Asbestos Litigation

Understanding and quantifying asbestos litigation compensation and costs can help policymakers assess how best to resolve future claims for everyone involved.

Since the 1980s, the ICJ has published the most comprehensive research on asbestos litigation in the country. The research focuses on estimating the scale of the litigation, describing trends over time, and analyzing the factors underlying such trends. How many claims have been filed? By whom? Against whom? For what kinds of conditions? At what cost? How much of the money spent is going to injured parties? If current trends continue, how many people will bring asbestos claims in the future and at what cost to defendants?

This work identifies the dimensions of the litigation so that policymakers can assess whether the tort system or some other alternative is the best way to resolve asbestos claims in the future.

Featured Publications

Asbestos Litigation

Authors: Stephen J. Carroll, Deborah R. Hensler, Jennifer Gross, Elizabeth M. Sloss, Matthias Schonlau, Allan Abrahamse and J. Scott Ashwood

Summary: Presents the most comprehensive description to date of the longest-running mass tort litigation in U.S. history.

Document information: MG-162-ICJ, 2005, 206 pp.

Web access: Full Document

Related publication:

"RAND Study Finds More than 730,000 People Have Filed Asbestos Injury Claims in U.S., Costing Defendants More Than $70 Billion " May 10, 2005 (News Release)

Asbestos Litigation Costs and Compensation: An Interim Report

Authors: Stephen Carroll, Deborah Hensler, Allan Abrahamse, Jennifer Gross, Michelle White, Scott Ashwood, and Elizabeth Sloss

Summary: Examines the dimensions of current asbestos litigation and the potential future effects of the litigation on the U.S. economy.

Document information: DB-397-ICJ, 2002, 106 pp.

Web access: Full Document

Related publication:

"RAND Study Shows Asbestos Claims Rise Dramatically; Cost of Claims Filed by 600,000 People Now Tops $54 Billion" September 25, 2001 (News Release)

Asbestos Litigation in the U.S.: A New Look at an Old Issue

Authors: Deborah Hensler, Stephen Carroll, Michelle White, Jennifer Gross

Summary: This briefing documents the first phase of a new study on asbestos litigation, now the longest-running mass tort litigation in U.S. history.

Document information: DB-362.0-ICJ, 2001, 55 pp.

Web access: Full Document

Related publication:

"Asbestos: Over 500,000 Claimants and $21 Billion and Counting" August 15, 2001 (News Release)

Full list of related ICJ publications

Search for more RAND publications

Research links to other Web sites