[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1586 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1586

    To provide for the fair and efficient judicial consideration of 
   personal injury and wrongful death claims arising out of asbestos 
 exposure, to ensure that individuals who suffer impairment, now or in 
   the future, from illnesses caused by exposure to asbestos receive 
        compensation for their injuries, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 3, 2003

  Mr. Cannon introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To provide for the fair and efficient judicial consideration of 
   personal injury and wrongful death claims arising out of asbestos 
 exposure, to ensure that individuals who suffer impairment, now or in 
   the future, from illnesses caused by exposure to asbestos receive 
        compensation for their injuries, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Asbestos 
Compensation Fairness Act of 2003''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2 Findings and purposes.
Sec. 3. Physical impairment.
Sec. 4. Procedures; removal.
Sec. 5. Statute of limitations; two-disease rule.
Sec. 6. Scope of liability; damages.
Sec. 7. Liability rules applicable to product sellers, renters, and 
                            lessors.
Sec. 8. Definitions.
Sec. 9. Miscellaneous provisions.
Sec. 10. Effective date.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) asbestos is a mineral that was widely used prior to the 
        1980s for insulation, fire-proofing, and other purposes;
            (2) millions of American workers and others were exposed to 
        asbestos, especially during and after World War II and prior to 
        the advent of regulation by the Occupational Safety and Health 
        Administration in the early 1970s;
            (3) long-term exposure to asbestos has been associated with 
        various types of cancer, including mesothelioma and lung 
        cancer, as well as such nonmalignant conditions as asbestosis, 
        pleural plaques, and diffuse pleural thickening;
            (4) the diseases caused by asbestos often have long latency 
        periods;
            (5) although the use of asbestos has dramatically declined 
        since 1980 and workplace exposures have been regulated since 
        1971 by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, past 
        exposures will continue to result in significant claims of 
        death and disability as a result of such exposure;
            (6) exposure to asbestos has created a flood of litigation 
        in state and Federal courts that the United States Supreme 
        Court has characterized as ``an elephantine mass'' of cases 
        that ``defies customary judicial administration and calls for 
        national legislation,'' Ortiz v. Fibreboard Corporation, 119 S. 
        Ct. 2295, 2302 (1999);
            (7) asbestos personal injury litigation can be unfair and 
        inefficient, imposing a severe burden on litigants and 
        taxpayers alike;
            (8) the extraordinary volume of nonmalignant asbestos cases 
        continues to strain state and Federal courts, with over 200,000 
        cases currently pending and over 50,000 new cases filed each 
        year;
            (9) asbestos personal injury litigation has already 
        contributed to the bankruptcy of more than 60 companies, 
        including nearly all manufacturers of asbestos textile and 
        insulation products, and the rate of asbestos-driven 
        bankruptcies is accelerating;
            (10) the vast majority of asbestos claims are filed by 
        individuals who allege they have been exposed to asbestos and 
        who may have some physical sign of exposure, but who suffer no 
        present asbestos-related impairment;
            (11) the cost of compensating exposed individuals who are 
        not sick jeopardizes the ability of defendants to compensate 
        people with cancer and other serious asbestos-related diseases, 
        now and in the future; threatens the savings, retirement 
        benefits, and jobs of defendants' current and retired 
        employees; adversely affects the communities in which these 
        defendants operate; and impairs the national economy and 
        interstate commerce;
            (12) the several thousand asbestos-related cancer cases 
        that are filed each year are manageable by the courts and the 
        litigants;
            (13) concerns about statutes of limitations can force 
        claimants who have been exposed to asbestos but who have no 
        current injury to bring premature lawsuits in order to protect 
        against losing their rights to future compensation should they 
        become impaired;
            (14) consolidations, joinder, and similar procedures, to 
        which some courts have resorted in order to deal with the mass 
        of asbestos cases, can undermine the appropriate functioning of 
        the judicial process and encourage the filing of thousands of 
        cases by exposed individuals who are not yet sick and who may 
        never become sick;
            (15) similarly, the availability of sympathetic forums in 
        states with no connection to the plaintiff or to the exposures 
        that form the basis of the lawsuit has encouraged the filing of 
        thousands of cases on behalf of exposed individuals who are not 
        yet sick and may never become sick;
            (16) excessive, unpredictable, and often arbitrary damage 
        awards and unfair allocations of liability jeopardize the 
        financial well-being of many individuals, businesses, and 
        entire industries, particularly the nation's small businesses;
            (17) punitive damage awards unfairly divert the resources 
        of defendants from compensating genuinely impaired claimants 
        and, given the lengthy history of asbestos litigation and the 
        regulatory restrictions on the use of asbestos-containing 
        products in the workplace, the legal justification for such 
        awards--punishment and deterrence--is either inapplicable or 
        inappropriate; and
            (18) the public interest and the interest of interstate 
        commerce requires deferring the claims of exposed individuals 
        who are not sick in order to preserve, now and for the future, 
        defendants' ability to compensate people who develop cancer and 
        other serious asbestos-related injuries and to safeguard the 
        jobs, benefits and savings of American workers and the well-
        being of the national economy.
    (b) Purposes.--It is the purpose of this Act to--
            (1) give priority to those asbestos claimants who can 
        demonstrate actual physical harm or illness caused by exposure 
        to asbestos;
            (2) fully preserve the rights of claimants who were exposed 
        to asbestos to pursue compensation should they become impaired 
        in the future as a result of such exposure;
            (3) enhance the ability of the State and Federal judicial 
        systems to supervise and control asbestos litigation and 
        asbestos-related bankruptcy proceedings; and
            (4) conserve the scarce resources of the defendants, and 
        marshal assets in bankruptcy, to allow compensation of cancer 
        victims and others who are physically impaired by exposure to 
        asbestos while securing the right to similar compensation for 
        those who may suffer physical impairment in the future.

