Rep. Andre Jacque of De Pere, Wisconsin thinks there needs to be more restrictions on asbestos-related lawsuits, so he’s proposed legislation that he says would prevent lawyers from hiding multiple claims in hopes of maximizing awards.

Jacque told the Wisconsin Assembly Judiciary Committee during a public hearing last week that the bill he has introduced would result in more transparency for asbestos claims. Jacque believes the bill would help judges and jurors “see how many defendants may be at fault for one person’s illness, ensuring they divvy up damages fairly,” he said. “This is simply, again, helping better understand the totality of the circumstances.”

But others vehemently disagree with the Representative’s proposed legislation. Trial attorneys and advocates for those who’ve been sickened with mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases believe it would simply slow things down, often long enough for plaintiffs to pass away from their diseases before receiving compensation.

That’s because, reports an article in The Journal Sentinel, the bill demands that judges order a plaintiff in a civil suit to disclose all trust claims he or she has filed or plans to file within a month of filing the suit. Once the plaintiff makes the disclosures, the judge could not schedule a trial any sooner than six months out. The judge would have to stay all proceedings until the filing happens, the article points out.

One attorney says the legislation is really just an attempt to delay justice. She believes the asbestos industry is trying to avoid compensating the people they’ve injured and killed. Jacque rebutted, calling her comments “sickening.”

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