Have Asbestos Manufacturers Committed Any Crimes?

When a crime is committed and a case is brought to trial it involves the person who has allegedly committed the crime and the State. In a criminal trial if a defendant is found guilty that person will receive a sentence.

Civil lawsuits are different. Instead of a case being brought to trial by the State it is initiated by a plaintiff who is seeking to be compensated for an injury. The compensation for such damages usually takes the form of a monetary award.

The defendant in a civil suit is not necessarily a person. In legalese the defendant is more often known as an "entity." Although an entity can indeed be an individual, more often than not it is a company, a corporation, or an organization.

The entity or individual may not necessarily violate any law. However, if the defendant has been responsible for causing someone's pain or injury, of if the entity has distressed, damaged, or caused the loss of property or a person's reputation, then it may be found liable for any or all of those actions.

The laws under which the entity can be held liable are known as torts.

When coming to a decision in a civil case the judge or jury may also consider if the defendant was willfully negligent or if that entity acted in a purposeful manner. If they decide that is so then punitive damages may also be awarded to the plaintiff as part of the settlement. These damages will be above and beyond any compensation that the plaintiff will be awarded for his or her actual damages and/or losses.

Often a tort case will not go to trial. Alternatively both parties may try to reach a resolution out of court. This can happen prior to the beginning of the trial or even while the case is being tried provided that the court has not yet issued a ruling.

If both the plaintiff and the defendant do agree on a resolution that agreement is often referred to as a settlement.

Asbestos was first identified by the medical profession as a potential cause of disease in the late 1920s. The Environmental Working Action Fund has said that 10,000 people die from asbestos caused diseases every year in the United States.

One of those diseases is mesothelioma, for which there is no known cure. The first asbestos lawsuit was filed in Beaumont, Texas in 1966. Since then there have been tens of thousands mesothelioma settlements awarded by the courts. Although it may not be a crime to manufacture asbestos, companies are responsible for the harm they have caused

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