SEC. 3. PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENT.

    (a) Impairment Essential Element of Claim.--Physical impairment of 
the exposed person, to which asbestos exposure was a substantial 
contributing factor, shall be an essential element of an asbestos 
claim.
    (b) Prima Facie Evidence of Physical Impairment for Nonmalignant 
Asbestos Claims.--No person shall bring or maintain a civil action 
alleging a nonmalignant asbestos claim in the absence of a prima facie 
showing of physical impairment as a result of a medical condition to 
which exposure to asbestos was a substantial contributing factor. Such 
a prima facie showing shall include all of the following minimum 
requirements:
            (1) Evidence verifying that a qualified physician has taken 
        a detailed occupational and exposure history of the exposed 
        person or, if such person is deceased, from the person who is 
        the most knowledgeable about the exposures that form the basis 
        of the nonmalignant asbestos claim, including--
                    (A) all of the exposed person's principal places of 
                employment and exposures to airborne contaminants; and
                    (B) whether each place of employment involved 
                exposures to airborne contaminants (including but not 
                limited to asbestos fibers or other disease causing 
                dusts) that can cause pulmonary impairment and the 
                nature, duration and level of any such exposure.
            (2) Evidence verifying that a qualified physician has taken 
        detailed medical and smoking history, including a thorough 
        review of the exposed person's past and present medical 
        problems, and their most probable cause.
            (3) A determination by a qualified physician, on the basis 
        of a medical examination and pulmonary function testing, that 
        the exposed person has a permanent respiratory impairment 
        rating of at least Class 2 as defined by and evaluated pursuant 
        to the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment.
            (4) A diagnosis by a qualified physician of asbestosis or 
        diffuse pleural thickening, based at a minimum on radiological 
        or pathological evidence of asbestosis or radiological evidence 
        of diffuse pleural thickening.
            (5) A determination by a qualified physician that 
        asbestosis or diffuse pleural thickening (rather than solely 
        chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a substantial 
        contributing factor to the exposed person's physical 
        impairment, based at a minimum on a determination that the 
        exposed person has--
                    (A) total lung capacity, by plethysmography or 
                timed gas dilution, below the predicted lower limit of 
                normal;
                    (B) forced vital capacity below the lower limit of 
                normal and a ratio of FEV1 to FVC that is equal to or 
                greater than the predicted lower limit of normal; or
                    (C) a chest x-ray showing small, irregular 
                opacities (s,t) graded by a certified B-reader at least 
                2/1 on the ILO scale.
    (c) Prima Facie Evidence of Asbestos-Related Lung Cancer.--No 
person shall bring or maintain a civil action alleging an asbestos 
claim which is based upon lung cancer, in the absence of a prima facie 
showing which shall include the following minimum requirements:
            (1) Diagnosis by a Board-certified pathologist, pulmonary 
        specialist, or oncologist of a primary lung cancer and that 
        exposure to asbestos was a substantial contributing factor to 
        the condition.
            (2) Evidence sufficient to demonstrate that at least 10 
        years have elapsed between the date of first exposure to 
        asbestos and the date of diagnosis of the lung cancer.
            (3) Depending on whether the exposed person has a history 
        of smoking, the requirements of either (A) or (B) below--
                    (A) in the case of an exposed person who is a 
                nonsmoker, either--
                            (i) radiological or pathological evidence 
                        of asbestosis or radiological evidence of 
                        diffuse pleural thickening; or
                            (ii) evidence of occupational exposure to 
                        asbestos for the following minimum exposure 
                        periods in the specified occupations:
                                    (I) 5 exposure years for 
