Georgia's new, more stringent requirements for filing asbestos injury suits are not retroactive for cases already filed, the State Supreme Court has found.
In a ruling on several asbestos claims cases, the high court agreed with lower tribunals that applying the new law retroactively would affect the substantive rights of claimants by adding a new element to their claims that did not exist when they were originally filed.
"Prior to passage of the Act, in order to establish a claim for asbestos-related injuries, a plaintiff was required to show only that exposure to asbestos was a contributing factor in his or her medical condition," Justice Carol W. Hunstein noted in the court's opinion, which was unanimous.
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