Harris County is the industrial heart of the metro — the Houston Ship Channel refineries and chemical plants, the port terminals, and the manufacturing of Pasadena, Baytown, Deer Park, and La Porte. These were among the most asbestos-intensive worksites in the nation.
Every Texas asbestos case follows the same path: it is filed in the county of proper venue, transferred to the statewide Texas Asbestos MDL pretrial court (the 281st District Court in Harris County) for pretrial proceedings, and then remanded to the county for trial. Texas allows two years from a mesothelioma or asbestos-cancer diagnosis to file (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003).