I 
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 Representa-
tives 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 Administra-
tion in the early 1970s; 
(3) long-term exposure to asbestos has been as-
sociated with various types of cancer, including 
mesothelioma and lung cancer, as well as such non-
malignant 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 dramati-
cally 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 cus-
tomary 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 al-
ready 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 ex-
posed 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 individ-
uals who are not sick jeopardizes the ability of de-
fendants to compensate people with cancer and other 
serious asbestos-related diseases, now and in the fu-
ture; threatens the savings, retirement benefits, and 
jobs of defendants’ current and retired employees; 
adversely affects the communities in which these de-
fendants operate; and impairs the national economy 
and interstate commerce; 
(12) the several thousand asbestos-related can-
cer 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 proce-
dures, to which some courts have resorted in order 
to deal with the mass of asbestos cases, can under-
mine 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 law-
suit 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 arbi-
trary damage awards and unfair allocations of liabil-
ity jeopardize the financial well-being of many indi-
viduals, businesses, and entire industries, particu-
larly the nation’s small businesses; 
(17) punitive damage awards unfairly divert the 
resources of defendants from compensating genu-
inely impaired claimants and, given the lengthy his-
tory of asbestos litigation and the regulatory restric-
tions on the use of asbestos-containing products in 
the workplace, the legal justification for such 
awards—punishment and deterrence—is either inap-
plicable 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 pre-
serve, now and for the future, defendants’ ability to
compensate people who develop cancer and other se-
rious 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 re-
sult of such exposure; 
(3) enhance the ability of the State and Federal 
judicial systems to supervise and control asbestos 
litigation and asbestos-related bankruptcy pro-
ceedings; and 
(4) conserve the scarce resources of the defend-
ants, and marshal assets in bankruptcy, to allow 
compensation of cancer victims and others who are 
physically impaired by exposure to asbestos while se-
curing 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 as-
bestos exposure was a substantial contributing factor, 
shall be an essential element of an asbestos claim. 
(b) PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE OF PHYSICAL IMPAIR-
MENT FOR NONMALIGNANT ASBESTOS CLAIMS.—No per-
son shall bring or maintain a civil action alleging a non-
malignant 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 in-
clude all of the following minimum requirements: 
(1) Evidence verifying that a qualified physician 
has taken a detailed occupational and exposure his-
tory of the exposed person or, if such person is de-
ceased, from the person who is the most knowledge-
able 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 in-
volved exposures to airborne contaminants (in-
cluding but not limited to asbestos fibers or 
other disease causing dusts) that can cause pul-
monary 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, in-
cluding 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 per-
manent respiratory impairment rating of at least 
Class 2 as defined by and evaluated pursuant to the 
AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Im-
pairment. 
(4) A diagnosis by a qualified physician of as-
bestosis 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 per-
son’s physical impairment, based at a minimum on 
a determination that the exposed person has—
(A) total lung capacity, by plethysmog-
raphy 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 substan-
tial 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 evi-
dence of asbestosis or radiological evidence 
of diffuse pleural thickening; or 
(ii) evidence of occupational exposure 
to asbestos for the following minimum ex-
posure periods in the specified occupations: 
(I) 5 exposure years for in-
sulators, shipyard workers, workers in 
manufacturing plants handling raw 
asbestos, 
boilermakers, 
shipfitters, 
steamfitters, or other trades per-
forming 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 gen-
eral construction, maintenance work-
ers, chemical and refinery workers,
marine engine room personnel and 
other personnel on vessels, stationary 
engineers and firemen, railroad engine 
repair workers, or other trades per-
form 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 patholo-
gist, Board-certified pulmonary specialist, or Board-
certified oncologist (as appropriate for the type of 
cancer claimed) of primary cancer of the colon, rec-
tum, larynx, pharynx, esophagus, or stomach, and 
that exposure to asbestos was a substantial contrib-
uting 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 manufac-
turing plants handling raw asbestos, boiler-
makers, shipfitters, steamfitters, or other 
trades performing similar functions; 
(ii) 10 exposure years for utility and 
power house workers, secondary manufac-
turing workers, or other trades performing 
similar functions; or 
(iii) 15 exposure years for general 
construction, maintenance workers, chem-
ical 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 MESOTHE-
LIOMA.—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 sec-
tion, 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 ad-
justments 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 sub-
section (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 de-
fendant; 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 house-
hold. 
(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 to-
gether with the complaint or other initial pleading a writ-
ten report and supporting test results constituting prima 
facie evidence of the exposed person’s asbestos-related im-
pairment 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 rea-
sonable opportunity to challenge the adequacy of the prof-
fered 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 sec-
tion, 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 ac-
tions removed pursuant to this subsection, without 
regard to the amount in controversy and without re-
gard 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 ac-
tion removed solely under subsection (c) unless it 
finds that the State court failed to comply with pro-
cedures prescribed by law or that its failure to dis-
miss 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 ex-
posed 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 PROHIB-
ITED.—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 as-
bestos-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 re-
sponsibility of such defendant. For the purposes of deter-
mining the percentage of responsibility of a defendant, the 
trier-of-fact shall determine that percentage as a percent-
age 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 judg-
ment against each defendant in an amount determined 
pursuant to this subsection. 
(b) NONECONOMIC LOSS.—In any civil action alleg-
ing 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 great-
er, regardless of the number of parties against whom the 
action is brought. However, in actions involving an asbes-
tos 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, which-
ever 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 settle-
ments 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 re-
quired 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 SELL-
ERS, 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 reason-
able care with respect to the product; and 
(iii) the failure to exercise reasonable care was 
a proximate cause of the harm to the exposed per-
son;
(B)(i) the product seller made an express war-
ranty applicable to the product that allegedly caused 
the harm that is the subject of the complaint, inde-
pendent of any express warranty made by the manu-
facturer as to the same product; 
(ii) the product failed to conform to the war-
ranty; 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 reason-
able 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 prod-
uct that allegedly caused the exposed person’s im-
pairment.
(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 owner-
ship of that product. 
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) AMA GUIDES TO THE EVALUATION OF PER-
MANENT 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 ef-
fects of exposure to asbestos, including loss of con-
sortium and any other derivative claim made by or 
on behalf of any exposed person or any representa-
tive, spouse, parent, child or other relative of any ex-
posed person. The term does not include claims for 
benefits under a workers’ compensation law or vet-
erans’ 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 ‘‘cer-
tified 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’ compensa-
tion law, or a proceeding for benefits under any vet-
erans’ benefits program.
(8) ECONOMIC
LOSS.—The term ‘‘economic 
loss’’ means any pecuniary loss resulting from phys-
ical impairment, including the loss of earnings or 
other benefits related to employment, medical ex-
pense loss, replacement services loss, loss due to 
death, burial costs, and loss of business or employ-
ment opportunities. 
(9) EXPOSED
PERSON.—The term ‘‘exposed 
person’’ means any person whose exposure to asbes-
tos 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 count-
ed, 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 ex-
pired with maximum effort from a position of full in-
spiration. 
(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 Classi-
fication 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 ‘‘mesothe-
lioma’’ means a malignant tumor with a primary site 
in the pleura or the peritoneum, which has been di-
agnosed by a Board-certified pathologist, using 
standardized and accepted criteria of microscopic 
morphology and/or appropriate staining techniques.
(16) NONECONOMIC
LOSS.—The term ‘‘non-
economic loss’’ means subjective, nonmonetary loss 
resulting from physical impairment, including pain, 
suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, emotional 
distress, disfigurement, loss of society and compan-
ionship, 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
ASBES-
TOSIS.—The term ‘‘pathological evidence of asbes-
tosis’’ means a statement by a Board-certified pa-
thologist 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 char-
acteristic asbestos bodies and that there is no other 
more likely explanation for the presence of the fibro-
sis.
(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 de-
fendant in order to punish or deter such defendant 
or others from engaging in similar behavior in the 
future. 
(22) QUALIFIED PHYSICIAN.—The term ‘‘quali-
fied physician’’ means a medical doctor, who—
(A) is a Board-certified internist, on-
cologist, pathologist, pulmonary specialist, radi-
ologist, or specialist in occupational and envi-
ronmental medicine; 
(B) is actually treating or treated the ex-
posed 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 con-
sulting or expert services in connection with ac-
tual or potential civil actions, and whose med-
ical 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 plain-
tiff 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 per-
son’s health maintenance organization or other 
medical provider. 
(23) RADIOLOGICAL
EVIDENCE
OF
ASBES-
TOSIS.—The term ‘‘radiological evidence of asbes-
tosis’’ 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 evi-
dence 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 to-
bacco 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 Mar-
iana 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 predomi-
nate 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 as-
bestos exposures. 
(28) VETERANS’ 
BENEFITS
PROGRAM.—The 
term ‘‘veterans’ benefits program’’ means any pro-
gram 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 re-
specting a program administered by a State or the 
United States to provide benefits, funded by a re-
sponsible employer or its insurance carrier, for occu-
pational 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 pro-
gram, to affect the exclusive remedy or subrogation provi-
sions of any such law, or to authorize any lawsuit which 
is barred by any such provision of law. 
(b) CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY.—The Constitu-
tional authority for this Act is contained in article I, sec-
tion 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 enact-
ment 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.
Æ