MDL Court to Determine Medical Reliability of Mass Screening Cases

PHILADELPHIA - The judge overseeing the federal asbestos MDL has stated his intention to expedite the resolution of the docket's tens of thousands of claims, specifically saying that the court will resolve questions of evidentiary sufficiency in non-malignant cases supported only by the results of mass screenings. In Re: Asbestos Products Liability Litigation (No. VI), MDL No. 875 (E.D. Pa.).

In an administrative order filed June 8, Judge James T. Giles of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said that "many mass screenings lack reliability and accountability" and, as a result "create an inherent suspicion as …