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Timing to File an Asbestos-Related Lawsuit in Indiana

If you or someone you know has worked around asbestos or asbestos containing materials and has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis or lung cancer, they can file an asbestos-related lawsuit to help cover costs of medical treatment and lost wages and compensate for loss of life.  However, such asbestos lawsuits must be filed within a certain time.  This time period is called statute of limitations.  Your asbestos-related lawsuit may be barred if the statute of limitations has expired relative to your situation.  Each state has its own statute of limitations deadline.   

In Indiana, there are two categories of statute of limitations for when an individual who is exposed to asbestos or asbestos-containing products and diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease must file a lawsuit.  If an asbestos-related lawsuit is filed against a defendant who mined and sold commercial raw asbestos, the statute of limitations is set as two years after the cause of action “accrues.”  The cause of action “accrues” on the date the plaintiff knew he or she has an asbestos-related disease.  If the person exposed to asbestos dies of an asbestos-related disease, then the statute of limitations is set as two years from the date of death.  Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 34-20-3-2 (2010).   

The statute of limitations for all other defendants (including those who manufactured and supplied asbestos-containing products) is either two years after the cause of action “accrues” or within ten years after the asbestos-containing product was delivered to the plaintiff.  Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 34-20-3-1 (2010).  In other words, there is a ten year cutoff for manufacturers and suppliers of asbestos-containing products.  This is called a “statute of repose.” 

There is dispute over whether this ten year cut off is unconstitutional in light of the fact it can take between ten and twenty-five years for an individual to discover that he or she has an asbestos-related disease.  The courts have determined that the cause of action is deemed to have “accrued” when the asbestos-related disease becomes diagnosable – or when “a physician who is reasonably experienced at making such diagnoses could have diagnosed the individual with an asbestos-related illness or disease.”   Allied Signal, Inc. v. Ott ( Ind. 2003) 785 N.E.2d 1068, 1075. 

The courts have found this section to be constitutional, but have left open that it may be unconstitutional in the situation “where a reasonably experienced physician could have diagnosed the plaintiff with an asbestos-related illness or disease within the ten-year statute of repose, yet the potential plaintiff had no reason to know of the diagnosable condition until the ten-year period had expired.”  Jurich v. Garlock, Inc. ( Ind. 2003) 785 N.E.2d 1093, 1095.     

Because the statute of limitations is so short and there is the potential problem with the ten-year “statute of repose,” it is strongly urged that a person diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease or an heir if that person has passed away contact a mesothelioma attorney as soon as possible to determine if an asbestos-related lawsuit is appropriate.  Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason have obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in jury awards and settlements for our clients.  We have successfully brought asbestos-related lawsuits for more than 30 years.  To obtain a free case evaluation, please contact the lawyers at Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason.