I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1737

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 harm, 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 10, 2003

Mr. DOOLEY of California (for himself, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. SMITH

of Washington, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. DAVIS of Alabama, Mr. 

LARSEN of Washington, and Mr. STENHOLM) 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 harm, now or in the future, from illnesses caused 

by exposure to asbestos receive compensation for their 

injuries, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Asbestos Victims’ Compensation Act of 2003’’. 
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Physical impairment. 

Sec. 5. Consolidation. 

Sec. 6. Venue. 

Sec. 7. Removal. 

Sec. 8. Limitations; two-disease rule; general releases. 

Sec. 9. Miscellaneous provisions. 

Sec. 10. Effective date.

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

5 (1) asbestos is a mineral that was widely used 

6 prior to the 1980s for insulation, fire-proofing, and 

7 other purposes; 

8 (2) millions of American workers and others 

9 were significantly exposed to asbestos, especially 

10 during and after the Second World War and prior 

11 to the advent of regulation by the Occupational 

12 Safety and Health Administration in the early 

13 1970s; 

14 (3) exposure to asbestos has been associated 

15 with various types of cancer, including mesothelioma 

16 and lung cancer, as well as such noncancerous condi17 tions as asbestosis, pleural plaques, and diffuse pleu18 ral thickening; 

19 (4) the diseases caused by asbestos have latency 

20 periods of up to 40 years or more; 
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1 (5) although the use of asbestos has dramati2 cally declined since 1980 and workplace exposures 

3 have been regulated since 1971 by the Occupational 

4 Safety and Health Administration, past exposures 

5 will continue to result in significant death and dis6 ability from mesothelioma and other cancers well 

7 into the 21st Century; 

8 (6) exposure to asbestos has led to the filing of 

9 at least 600,000 asbestos claims in State and Fed10 eral courts, with 50,000 to 100,000 new cases filed 

11 each year, and, if nothing is done to control the liti12 gation, as many as 2,000,000 additional claims may 

13 be filed before the litigation runs its course; 

14 (7) asbestos personal injury litigation can be 

15 unfair and inefficient, imposing a severe burden on 

16 courts, litigants and taxpayers alike; 

17 (8) asbestos personal injury litigation has al18 ready contributed to the bankruptcy of more than 

19 60 companies, including nearly all manufacturers of 

20 asbestos textile and insulation products, and the rate 

21 of asbestos-driven bankruptcies is accelerating; 

22 (9) the vast majority of asbestos claims are 

23 filed by individuals who have been exposed to asbes24 tos and who may have some physical sign of expo-
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1 sure, but who suffer no present asbestos-related im2 pairment; 

3 (10) the cost of compensating exposed individ4 uals who are not sick—

5 (A) jeopardizes the ability of defendants to 

6 compensate people with cancer and other seri7 ous asbestos-related diseases, now and in the 

8 future; 

9 (B) threatens the savings, retirement bene10 fits, and jobs of these defendants’ current and 

11 retired employees; 

12 (C) adversely affects the communities in 

13 which these defendants operate; and 

14 (D) impairs the national economy and 

15 interstate commerce; 

16 (11) the several thousand asbestos-related can17 cer cases that are filed each year would be manage18 able by the courts and the litigants but for the vol19 ume of noncancer claims brought by those who suf20 fer no present asbestos-related impairment; 

21 (12) concerns about statutes of limitations can 

22 force claimants who have been exposed to asbestos 

23 but who have no current injury to bring premature 

24 lawsuits in order to protect against losing their 
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1 rights to future compensation should they become 

2 impaired; 

3 (13) consolidation, joinder, and similar proce4 dures, to which some courts have resorted to deal 

5 with the mass of asbestos cases, can undermine the 

6 appropriate functioning of the judicial process and 

7 encourage the filing of thousands of cases by ex8 posed individuals who are not yet sick and who may 

9 never become sick; 

10 (14) similarly, the availability of sympathetic 

11 forums in States with no connection to the plaintiff 

12 or to the exposures that form the basis of the law13 suit has encouraged the filing of thousands of cases 

14 on behalf of exposed individuals who are not yet sick 

15 and may never become sick; and 

16 (15) the United States Supreme Court has 

17 characterized asbestos cases as ‘‘an elephantine 

18 mass’’ that ‘‘defies customary judicial administration 

19 and calls for national legislation’’, Ortiz v. 