                                insulators, shipyard workers, workers 
                                in manufacturing plants handling raw 
                                asbestos, boilermakers, shipfitters, 
                                steamfitters, or other trades 
                                performing similar functions;
                                    (II) 10 exposure years for utility 
                                and power house workers, secondary 
                                manufacturing workers, or other trades 
                                performing similar functions; or
                                    (III) 15 exposure years for general 
                                construction, maintenance workers, 
                                chemical and refinery workers, marine 
                                engine room personnel and other 
                                personnel on vessels, stationary 
                                engineers and firemen, railroad engine 
                                repair workers, or other trades perform 
                                in similar functions;
                    (B) in the case of an exposed person who is a 
                smoker, the criteria contained in both (A)(i) and 
                (A)(ii) must be met.
    (d) Prima Facie Evidence of Asbestos-Related Other Cancer.--No 
person shall bring or maintain a civil action alleging an asbestos 
claim which is based upon cancer of the colon, rectum, larynx, pharynx, 
esophagus, or stomach, in the absence of a prima facie showing which 
shall include the following minimum requirements:
            (1) A diagnosis by a Board-certified pathologist, Board-
        certified pulmonary specialist, or Board-certified oncologist 
        (as appropriate for the type of cancer claimed) of primary 
        cancer of the colon, rectum, larynx, pharynx, esophagus, or 
        stomach, and that exposure to asbestos was a substantial 
        contributing factor to the condition.
            (2) Evidence sufficient to demonstrate that at least 10 
        years have elapsed between the date of first exposure to 
        asbestos and the date of diagnosis of the cancer.
            (3) The requirements of either (A) or (B) below--
                    (A) radiological or pathological evidence of 
                asbestosis or radiological evidence of diffuse pleural 
                thickening;
                    (B) evidence of occupational exposure to asbestos 
                for the following minimum exposure periods in the 
                specified occupations:
                            (i) 5 exposure years for insulators, 
                        shipyard workers, workers in manufacturing 
                        plants handling raw asbestos, boilermakers, 
                        shipfitters, steamfitters, or other trades 
                        performing similar functions;
                            (ii) 10 exposure years for utility and 
                        power house workers, secondary manufacturing 
                        workers, or other trades performing similar 
                        functions; or
                            (iii) 15 exposure years for general 
                        construction, maintenance workers, chemical and 
                        refinery workers, marine engine room personnel 
                        and other personnel on vessels, stationary 
                        engineers and firemen, railroad engine repair 
                        workers, or other trades performing similar 
                        functions.
    (e) No Prima Facie Requirement for Mesothelioma.--In a civil action 
alleging an asbestos claim based upon mesothelioma, no prima facie 
showing is required.
    (f) Compliance With Technical Standards.--Evidence relating to 
physical impairment under this section, including pulmonary function 
testing and diffusing studies, shall comply with the technical 
recommendations for examinations, testing procedures, quality 
assurance/quality control, and equipment of the AMA Guides to the 
Evaluation of Permanent Impairment or, where the AMA Guides are silent, 
other authoritative standards. No adjustments with respect to pulmonary 
function testing shall be made on the basis of race.
    (g) No Presumption at Trial.--Presentation of prima facie evidence 
meeting the requirements of subsection (b), (c), or (d) of this section 
shall not--
            (1) result in any presumption at trial that the exposed 
        person is impaired by an asbestos-related condition;
            (2) be conclusive as to the liability of any defendant; and
            (3) be admissible at trial.

