2023 Utah Code › Title 78B - Judicial Code › Chapter 6 - Particular Proceedings › Part 24 - Asbestos Litigation Requirements › Section 2401 - Definitions.

Effective 5/3/2023
78B-6-2401.
Definitions.
As used in this part:
(1) "AMA guides" means the edition of the American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment in effect at the time of the performance of an examination or test on an exposed individual.
(2) "Asbestos" means chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite asbestos, anthophyllite asbestos, actinolite asbestos, asbestiform winchite, asbestiform richterite, asbestiform amphibole minerals, and any of these minerals that have been chemically treated or altered, including all minerals defined as asbestos in 29 C.F.R. Sec. 1910 at the time the asbestos action is filed.
(3) "Asbestosis" means bilateral diffuse interstitial fibrosis of the lungs caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibers.
(4)
(a) "Asbestos action" means a claim for damages or other civil or equitable relief presented in a civil action resulting from, based on, or related to:
(i) the health effects of exposure to asbestos, including:
(A) loss of consortium;
(B) wrongful death;
(C) mental or emotional injury;
(D) risk or fear of disease or other injury; and
(E) costs of medical monitoring or surveillance; and
(ii) any other derivative claim made by or on behalf of an individual exposed to asbestos or a representative, spouse, parent, child, or other relative of that individual.
(b) "Asbestos action" does not include a claim for workers' compensation or veterans benefits.
(5) "Asbestos trust" means a:
(a) government-approved or court-approved trust that is intended to provide compensation to claimants arising out of, based on, or related to the health effects of exposure to asbestos or asbestos-containing products;
(b) qualified settlement fund that is intended to provide compensation to claimants arising out of, based on, or related to the health effects of exposure to asbestos or asbestos-containing products;
(c) compensation fund or claims facility created as a result of an administrative or legal action that is intended to provide compensation to claimants arising out of, based on, or related to the health effects of exposure to asbestos or asbestos-containing products;
(d) court-approved bankruptcy that is intended to provide compensation to claimants arising out of, based on, or related to the health effects of exposure to asbestos or asbestos-containing products; or
(e) plan of reorganization or trust pursuant to 11 U.S.C. Sec. 524(g) or 11 U.S.C. Sec. 1121(a) or other applicable provision of law that is intended to provide compensation to claimants arising out of, based on, or related to the health effects of exposure to asbestos or asbestos-containing products.
(6) "ATS testing standards" means the official technical statements from the American Thoracic Society for pulmonary function testing in effect at the time of the performance of an examination or test on an exposed individual.
(7) "Board-certified physician in internal medicine" means a licensed physician who is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine or the American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine.
(8) "Board-certified physician in occupational medicine" means a licensed physician who is certified in the specialty of:
(a) occupational medicine by the American Board of Preventative Medicine; or
(b) occupational and environmental medicine by the American Osteopathic Board of Preventative Medicine.
(9) "Board-certified physician in pathology" means a licensed physician:
(a) who holds primary certification in anatomic pathology or clinical pathology from the American Board of Pathology or the American Osteopathic Board of Pathology; and
(b) whose professional practice is principally in the field of pathology involving regular evaluation of pathology materials obtained from surgical or postmortem specimens.
(10) "Board-certified physician in pulmonary medicine" means a licensed physician who is certified in the specialty of pulmonary medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine or the American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine.
(11) "Certified B reader" means a physician who is certified as a B reader by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
(12) "Chest x-ray" means a chest film taken in accordance with applicable state and federal laws and taken in the posterior-anterior view.
(13) "Exposed individual" means an individual whose exposure to asbestos is the basis for the asbestos action.
(14) "FEV1" means the maximal volume of air expelled in the first second during performance of spirometry.
(15) "FEV1/FVC ratio" means the ratio that is calculated from FEV1 divided by FVC.
(16) "FVC" means the maximal volume of air expired with maximum effort from a position of full inspiration.
(17) "ILO system" means the system for the classification of chest x-rays provided in the International Labour Office's Guidelines for the Use of ILO International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses in effect at the time of the performance of an examination or test on an exposed individual.
(18) "Law firm" means a person that employs a lawyer.
(19) "Lawyer" means an individual who is authorized to provide legal services in any state or territory of the United States.
(20)
(a) "Nonmalignant condition" means a condition that may be caused by asbestos other than a diagnosed cancer.
(b) "Nonmalignant condition" does not include asbestos-related lung cancer accompanied by asbestosis.
(21) "Pathological evidence of asbestosis" means a statement by a board-certified physician in pathology that more than one representative section of lung tissue demonstrates a pattern of peribronchiolar or parenchymal scarring in the presence of characteristic asbestos bodies and there is no other more likely explanation for the presence of the fibrosis.