20 Fibreboard Corporation, 119 S. Ct. 2295, 2302 

21 (1999), and has reaffirmed its call for national legis22 lation in Norfolk & Western Railway. Co. v. Ayers, 

23 No. 01-963 (decided March 10, 2003). 

24 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
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1 (1) to give priority to those asbestos claimants 

2 who can demonstrate actual physical harm or illness 

3 caused by asbestos; 

4 (2) to fully preserve the rights of claimants who 

5 were exposed to asbestos to pursue compensation 

6 should they become sick in the future; 

7 (3) to enhance the ability of the State and Fed8 eral judicial systems to supervise and control asbes9 tos litigation and asbestos-related bankruptcy pro10 ceedings; and 

11 (4) to conserve the scarce resources of the de12 fendants, and marshal assets in bankruptcy, to allow 

13 compensation of cancer victims and others who are 

14 physically harmed by exposure to asbestos while se15 curing the right to similar compensation for those 

16 who may suffer cancer or other physical harm in the 

17 future. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) AMA GUIDES TO THE EVALUATION OF PER21 MANENT IMPAIRMENT.—The term ‘‘AMA Guides to 

22 the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment’’ means 

23 the American Medical Association’s Guides to the 

24 Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (Fifth Edition 

25 2000). 
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1 (2) ASBESTOS.—The term ‘‘asbestos’’ includes 

2 all minerals defined as ‘‘asbestos’’ in 29 C.F.R. 

3 1910 as amended from time to time. 

4 (3) ASBESTOS CLAIM.—The term ‘‘asbestos 

5 claim’’ means any claim for damages or other relief 

6 presented in a civil action or bankruptcy proceeding, 

7 arising out of, based on, or related to the health ef8 fects of exposure to asbestos, including loss of con9 sortium, wrongful death, and any derivative claim 

10 made by or on behalf of any exposed person or any 

11 representative, spouse, parent, child or other relative 

12 of any exposed person. The term does not include 

13 claims for benefits under a workers’ compensation 

14 law or veterans’ benefits program, or claims brought 

15 by any person as a subrogee by virtue of the pay16 ment of benefits under a workers’ compensation law. 

17 (4) ASBESTOSIS.—The term ‘‘asbestosis’’ 

18 means bilateral diffuse interstitial fibrosis of the 

19 lungs caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers. 

20 (5) CANCER CLAIM.—The term ‘‘cancer claim’’ 

21 means an asbestos claim that is based upon the ex22 posed person’s diagnosed cancer. 

23 (6) CERTIFIED B-READER.—The term ‘‘cer24 tified B-reader’’ means an individual qualified as a 
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1 ‘‘final’’ or ‘‘B-reader’’ under 42 C.F.R. 37.51(b) as 

2 amended from time to time. 

3 (7) CIVIL ACTION.—The term ‘‘civil action’’ 

4 means all suits of a civil nature in State or Federal 

5 court, whether cognizable as cases at law or in eq6 uity or in admiralty, but does not include an action 

7 relating to any workers’ compensation law, or a pro8 ceeding for benefits under any veterans’ benefits 

9 program. 

10 (8) EXPOSED PERSON.—The term ‘‘exposed 

11 person’’ means any person whose exposure to asbes12 tos or to asbestos-containing products is the basis 

13 for an asbestos claim. 

14 (9) FEV1.—The term ‘‘FEV1’’ means forced 

15 expiratory volume in the first second, which is the 

16 maximal volume of air that can be expired from a 

17 full inspiration in one second. 

18 (10) FVC.—The term ‘‘FVC’’ means forced 

19 vital capacity, which is the maximal volume of air 

20 expired with maximum effort from a position of full 

21 inspiration. 

