By Treven Pyles, Administrative Director, Environmental Litigation Group, P.C.

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According to a Feb. 22 regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington D.C., the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has set aside $3.9 billion for talc-related litigation expenses in its 2020 fiscal year-end results. That made me wonder about the state of asbestos litigation in these unprecedented times.

In the U.S. tort system, one would expect that individuals harmed by asbestos exposure or families who have lost loved ones as a result of asbestos exposure would seek redress in the …