(22) "Plaintiff" means:
(a) the person bringing the asbestos action, including a personal representative if the asbestos action is brought by an estate; or
(b) a conservator or next friend if the asbestos action is brought on behalf of a minor or legally incapacitated individual.
(23) "Plethysmography" means the test for determining lung volume in which the exposed individual is enclosed in a chamber equipped to measure pressure, flow, or volume change.
(24) "Predicted lower limit of normal" means the fifth percentile of healthy populations based on age, height, and gender as referenced in the AMA guides.
(25) "Pulmonary function testing" means spirometry, lung volume testing, and diffusion capacity testing, including appropriate measurements, quality control data, and graphs, that are performed in accordance with the methods of calibration and techniques provided in the AMA guides and the ATS testing standards in effect at the time of the performance of a test on an exposed individual.
(26) "Qualified physician" means a licensed physician who:
(a) is a board-certified physician in internal medicine, a board-certified physician in occupational medicine, a board-certified physician in pathology, or a board-certified physician in pulmonary medicine, as is appropriate to the diagnostic specialty in question;
(b)
(i) conducted a physical examination of the exposed individual and took a detailed occupational, exposure, medical, smoking, and social history from the exposed individual; or
(ii) if the exposed individual is deceased, reviewed the pathology material and took a detailed history from the individual most knowledgeable about the information forming the basis of the asbestos action;
(c)
(i) treated the exposed individual and had a physician-patient relationship with the exposed individual at the time of the physical examination; or
(ii) if the licensed physician is a board-certified physician in pathology, examined tissue samples or pathological slides of the exposed individual;
(d) prepared or directly supervised the preparation and final review of a medical report under this part; and
(e) has not relied on any examinations, tests, radiographs, reports, or opinions of a doctor, clinic, laboratory, or testing company that performed an examination, test, radiograph, or screening of the exposed individual in violation of a law, regulation, licensing requirement, or medical ethics requirement of the state in which the examination, test, radiograph, or screening of the exposed individual was conducted.
(27) "Radiological evidence of asbestosis" means a quality 1 or 2 chest x-ray showing bilateral small, irregular opacities, classified by width as s, t, or u, that occur primarily in the lower lung zones graded by a certified B reader as at least 1/0 on the ILO system.
(28) "Radiological evidence of diffuse bilateral pleural thickening" means a quality 1 or 2 chest x-ray showing diffuse bilateral pleural thickening of at least b2 on the ILO system and blunting of at least one costophrenic angle as classified by a certified B reader.
(29) "Spirometry" means a test of air capacity of the lung through a spirometer that measures the volume of air inspired and expired.
(30) "Supporting test results" means a report by a certified B reader, x-ray examinations, diagnostic imaging of the chest, pathology reports, pulmonary function testing, and other tests, which are reviewed by the diagnosing physician or qualified physician in reaching the physician's conclusions.
(31) "Sworn declaration" means the same as that term is defined in Section 78B-18a-102.
(32) "Timed gas dilution" means a method for measuring total lung capacity in which the individual breaths into a spirometer containing a known concentration of an inert and insoluble gas for a specific time and the concentration of that inert and insoluble gas in the lung is compared to the concentration of that type of gas in the spirometer.
(33) "Total lung capacity" means the volume of gas contained in the lungs at the end of the maximal inspiration.
(34) "Trust claims materials" means a final executed proof of claim and all other documents and information related to a claim against an asbestos trust, including:
(a) claims forms and supplementary materials;
(b) affidavits;
(c) depositions and trial testimony;
(d) work history;
(e) medical and health records;
(f) documents reflecting the status of a claim against an asbestos trust; and
(g) all documents relating to the settlement of the trust claim if the trust claim has settled.
(35) "Trust governance documents" means all documents that relate to eligibility and payment levels, including:
(a) claims payment matrices; and
(b) trust distribution procedures or plans for reorganization for an asbestos trust.
(36) " Veterans benefits" means a program for benefits in connection with military service administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs under United States Code, Title 38, Veterans Benefits.
(37)
(a) "Workers' compensation" means a program administered by the United States or a state to provide benefits, funded by a responsible employer or the employer's insurance carrier, for occupational diseases or injuries or for disability or death caused by occupational diseases or injuries.
(b) "Workers' compensation" includes the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, 33 U.S.C. Sec. 901 et seq., and Federal Employees' Compensation Act, 5 U.S.C. Sec. 8101 et seq.
(c) "Workers' compensation" does not include the Federal Employers' Liability Act, 45 U.S.C. Sec. 51 et seq.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 80, 2023 General Session