22 (11) ILO SCALE.—The term ‘‘ILO Scale’’ 

23 means the system for the classification of chest x24 rays set forth in the International Labour Office’s 

25 Guidelines for the Use of ILO International Classi-
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1 fication of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses (1980) 

2 as amended from time to time by the International 

3 Labour Office. 

4 (12) NONMALIGNANT CLAIM.—The term ‘‘non5 malignant claim’’ means an asbestos claim that is 

6 based upon a condition of the exposed person that 

7 is caused or may be caused by asbestos other than 

8 a diagnosed cancer. 

9 (13) PREDICTED LOWER LIMIT OF NORMAL.—

10 The term ‘‘predicted lower limit of normal’’ for any 

11 test means the fifth percentile of healthy populations 

12 based on age, height, and gender, based on an ap13 propriate reference population. 

14 (14) PULMONARY FUNCTION TESTING.—The 

15 term ‘‘pulmonary function testing’’ means 

16 spirometry, lung volume tests, diffusing capacity 

17 tests, and arterial gas tests. 

18 (15) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any 

19 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

20 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mar21 iana Islands, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American 

22 Samoa, and any other territory or possession of the 

23 United States or any political subdivision of any of 

24 the foregoing. 
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1 (16) TLC.—The term ‘‘TLC’’ means total lung 

2 capacity, which is the volume of air in the lungs 

3 after maximal inspiration as measured by 

4 plethysmography or timed gas dilution. 

5 (17) VETERANS’ BENEFITS PROGRAM.—The 

6 term ‘‘veterans’ benefits program’’ means any pro7 gram for benefits in connection with military service 

8 administered by the Veterans’ Administration under 

9 title 38, United States Code. 

10 (18) WORKERS’ COMPENSATION LAW.—The 

11 term ‘‘workers’ compensation law’’ means a law re12 specting a program administered by a State or the 

13 United States to provide benefits, funded by a re14 sponsible employer or its insurance carrier, for occu15 pational diseases or injuries or for disability or death 

16 caused by occupational diseases or injuries. The 

17 term includes the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ 

18 Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 901–944, 948–950), 

19 and chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code 

20 (known as the Federal Employees Compensation 

21 Act), but does not include the Act of April 22, 1908 

22 (45 U.S.C. 51 et seq.) (popularly referred to as the 

23 ‘‘Federal Employers’ Liability Act’’).
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1 SEC. 4. PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENT. 

2 (a) IMPAIRMENT ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF CLAIM.—

3 Physical impairment of the exposed person, to which as4 bestos exposure was a substantial contributing factor, 

5 shall be an essential element of an asbestos claim. For 

6 purposes of this section, cancer shall satisfy the require7 ment for physical impairment. 

8 (b) MEDICAL REPORT AND DIAGNOSIS: FILING.—

9 The plaintiff in any civil action involving an asbestos claim 

10 shall file, together with the complaint or other initial 

11 pleading, a narrative medical report and diagnosis, signed 

12 by a diagnosing doctor, that meets the requirements of 

13 this section. In any civil action involving an asbestos claim 

14 that is pending on the effective date of this Act, the plain15 tiff shall file a narrative medical report and diagnosis 

16 within 60 days following such effective date but in no 

17 event later that 30 days prior to trial. The plaintiff’s claim 

18 shall be dismissed without prejudice if a medical report 

19 and diagnosis fail to substantially meet the requirements 

20 of this section or are not timely filed. 

21 (c) MEDICAL REPORT AND DIAGNOSIS: CONTENTS.—

22 The medical report and diagnosis filed under this section 

23 shall contain each of the following: 

24 (1) An employment and exposure history, which 

25 shall include all of the principal employments and 

26 exposures of the exposed person to airborne contami-
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1 nants and shall state whether each such employment 

2 involved exposure to airborne contaminants (includ3 ing but not limited to asbestos) that can cause pul4 monary impairment, and the nature, duration, and 

5 level of any such exposure. The employment and ex6 posure history shall be obtained from the exposed 

7 person or, if that person is deceased or otherwise 

8 unable to provide the required information, from the 

9 person or persons most knowledgeable about the ex10 posed person’s employment or exposures. The diag11 nosing doctor shall certify that the employment and 

12 exposure history was taken by the diagnosing doctor, 

13 or a medical professional employed by and under the 

14 direct supervision and control of the diagnosing doc15 tor. 

