Miss. Appellate Court Says Asbestos Defendant Not Entitled to Setoffs for Recoveries from Bankruptcy Trusts

JACKSON, Miss. –– A Mississippi appellate court has affirmed that an asbestos plaintiff may recover damages from Illinois Central Railroad Co., holding that the collateral-source rule does not allow for a defendant to avoid payment of damages based on money the claimant may have received from settlement trusts that were not a party to the action.

In the Dec. 13 opinion, the Mississippi Court of Appeals held that the allowance for setoff for recoveries from nonparty tortfeasors is inconsistent with the intent of the Federal Employers’ Liability Act.

The appellate court concluded that because an injured railroad employee can “recover …