Supreme Court recognized suits where numerous parties could be represented before the court, known as Equity Rule 48. Equity Rule 48 was rewritten into Equity Rule 38 in 1912, allowing absent parties to be included in judgments under the law.
In 1938, the Supreme Court adopted the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which officially established class action under Rule 23. For the next several decades, the class action mechanism was revised into its current form, allowing a small number of plaintiffs to represent an entire class through a single lawsuit. In 1966, a revision of Rule 23 allowed class members to opt out of class action lawsuits.
Under Rule 23, there are several requirements for members of a class to be represented in a class action lawsuit:
According to the Encyclopedia of White-Collar & Corporate Crime, the U.S. government estimates that at least 11.5 million American workers had been exposed to asbestos by the 1980s. That occupational asbestos exposure led employees to file suits over deadly diseases like mesothelioma and lung cancer.
One of the earliest asbestos cases began in 1961 in Orange, Texas. Claude J. Tomplait, an asbestos insulator for nearly 20 years, developed severe shortness of breath and “finger clubbing” and was diagnosed with pulmonary dust disease. His workers’ compensation claim later led to a lawsuit against asbestos manufacturers.
In the mid-1960s, the American Law Institute published a new definition of tort law that made manufacturers and sellers of harmful products like asbestos liable for the damage they caused, and asbestos lawsuits became easier to bring. In 1973, mesothelioma sufferer Clarence Borel’s case widened the field further when asbestos companies were found liable for failing to warn workers. Individual cases began to overwhelm court calendars, and class action lawsuits grew. By 1982, hundreds of new asbestos cases were being filed each month.
Group cases followed. In 1978, two shipyard workers with asbestosis sued on behalf of 5,000 others, claiming Owens Corning Fiberglas and 14 other producers had known for decades that asbestos was hazardous. Because workers’ compensation often barred suits against employers, litigants in the 1980s targeted manufacturers, suppliers and processors instead. By 1983, asbestos lawsuits had been filed in 48 states, with 70% in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas. A nationwide class action over asbestos insulation in schools followed in 1986 and led to removal of the fiber.
As thousands of cases produced millions of dollars in awards, defendants fought back. Owens Corning and other companies filed Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) suits claiming that three laboratories in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama manipulated medical tests to show false signs of asbestos injury. In 1997, Owens Corning also sued tobacco companies, arguing that smoking raised asbestos workers’ injury rates and that the tobacco industry should share the cost.
None of it stopped the claims. By 2000, Owens Corning had resolved more than 243,000 asbestos claims, with 27,000 more pending. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2000, and a Mississippi Circuit Court dismissed its tobacco suit in 2001. Bankruptcies like this one built the asbestos trust fund system, in which companies set aside money to pay asbestos victims’ claims. By 2002, about 730,000 people had filed asbestos claims, according to a 2005 RAND study.
Many mesothelioma patients and their families have similar questions about filing compensation claims and understanding their legal options. Below are answers to a few of the most frequently asked questions.
Probably not. Asbestos class actions have been rare since the Supreme Court’s Amchem and Ortiz rulings in the late 1990s, so mesothelioma patients today usually file individual or trust fund claims. See Can You Join a Mesothelioma Class Action Lawsuit? above. A mesothelioma lawyer can tell you whether any group case applies to you.
If a court certifies a class that includes you, you’ll generally receive a formal notice explaining the case, your rights, and the deadlines. In class actions for money damages, Rule 23 lets members opt out, or exclude themselves, so they can keep their own claim and file separately. If you stay in, you’re usually bound by the result.
A class action settlement is one pool of money divided among everyone in the class, often by a set formula. An individual settlement is negotiated for one person, based on their exposure, diagnosis, medical bills, lost wages, and other losses. For mesothelioma, individual claims usually track each patient’s damages more closely than class action claims can.
Every state sets a filing deadline, called a statute of limitations, typically ranging from one to six years from diagnosis or discovery of the disease. Wrongful death claims usually run from the date of death. Because the rules vary by state, talk with a lawyer soon after a mesothelioma diagnosis. Our mesothelioma case timeline shows what happens after you file.
Yes. Many bankrupt asbestos companies set up trust funds to pay current and future claims. A patient or family can file trust fund claims alongside a lawsuit against companies still in business, including a mesothelioma wrongful death lawsuit. Our legal FAQ covers more common questions.
Rachel Ernst is a content specialist with three years of experience creating accurate, helpful information for patients and families affected by lung cancer and mesothelioma. She helps develop clear, accessible content that makes complex health topics easier for readers to understand. Rachel earned a Bachelor of Arts in Digital Communication and Media from the University of Illinois Chicago. Her background in digital media helps her create informative, engaging resources designed to meet readers’ needs across online platforms.
As Director of Claims for the Environmental Litigation Group (ELG), Jonathan manages client relations as well as the collection and proper distribution of all funds. He’s been with ELG almost from the beginning and has been very involved in asbestos cases over the years. At ELG, the client always comes first, and Jonathan is able to address any concerns clients may have.
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