We are more than halfway through the year, which means it’s time to take a quick look at asbestos litigation trends that our team at KCIC is seeing so far in 2024.

When pulling the data, we followed the same process that we’ve established with our annual Asbestos Litigation Year in Review Report. We have allowed for a one-month lag between when a lawsuit is filed and when it is received and processed by KCIC. The data in this analysis includes the publicly available information contained in complaints received and processed by KCIC through July 31, 2024. Unless otherwise specified, mid-year comparisons are point-in-time evaluations that compare filings received through July 31^st each year.

Overall Trends

As of this report, 2024 filings are 8% higher, with 153 more lawsuits filed than at this time in 2023. The increase in filings puts 2024 closer to 2019 (pre-COVID) filing levels compared to more recent years. Between 2019 and 2023, KCIC processed 51% of total annual filings through July 31, on average, with some variation by disease. If this average is applied to the 2024 total, we can project that 2024 may end up with about a 7% increase in filings compared to 2023, which corresponds to a 1% increase over the 2019 total. Figure-1 below shows total filings for 2019 – 2023 and the projected total filings for 2024.

Figure-2 below shows cumulative filings by month for January – June of 2019 (pre-COVID, dark blue), 2020 (COVID onset, gray), 2023 (light blue), and 2024 (orange). Filings in January through June of 2024 closely follow the 2019 trends each month. Total filings for those months in 2024 (1,963 lawsuits) were just 3% lower than the 2019 total (2,020 lawsuits) based on lawsuits received through July 31 each year.

By Disease

Figure-3 shows total filings received as of July 31 each year for 2019-2024 by disease, and the percentage change comparing 2024 vs. 2023 and 2024 vs. 2019. The increase in 2024 filings compared to 2023 is seen across all disease types. The most significant increase was in lung cancer filings, which are 14% higher than at this same time in 2023 – an increase of 103 filings (856 vs. 753 filings). Mesothelioma, non-malignant, and other cancer cases also are higher so far in 2024 than at the same point in 2023, though only by 3 to 17 additional cases per disease.

While the volume of cases filed in 2024 so far is closer to that of 2019, the disease mix of 2024 filings differs from that of 2019. When comparing 2024 to 2019, we have 70 fewer mesothelioma cases, 44 fewer non-malignant cases, and 76 fewer filings with unknown/unstated disease (percentage decreases of 6%, 28% and 64%, respectively). In contrast, we have 129 more lung cancer cases at this point in 2024 than we did at this point in 2019 (an increase of 18%).

By Jurisdiction & Plaintiff Firm

Figure-4 shows the top 10 jurisdictions based on filings received through July 31 in both 2023 and 2024, in addition to the nominal and percentage change between the years. Compared to the same time last year, there have been 139 more filings in the top 10 jurisdictions. These jurisdictions make up 75% of total 2024 filings to date.

The most significant increase both in terms of nominal filings and percentage change is in St. Clair County. Total filings are 39% higher than they were at this time last year, with 110 more filings. The increase is almost entirely due to more lung cancer cases being filed so far this year in St. Clair County by The Gori Law Firm, SWMW Law, and Bailey & Glasser. We have also seen increases in Cook County (34% increase mostly made up of lung cancer cases) and in Wayne County (21% increase mostly made up of non-malignant cases).

Madison County remains the top jurisdiction for asbestos filings, despite having 40 fewer lawsuits so far in 2024 compared to the same time last year. The number of mesothelioma cases filed in Madison County is almost the same, but lung cancer filings in Madison County are less than half of what they were in 2023.

Figure-5 shows the top 10 plaintiff firms based on filings received by July 31 in both 2023 and 2024, in addition to the nominal and percentage change. There have been 99 more filings in the top 10 jurisdictions. They make up 64% of 2024 filings to date, compared to the same time last year.

As in 2023, The Gori Law Firm continues to be the firm with the most filings in 2024. Gori has had 54 more filings for 2024 than by the same time for 2023. While the firm’s mesothelioma filings are almost the same, it has filed more lung cancer cases compared to this time last year (mostly in St. Clair County). Simmons Hanly Conroy and Goldberg Persky & White have also increased filings compared to this time last year, each with more than 20 additional cases filed so far this year. For Simmons Hanly Conroy, these additional cases are mesothelioma filings in Madison County. For Goldberg Persky & White, they are non-malignant cases filed in Wayne County.

Outside of the top 10, other firms with increased filing activity compared to this time last year are the Halpern Law Firm (mesothelioma filings increased 4 to 13 and lung cancer filings increased 5 to 20 in Philadelphia) and Bailey & Glasser (lung cancer filings increased 1 to 19 in St. Clair County).

Conclusion

Based on KCIC’s analysis, it looks as though we are in for an increase in total asbestos personal injury lawsuits for 2024. The increase is most significant for lung cancer cases, specifically lung cancer cases filed in St. Clair County – with more than 100 additional cases received in 2024 compared to the same time in 2023.

KCIC will continue monitoring 2024 filings. This fall, we will present updates at upcoming industry conferences. We hope to see you at Perrin Conferences’ National Asbestos Litigation Conference September 11-12 and at the 2024 DRI Asbestos Medicine Seminar November 6-8. We will publish our 2024 Asbestos Litigation Year in Review report early next year.

*Usage of and/ or reliance upon the data in this report is prohibited without written permission from KCIC. The contents of this blog may not be duplicated or distributed without written permission from KCIC.