Madison County shatters previous record for asbestos filings

Breaking a record in sports is a big deal. When a player breaks a record it is something significant and when a player shatters a previous record, well people really take notice.

Take San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick for example. He recently set the record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single game with his 181-yard rushing performance against the Green Bay Packers. He not only set the record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single game, but he also shattered the previous record of most rushing yards by a quarterback in a playoff game by more than 60 yards.

Madison County, which is currently ranked the nation’s third worst “Judicial Hellhole,” has just set a record of its own. In 2012 the number of asbestos case filings in Madison County not only went up, but the previous high of 953 asbestos cases in a single year was shattered by more than 600 asbestos case filings. According to the 2012 “Judicial Hellholes” report, “there simply is no justification for a jurisdiction with .0008 percent of the nation’s population to handle 25% or more of its asbestos cases. Even worse is the fact that only about 1 in 10 of the county’s asbestos cases is filed by people who actually live or work there, and asbestos claims comprise roughly 60% of all lawsuits seeking more than $50,000.”

The time has come for Madison County to set a new record for 2013. Instead of being mired down as one of the nation’s worst “Judicial Hellhole,” Madison County needs to set a record for being the quickest jurisdiction in the nation to go from a “Judicial Hellhole” to a point of light for reform. Now that would be one record we all could celebrate.