The defense establishes the claimant's smoking history and its contribution to lung cancer or respiratory disease. Smoking and asbestos exposure interact synergistically for lung cancer, which complicates apportionment.
It does not apply to mesothelioma, which is not smoking-related.
Alternative Names:
Smoking Defense, Tobacco Comparative Fault
Why it Matters?
The synergistic interaction is what makes apportionment difficult in lung cancer cases, since the combined risk exceeds the sum of the individual risks and neither exposure alone explains the outcome. Courts and experts divide on how to allocate. The defense is unavailable for mesothelioma, which is why plaintiff counsel emphasize that diagnosis where the pathology supports it. Smoking history documentation from medical records is the essential evidence.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Does the defense apply to mesothelioma?
Why is apportionment difficult in lung cancer?
