EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - Madison County, Ill., asbestos filings in 2014 were down from the previous record-setting year by approximately 20 percent.
In all, there were 1,300 cases filed in 2014, compared to 1,678 in 2013.
While the number of new cases over the previous year are down, Madison County’s docket has doubled in the last four years and tripled in the last seven.
Filings in 2013 were remarkable for a wave of lung cancer claims, new cases in 2014 were dominated by mesothelioma claims.
Out-of-state claimants continue to make up the vast majority of cases. Only 109 of the 1,300 2014 claimants reside in Illinois, or less than nine percent. Only 12 of the 109 Illinoisans reside in Madison County, or less than 1 percent.
Fifteen firms or attorneys filed asbestos cases in 2014, but the Simmons firm of Alton filed the most with 29 percent of the total.
More detail about the 1,300 cases:
Disease
-Mesothelioma cases: 76 percent, or 988;
-Lung cancer cases: 23 percent, or 294; and
-Other: 1 percent, or 18.
Firms and cases
-Simmons: 29 percent, or 379;
-Gori: 19.5 percent, or 254;
-Maune Raichle: 15.5 percent, or 202;
-Napoli: 10.1 percent, or 132;
-SWMK: 7.3 percent, or 95;
-Shrader: 6.5 percent, or 85;
-Flint: 5.4 percent, or 71;
-O’Brien: 1.6 percent, or 21;
-Richardson Patrick: 1.4 percent, or 19;
-Goldenberg: 1.2 percent, or 16; and
-Schoen: 0.9 percent, or 12;
The remaining one percent were filed by Perica (six); Gori and Lanier (four); Bilbrey (one); and others (three) not immediately known as docket entries were unavailable at Madison County courthouse public access computers.