The state Assembly passed a bill Friday which aims to limit mesothelioma victims’ court access after extensive exposure to asbestos.
Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that commonly occurs after repeated and prolonged exposure to asbestos.
Assembly Bill 19 limits personal injury claims by preventing a person from filing both a civil and personal action.
A coalition representing 100,000 veterans, including the Wisconsin Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Wisconsin American Legion and the Wisconsin Military Order of the Purple Heart, officially opposed the assembly bill.
Renee Simpson, state commander of the Wisconsin Veterans of Foreign Wars, lost her father to mesothelioma and asked the Assembly to not abandon veterans and their families.
"Asbestos companies knowingly poisoned our men and women in uniform, and I fear I and many other veterans could suffer the same fate as my father,” Simpson said in a statement.
Democratic legislators argue the Republican authors based the bill on the American Legislative Exchange Council handbook. ALEC “works to advance limited government, free markets and federalism at the state level,” according to its website.
State Representative Chris Taylor, D-Madison, issued a statement in response to the approval of the bill.
“This bill sacrifices the interests of sick patients to ALEC’s big corporate agenda,” Taylor said in the statement.
Taylor also pointed out that veterans make up 30 percent of all mesothelioma cases, even though veterans represent only 8 percent of the population.
“Once again, my Republican colleagues are siding with out-of-state corporations and ALEC, rather than terminally ill Wisconsinites who deserve these legal protections,” Taylor said.
AMVETS State Commander supported the bill and said in a letter it will ensure “valuable resources are not depleted by unscrupulous lawyers convincing clients to double and triple dip for one individual for one claim.”