SEC. 4. PROCEDURES; REMOVAL.

    (a) Consolidation.--A court may consolidate for trial any number 
and type of asbestos claims with consent of all the parties. In the 
absence of such consent, the court may consolidate for trial only 
asbestos claims relating to the same exposed person and members of his 
or her household.
    (b) Venue.--A civil action alleging an asbestos claim may only be 
brought in the State of plaintiff's domicile or a State in which there 
occurred exposure to asbestos that is a substantial contributing factor 
to the physical impairment on which the claim is based.
    (c) Preliminary Proceedings.--The plaintiff in any civil action 
alleging an asbestos claim shall file together with the complaint or 
other initial pleading a written report and supporting test results 
constituting prima facie evidence of the exposed person's asbestos-
related impairment meeting the requirements of subsection (b), (c), or 
(d) of section 3. For any asbestos claim pending on the effective date 
of this Act, the plaintiff shall file such a written report and 
supporting test results no later than 60 days following the effective 
date, or no later than 30 days prior to trial. The defendant shall be 
afforded a reasonable opportunity to challenge the adequacy of the 
proffered prima facie evidence of asbestos-related impairment. The 
plaintiff's claim shall be dismissed without prejudice upon a finding 
of failure to make the required prima facie showing.
    (d) Removal.--
            (1) In the event that a State court refuses or fails to 
        apply subsections (a), (b), or (c) of this section, any party 
        in a civil action for an asbestos claim may remove such action 
        to a district court of the United States in accordance with 
        chapter 89 of title 28, United States Code. The district courts 
        of the United States shall have jurisdiction of all civil 
        actions removed pursuant to this subsection, without regard to 
        the amount in controversy and without regard to the citizenship 
        or residence of the parties. Any defendant without the consent 
        of all defendants may remove a civil action to the district 
        court of the United States in accordance with this subsection.
            (2) The district court shall remand any civil action 
        removed solely under subsection (c) unless it finds that the 
        State court failed to comply with procedures prescribed by law 
        or that its failure to dismiss lacked substantial support in 
        the record before it.

SEC. 5. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS; TWO-DISEASE RULE.

    (a) Statute of Limitations.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, with respect to any asbestos claim not barred as of the effective 
date of this Act, the limitations period shall not begin to run until 
the exposed person discovers, or through the exercise of reasonable 
diligence should have discovered, that the he or she is physically 
impaired by an asbestos-related condition.
    (b) Two-Disease Rule.--An asbestos claim arising out of a 
nonmalignant condition shall be a distinct cause of action from an 
asbestos claim relating to the same exposed person arising out of 
asbestos-related cancer. No damages shall be awarded for fear or risk 
of cancer in any civil action asserting an asbestos claim.
    (c) General Releases From Liability Prohibited.--No settlement of a 
nonmalignant asbestos claim concluded after the date of enactment shall 
require, as a condition of settlement, release of any future claim for 
asbestos-related cancer.

SEC. 6. SCOPE OF LIABILITY; DAMAGES.

