NERA’s 17th annual review of asbestos-related liabilities for companies reveals that, over the past year, there have been mixed trends for defendants. Managing Director Mary Elizabeth C. Stern and Senior Consultant Longxuan Wang use asbestos-related liabilities reported in companies’ 10-Ks, drawing on data from 2008 to 2024, to provide a comprehensive overview of the asbestos litigation landscape.
Key highlights from this year’s report include:
Dollars per resolved claim rose 12% in 2024 compared to 2023, marking the seventh consecutive year of an increase and a cumulative rise of 191% since 2017.
Total spending declined 16%, almost completely reversing the 2022 increase and dropping back to the upper end of the historical range. This pullback in spending likely reflects the effect of a decreasing number of claims resolved.
Dismissal rates, which had been essentially flat over the prior five years, dropped by 9% in 2024, marking their steepest decline since 2017.
The number of cases resolved in a year continued to decline, dropping 13% in 2024.
Filings increased by 1% in 2024 and appear to have plateaued, ending the declining trend that started in 2014.
Reserves declined 3% after decreasing slightly in 2023, while the number of divestiture transactions continued at the same level as the past two years.
In addition to reviewing 10-Ks, the authors collected data from the National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program on the incidence of mesothelioma and lung cancer diagnoses in the United States. These data are available through 2022. In 2022, mesothelioma incidence declined 4%, continuing a declining trend that started in 2016. In contrast, lung cancer incidence increased 2% in 2022, following a steep decline in 2020 and an increase in 2021.
The trends discussed in this year’s report provide defendants with important considerations. With average dollars continuing to increase, dismissal rates dropping, and filings plateaued, the combination of these three trends, if they continue, could result in increased liability payments for companies. On the other hand, if incidence trends observed in the SEER data continue, companies may receive fewer claims alleging mesothelioma in the future, potentially lowering liability payments, although the decline may be mitigated by an increase in lung cancer filings.
Please contact the authors if you would like to further discuss the implications of these findings or if you would like NERA to analyze your asbestos data in conjunction with those of other public companies in a benchmarking study.
