Fewer Experts, Higher Costs: The Challenge Facing Asbestos Litigation

By Allison Nickerson on October 27, 2026

Expert witnesses are a vital part of all litigation; they serve as the connection between complex information, the Judge, and the members of the Jury. Without expert interpretations and opinions, even relevant evidence may be excluded because a jury is unable to understand information without expert guidance.

Within asbestos litigation, experts come in many forms, such as physicians, pathologists, and epidemiologists, all of which are used to establish causation and frame medical testimony in mesothelioma cases. With asbestos heavily regulated by the 1980s, much of the research on the harms of asbestos and the development of mesothelioma was conducted before then. As a result, the experts who made these notable discoveries have aged along with their research. In recent years several notable experts including Dr. David Rosner (public health historian), Dr. Samuel P. Hammar (pathologist), and Dr. David J. Sugarbaker, known as “Mr. Mesothelioma” (surgeon) have passed away and many other experts have retired or are nearing retirement.

Because it is now well established that asbestos is a hazardous material and the risks of exposure are understood, science is settled, and there is no longer heavy demand for new research in this area. As a result, the aging experts who established research and study in this practice area are left to cover all expert needs in current asbestos litigation, which creates several problems, including slower litigation and rising cost of expert retention. This shrinking pool of experts, relied upon by both plaintiffs’ and defense attorneys, must cover cases across the country. Consequently, frequent scheduling conflicts arise for expert depositions and trial testimony, crowding court dockets and delaying resolution of cases. Furthermore, because asbestos litigation experts now possess rare and specialized knowledge, their time has become more expensive, increasing the overall cost of litigation.

The growing difficulty of obtaining experts in asbestos litigation requires a change in strategy for attorneys working on these cases. The primary approach is developing new experts. This new generation of experts do not have the first-hand experience that current experts possess, so it is vital to build their credibility in other ways. Building credibility requires mastering the primary records, studying work-practice simulations, walking legacy sites, learning from senior experts, and staying active outside the courtroom through continuing research and education, field work, and publishing peer-reviewed work.

Another approach is to develop experts in related areas that are still evolving, such as talc, genetics, industrial history, and occupational hazards. Developing new experts not only addresses the current problem of losing experts but also allows asbestos litigation to evolve with current trends, including the rise of talc litigation.