    (a) Proportional Liability.--A defendant against whom a final 
judgment is entered in a civil action alleging an asbestos claim shall 
be liable only for that portion of the judgment that corresponds to the 
percentage of responsibility of such defendant. For the purposes of 
determining the percentage of responsibility of a defendant, the trier-
of-fact shall determine that percentage as a percentage of the total 
fault of all persons (including the plaintiff and those who have filed 
for bankruptcy protection) who are responsible for the harm to the 
plaintiff, regardless of whether or not such person is a party to the 
action. This provision shall apply only to a defendant that is found to 
be less than 50 percent responsible for the harm to the plaintiff. The 
court shall render a separate judgment against each defendant in an 
amount determined pursuant to this subsection.
    (b) Noneconomic Loss.--In any civil action alleging an asbestos 
claim, the total amount of damages that may be awarded for noneconomic 
loss shall not exceed $250,000 or three times economic loss, whichever 
is greater, regardless of the number of parties against whom the action 
is brought. However, in actions involving an asbestos claim based upon 
mesothelioma the total amount of damages that may be awarded for 
noneconomic loss shall not exceed $500,000 or three times economic 
loss, whichever is greater.
    (c) Punitive Damages.--No punitive damages shall be awarded in any 
civil action alleging an asbestos claim.
    (d) Collateral Source Payments.--At the time a complaint is filed 
in a civil action alleging an asbestos claim, the plaintiff must file a 
written report with the court that discloses the total amount of any 
collateral source payments received, including payments which the 
plaintiff will receive in the future, as a result of settlements or 
judgments based upon the same claim. For any asbestos claim pending on 
the date of enactment of this Act, the plaintiff shall file such 
written report no later than 60 days after the date of enactment, or no 
later than 30 days prior to trial. Further, the plaintiff shall be 
required to update this report on a regular basis during the course of 
the proceeding until a final judgment is entered in the case. The court 
shall ensure that the information contained in the initial and updated 
reports is treated as privileged and confidential and that the contents 
of the written reports shall not be disclosed to anyone except the 
other parties to the action.

SEC. 7. LIABILITY RULES APPLICABLE TO PRODUCT SELLERS, RENTERS, AND 
              LESSORS.

