In September, 2016, multidisciplinary colleagues and I published and sold our second, in-depth and multidisciplinary analysis of the changes to and new directions in asbestos litigation. The paper was anchored around law and science innovations, and implications for mass tort claiming. For that effort, I teamed with David Schwartz and other science people at Innovative Science Solutions, and William Wilt, a creative actuary and insurance company analyst who leads a business known as Assured Research.
This month, we are republishing – at no cost – the part of the paper that applies to cancer claims related to talc. Why? Because we were pretty darned prescient and the principles still apply. Our 2016 work included detailed thoughts on the scientific and legal developments, such as risks of more claims involving asbestos and cancers other than mesothelioma. In that context, we specifically focused on the possibilities related to claims involving ovarian cancer and the risks and science argued by litigants regarding use of talcum powder in both in industrial settings and for cosmetic uses. An overall point was that there many more “other cancers” than there are mesotheliomas, and that the numbers of “other cancer” claims could well rise. If the claims rise, defense costs for insurers also will rise due to the volume of claims as well as the costs of coming to grips with new science and related new case law.
For those who want free access to the republished section on talc claiming, please visit this August 1, 2018 post at the Innovative Science blog.