16 (2) A detailed medical and smoking history, 

17 which shall include a thorough review of the exposed 

18 person’s past and present medical conditions and 

19 their most probable cause and full information re20 garding the exposed person’s history of smoking of 

21 tobacco products. The diagnosing doctor shall certify 

22 that the medical and smoking history was taken by 

23 the diagnosing doctor, or a medical professional em24 ployed by and under the direct supervision and con25 trol of the diagnosing doctor. 
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1 (3) Certification that, in the opinion of the di2 agnosing doctor, at least 15 years have elapsed be3 tween the exposed person’s first exposure to asbestos 

4 and the time of diagnosis. 

5 (4) Certification that—

6 (A) in the opinion of a certified B-reader, 

7 the exposed person’s chest x-ray shows either—

8 (i) bilateral small irregular opacities 

9 (s, t, or u) graded 1/0 or higher on the 

10 ILO scale; or 

11 (ii) bilateral diffuse pleural thickening 

12 graded b2 or higher on the ILO scale and 

13 including blunting of at least one 

14 costophrenic angle; or 

15 (B) in the opinion of a board-certified pa16 thologist, the exposed person has pathological 

17 evidence of asbestosis graded 1(B) or higher ac18 cording to criteria published in Asbestos-Associ19 ated Diseases, Special Issue of the Archives of 

20 Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Volume 

21 106, Number 11, Appendix 3 (October 8, 

22 1982). 

23 (5)(A) Certification that the exposed person has 

24 asbestos-related pulmonary impairment as dem-
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1 onstrated by pulmonary function testing that 

2 shows—

3 (i) FVC below the predicted lower limit of 

4 normal and FEV1/FVC (using actual values) at 

5 or above the predicted lower limit of normal; or 

6 (ii) TLC below the predicted lower limit of 

7 normal. 

8 (B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), where 

9 pulmonary function test results do not meet the re10 quirement of such subparagraph, a claimant may 

11 submit an additional report, by a board-certified 

12 pulmonologist, internist, or occupational physician, 

13 that states that the doctor providing the report has 

14 a doctor/patient relationship with the exposed per15 son, that the exposed person has a chest x-ray meet16 ing the requirements of this Act which in the opinion 

17 of a certified B-reader shows bilateral small irreg18 ular opacities (s, t, or u) graded 2/1 or higher on the 

19 ILO scale, and that the exposed person has restric20 tive impairment from asbestosis. The additional re21 port shall set forth in detail the specific pulmonary 

22 function test findings that the doctor relies upon to 

23 establish that the claimant has restrictive impair24 ment and shall include the reports and readouts 
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1 from all pulmonary function or other testing upon 

2 which the report is based. 

3 (6) A statement that the diagnosing doctor has 

4 concluded the exposed person’s respiratory impair5 ment is not more probably the result of causes other 

6 than exposure to asbestosis. 

7 (7) Copies of the B-reader’s report and the re8 sults of pulmonary function tests (including print9 outs of flow volume loops and all other elements nec10 essary to demonstrate compliance with the technical 

11 standards required by this section). 

12 (d) COMPLIANCE WITH TECHNICAL STANDARDS.—

13 The technical standards required by this section are as 

14 follows: 

15 (1) Chest x-rays shall be administered in ac16 cordance with all applicable State and Federal regu17 latory requirements and shall be quality 1 unless the 

18 exposed person is deceased and tissue is unavailable 

19 for pathological analysis, in which case the chest x20 ray may be quality 2. 