    (a)(1) In General.--In any civil action alleging an asbestos claim, 
a product seller other than a manufacturer shall be liable to a 
plaintiff only if the plaintiff establishes that--
            (A)(i) the product that allegedly caused the harm that is 
        the subject of the complaint was sold, rented, or leased by the 
        product seller;
            (ii) the product seller failed to exercise reasonable care 
        with respect to the product; and
            (iii) the failure to exercise reasonable care was a 
        proximate cause of the harm to the exposed person;
            (B)(i) the product seller made an express warranty 
        applicable to the product that allegedly caused the harm that 
        is the subject of the complaint, independent of any express 
        warranty made by the manufacturer as to the same product;
            (ii) the product failed to conform to the warranty; and
            (iii) the failure of the product to conform to the warranty 
        caused the harm to the exposed person; or
            (C)(i) the product seller engaged in intentional 
        wrongdoing, as determined under applicable State law; and
            (ii) the intentional wrongdoing caused the harm that is the 
        subject of the complaint.
    (2) Reasonable Opportunity for Inspection.--For the purposes of 
paragraph (1)(A)(i), a product seller shall not be considered to have 
failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to a product based upon 
an alleged failure to inspect the product, if--
            (A) the failure occurred because there was no reasonable 
        opportunity to inspect the product; or
            (B) the inspection, in the exercise of reasonable care, 
        would not have revealed the aspect of the product that 
        allegedly caused the exposed person's impairment.
    (b) Rented or Leased Products.--In any civil action alleging an 
asbestos claim, a person engaged in the business of renting or leasing 
a product shall not be liable for the tortious act of another solely by 
reason of ownership of that product.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Ama guides to the evaluation of permanent impairment.--
        The term ``AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent 
        Impairment'' means the American Medical Association's Guides to 
        the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (Fifth Edition 2000) as 
        may be modified from time to time by the American Medical 
        Association.
            (2) Asbestos.--The term ``asbestos'' includes all minerals 
        defined as ``asbestos'' in 29 CFR 1910 as amended from time to 
        time.
            (3) Asbestos claim.--The term ``asbestos claim'' means any 
        claim for damages or other relief presented in a civil action 
        or bankruptcy proceeding, arising out of, based on, or related 
        to the health effects of exposure to asbestos, including loss 
        of consortium and any other derivative claim made by or on 
        behalf of any exposed person or any representative, spouse, 
        parent, child or other relative of any exposed person. The term 
        does not include claims for benefits under a workers' 
        compensation law or veterans' benefits program, or claims 
        brought by any person as a subrogee by virtue of the payment of 
        benefits under a workers' compensation law.
            (4) Asbestosis.--The term ``asbestosis'' means bilateral 
        diffuse interstitial fibrosis of the lungs caused by inhalation 
        of asbestos fibers.
            (5) Bankruptcy proceeding.--The term ``bankruptcy 
        proceeding'' means a case brought under title 11, United State 
        Code, or any related proceeding as provided in section 157 of 
        title 28, United States Code.
            (6) Certified b-reader.--The term ``certified B-reader'' 
        means an individual qualified as a ``final'' or ``B-reader'' 
        under 42 CFR 37.51(b) as amended.
            (7) Civil action.--The term ``civil action'' means all 
        suits or claims of a civil nature in State or Federal court, 
        whether cognizable as cases at law or in equity or in 
        admiralty, including an asbestos claim in a bankruptcy 
        proceeding. The term does not include an action relating to any 
        workers' compensation law, or a proceeding for benefits under 
        any veterans' benefits program.
            (8) Economic loss.--The term ``economic loss'' means any 
        pecuniary loss resulting from physical impairment, including 
        the loss of earnings or other benefits related to employment, 
        medical expense loss, replacement services loss, loss due to 
        death, burial costs, and loss of business or employment 
        opportunities.
            (9) Exposed person.--The term ``exposed person'' means any 
        person whose exposure to asbestos or to asbestos-containing 
        products is the basis for an asbestos claim.
            (10) Exposure years.--The term ``exposure years'' means--
                    (A) each single year of exposure prior to 1972 will 
                be counted as one year;
                    (B) each single year of exposure from 1972 through 
                1979 will be counted as one-half year;
                    (C) exposure after 1979 will not be counted, except 
                that each year from 1972 forward for which the 
                plaintiff can establish exposure exceeding the OSHA 
                limit for 8-hour time-weighted average airborne 
                concentration for a substantial portion of the year 
                will count as one year.
            (11) FEV1.--The term ``FEV1'' means forced expiratory 
        volume in the first second, which is the maximal volume of air 
        expelled in one second during performance of simple spirometric 
        tests.
            (12) FVC.--The term ``FVC'' means forced vital capacity 
        which is the maximal volume of air expired with maximum effort 
        from a position of full inspiration.
            (13) ILO scale.--The term ``ILO Scale'' means the system 
        for the classification of chest x-rays set forth in the 
        International Labour Office's Guidelines for the Use of ILO 
        International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses 
        (1980) as amended from time to time by the International Labour 
        Office.
            (14) Lung cancer.--The term ``lung cancer'' means a 
        malignant tumor located inside of the lungs, but such term does 
        not include an asbestos claim based upon mesothelioma.
            (15) Mesothelioma.--The term ``mesothelioma'' means a 
        malignant tumor with a primary site in the pleura or the 
        peritoneum, which has been diagnosed by a Board-certified 
        pathologist, using standardized and accepted criteria of 
        microscopic morphology and/or appropriate staining techniques.