21 (2) Pulmonary function testing shall be per22 formed using equipment, methods of calibration, and 

23 technique that meet the criteria incorporated in the 

24 AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Im25 pairment and reported as set forth in 20 C.F.R. 
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1 404, Subpt. P, App.1, Part (A) section 3.00 (E) and 

2 (F), and the interpretative standards set forth in the 

3 Official Statement of the American Thoracic Society 

4 titled ‘‘Lung Function Testing: Selection of Ref5 erence Values and Interpretative Strategies’’ as pub6 lished in the American Review of Respiratory Dis7 eases 1991: 144: 1202-1218. No adjustments with 

8 respect to the interpretation of pulmonary function 

9 testing shall be made on the basis of race. 

10 (e) NO PRESUMPTION AT TRIAL.—Submission of a 

11 medical report and diagnosis meeting the requirements of 

12 this section shall not result in any presumption at trial 

13 that the exposed person is impaired by an asbestos-related 

14 condition, and evidence that such a report was submitted 

15 shall not be admissible at trial. 

16 (f) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall govern the 

17 substantive rule of decision, regardless of forum. 

18 SEC. 5. CONSOLIDATION. 

19 Unless all parties otherwise consent, a court may not 

20 consolidate for trial—

21 (1) asbestos claims relating to more than 20 

22 different exposed persons; and 

23 (2) a nonmalignant claim relating to one ex24 posed person with a cancer claim relating to another 

25 exposed person. 
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1 SEC. 6. VENUE. 

2 A civil action asserting a nonmalignant claim may 

3 only be brought in the State of plaintiff’s domicile or a 

4 State in which there occurred exposure to asbestos that 

5 is a substantial contributing factor to the physical impair6 ment on which the claim is based. This section does not 

7 affect venue for civil actions asserting a cancer claim, 

8 which shall be governed by otherwise applicable State or 

9 Federal law. 

10 SEC. 7. REMOVAL. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any party in a civil action involv12 ing an asbestos claim may remove such action to a district 

13 court of the United States in accordance with chapter 89 

14 of title 28, United States Code. A civil action may be re15 moved to the district court of the United States in accord16 ance with this subsection by any defendant without the 

17 consent of all defendants. 

18 (b) REMAND.—The district court shall remand any 

19 civil action removed solely under subsection (a) if it finds 

20 that the plaintiffs substantially met the requirements of 

21 section 4. 

22 SEC. 8. LIMITATIONS; TWO-DISEASE RULE; GENERAL RE23 LEASES. 

24 (a) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—Notwithstanding 

25 any other provision of law, with respect to any nonmalig26 nant asbestos claim not barred as of the effective date of 
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1 this Act, the limitations period on an asbestos claim shall 

2 not commence as a result of a purported diagnosis or find3 ing of a nonmalignant condition related to asbestos that 

4 does not meet the substantive criteria in section 4. 

5 (b) TWO-DISEASE RULE.—An asbestos claim arising 

6 out of a nonmalignant condition shall be a distinct cause 

7 of action from an asbestos claim relating to the same ex8 posed person arising out of asbestos-related cancer. No 

9 damages shall be awarded for fear or risk of cancer in 

10 any civil action asserting only a nonmalignant asbestos 

11 claim. 

12 (c) GENERAL RELEASES FROM LIABILITY PROHIB13 ITED.—No settlement of a nonmalignant asbestos claim 

14 concluded after the effective date of this Act shall require, 

15 as a condition of settlement, release of any future claim 

16 for asbestos-related cancer. 

17 SEC. 9. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

18 (a) CONSTRUCTION WITH OTHER LAWS.—This Act 

19 shall not be construed to affect the scope or operation of 

20 any workers’ compensation law or veterans’ benefit pro21 gram, to affect the exclusive remedy or subrogation provi22 sions of any such law, or to authorize any lawsuit which 

23 is barred by any such provision of law. 

24 (b) CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY.—The constitu25 tional authority for this Act is contained in Article I, sec-
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1 tion 8, clause 3 of the Constitution of the United States 

2 and in Article III, section 1 of the Constitution of the 

3 United States. 

4 SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

5 This Act shall be effective on the date of the enact6 ment of this Act and shall apply to any civil action assert7 ing an asbestos claim in which trial has not commenced 

8 as of such date.

Æ