            (16) Noneconomic loss.--The term ``noneconomic loss'' means 
        subjective, nonmonetary loss resulting from physical 
        impairment, including pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental 
        anguish, emotional distress, disfigurement, loss of society and 
        companionship, loss of consortium, injury to reputation, or any 
        other nonpecuniary loss of any kind or nature.
            (17) Nonmalignant condition.--The term ``nonmalignant 
        condition'' means any condition that is caused or may be caused 
        by asbestos other than a diagnosed cancer.
            (18) Nonsmoker.--The term ``nonsmoker'' means the exposed 
        person has not smoked cigarettes or used any other tobacco 
        products within the last 15 years.
            (19) Pathological evidence of asbestosis.--The term 
        ``pathological evidence of asbestosis'' means a statement by a 
        Board-certified pathologist that more than one representative 
        section of lung tissue uninvolved with any other disease 
        process demonstrates a pattern of peribronchiolar 
or parenchymal scarring in the presence of characteristic asbestos 
bodies and that there is no other more likely explanation for the 
presence of the fibrosis.
            (20) Predicted lower limit of normal.--The term ``predicted 
        lower limit of normal'' for any test means the fifth percentile 
        of healthy populations based on age, height, and gender, as 
        referenced in the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent 
        Impairment.
            (21) Punitive damages.--The term ``punitive damages'' means 
        damages awarded against a defendant in order to punish or deter 
        such defendant or others from engaging in similar behavior in 
        the future.
            (22) Qualified physician.--The term ``qualified physician'' 
        means a medical doctor, who--
                    (A) is a Board-certified internist, oncologist, 
                pathologist, pulmonary specialist, radiologist, or 
                specialist in occupational and environmental medicine;
                    (B) is actually treating or treated the exposed 
                person, and has or had a doctor-patient relationship 
                with such person;
                    (C) spends no more than 10 percent of his/her 
                professional practice time in providing consulting or 
                expert services in connection with actual or potential 
                civil actions, and whose medical group, professional 
                corporation, clinic, or other affiliated group earns 
                not more than 20 percent of their revenues from 
                providing such services;
                    (D) is currently licensed to practice and actively 
                practices in the State where the plaintiff resides or 
                where the plaintiff's civil action was filed; and
                    (E) receives or received payment for the treatment 
                of the exposed person from that person's health 
                maintenance organization or other medical provider.
            (23) Radiological evidence of asbestosis.--The term 
        ``radiological evidence of asbestosis'' means a chest x-ray 
        showing small, irregular opacities (s,t) graded by a certified 
        B-reader as at least 1/1 on the ILO scale.
            (24) Radiological evidence of diffuse pleural thickening.--
        The term ``radiological evidence of diffuse pleural 
        thickening'' means a chest x-ray showing bilateral pleural 
        thickening of at least B2 on the ILO scale and blunting of at 
        least one costophrenic angle.
            (25) Smoker.--The term ``smoker'' means a person who has 
        smoked cigarettes or used other tobacco products within the 
        last 15 years.
            (26) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the 
        United States, the District of Columbia, Commonwealth of Puerto 
        Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, Guam, 
        American Samoa, and any other territory or possession of the 
        United States or any political subdivision of any of the 
        foregoing.
            (27) Substantial contributing factor.--The term 
        ``substantial contributing factor'' means--
                    (A) exposure to asbestos is the predominate cause 
                of the physical impairment alleged in the asbestos 
                claim;
                    (B) the exposure to asbestos took place on a 
                regular basis over an extended period of time and in 
                close proximity to the exposed person; and
                    (C) a qualified physician has determined with a 
                reasonable degree of medical certainly that the 
                physical impairment of the exposed person would not 
                have occurred but for the asbestos exposures.
            (28) Veterans' benefits program.--The term ``veterans' 
        benefits program'' means any program for benefits in connection 
        with military service administered by the Veterans' 
        Administration under title 38, United States Code.
            (29) Workers' compensation law.--The term ``workers' 
        compensation law'' means a law respecting a program 
        administered by a State or the United States to provide 
        benefits, funded by a responsible employer or its insurance 
        carrier, for occupational diseases or injuries or for 
        disability or death caused by occupational diseases or 
        injuries. The term includes the Longshore and Harbor Workers' 
        Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 901-944, 948-950), and chapter 81 
        of title 5, United States Code (known as the Federal Employees 
        Compensation Act), but does not include the Act of April 22, 
        1908 (45 U.S.C. 51 et seq.) (popularly referred to as the 
        ``Federal Employers' Liability Act'').

SEC. 9. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

    (a) Construction With Other Laws.--This Act shall not be construed 
to affect the scope or operation of any workers' compensation law or 
veterans' benefit program, to affect the exclusive remedy or 
subrogation provisions of any such law, or to authorize any lawsuit 
which is barred by any such provision of law.
    (b) Constitutional Authority.--The Constitutional authority for 
this Act is contained in article I, section 8, clause 3 of the 
Constitution of the United States and in article lII, section 1 of the 
Constitution of the United States.

SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall be effective on the date of the enactment of this 
Act and apply to any civil action asserting an asbestos claim in which 
trial has not commenced as of the date of the enactment of this Act.
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