Mesothelioma Lawsuits
Filing an asbestos lawsuit allows victims of cancer and asbestos exposure to hold accountable the companies who caused their diseases. A mesothelioma lawsuit is a type of civil lawsuit filed in state court. Typically, a mesothelioma lawsuit is filed on behalf of a person or the family of a person who has been diagnosed with a cancer or illness caused by asbestos exposure, such as mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma & Asbestos Exposure
Asbestos, a mineral the World Health Organization has classified as a human carcinogen, is the only known cause of mesothelioma. This mineral was a popular choice of companies that wanted their products to be durable and fire resistant throughout the twentieth century. However, the health dangers of asbestos exposure were known by companies that used asbestos as early as 1930s. Yet, they remained silent and used asbestos anyway.
Hundreds of asbestos companies made the choice to poison hundreds of thousands of American workers, their families and consumers. As a result, it’s fair to say, anyone diagnosed with mesothelioma was exposed to asbestos and most often that exposure resulted from their job or a family member’s job.
Asbestos exposure may have happened when workers encountered products that contained asbestos. For example, auto mechanics could have installed asbestos brakes, drywallers may have used asbestos-containing joint compound, pipefitters could have encountered asbestos while cutting asbestos cement pipes, and it’s even possible for workers like managers who didn’t work directly with asbestos products, but were around others who did, to also be exposed. The list of asbestos products workers could have encountered goes on and on.
Learn more about asbestos exposure.
Why File a Mesothelioma Lawsuit?
In addition to holding the asbestos companies who harmed you accountable for their actions, filing a mesothelioma lawsuit can help you and your family cover medical expenses and lost wages. Mesothelioma is an expensive disease to treat; travel costs for visits to your mesothelioma specialist can add up quickly. Compensation from your mesothelioma lawsuit may allow you the flexibility to pay for any treatment costs that your insurance company will not cover. Simply put, filing a mesothelioma claim can allow you to take care of yourself during an exceedingly difficult time for you and your family.
How Do Mesothelioma Lawsuits Work?
In a mesothelioma lawsuit, parties who made or used asbestos-containing products may be held liable for the injuries caused by those products. Parties that can be held responsible by filing a mesothelioma lawsuit may include:
- The product manufacturer
- The manufacturer of component parts
- The wholesaler or distributor of the product
- The company who employed workers to use asbestos-containing products
- The most important step in filing a mesothelioma lawsuit is understanding the deadlines that govern how much time you have to file.
The laws that govern mesothelioma litigation are determined at the state level, and every state’s requirements are different. For example, state governments have put time limits on how long people may wait to file mesothelioma lawsuits. This is called a statute of limitations. Each state has a different time period when it’s OK to file a mesothelioma lawsuit. On average, this time can range from 1 to 3 years either after the date of a person’s diagnosis, or death from mesothelioma.
The most common reason our mesothelioma lawyers can’t help people file a mesothelioma lawsuit is because the deadline to file has passed. Please don’t make this common mistake. We have been able to help thousands of people and families with filing a mesothelioma lawsuit and understand the challenges you are facing.
Asbestos litigation can provide you and your family important financial support during this difficult time. However, there are deadlines to file. If you believe you have the right to file a mesothelioma lawsuit, it is really important to begin the legal process now by hiring a mesothelioma attorney.
Mesothelioma Lawsuits: Your Guide
Download our guide: Asbestos Litigation, Your Guide to the Legal Process.
Filing a mesothelioma lawsuit can help you cover medical expenses and secure your family’s future well-being for years to come. Our mesothelioma lawyers will make the process as easy as possible for you and guide you through the legal system. Learn more about what to expect when filing a mesothelioma lawsuit by downloading our free introductory guide.
Who Can File a Mesothelioma Lawsuit?
As was mentioned above, a mesothelioma lawsuit is typically filed on behalf of a person or the family of a person who has been diagnosed with mesothelioma.
If you recently lost a loved one to mesothelioma, you have the right to recover compensation to help you during this difficult time by filing a wrongful death lawsuit.
How Do I File a Mesothelioma Lawsuit?
- The first and most important step is to choose an attorney who will make filing a mesothelioma lawsuit as easy as possible for you and your family. Choosing an experienced attorney with access to a number of resources is vital to the success of your lawsuit, but you’ll also want to ask questions about their past results, their average time to resolution and their recent verdicts.
- After contacting an asbestos attorney, you can expect that he or she will perform extensive research and interviews to determine the best way for you and your loved ones to proceed. We understand time is of the essence, so your attorney will begin drafting a legal document called a complaint as soon as possible. The complaint will detail your mesothelioma case and why the asbestos company is liable for your diagnosis. Often there are options for where your claim will be filed. Your attorney will work with you to determine the best place to file your lawsuit.
- After filing, your attorney and their team will guide you through the next steps to best prepare your case to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve. This often includes further investigation of your personal, medical and work history in order to build the strongest case possible.
- Many times asbestos lawsuit settlements are reached either at the end of the investigation period or during the early phases of a trial. In a settlement, compensation is agreed on by both parties outside of court. Should you go to trial, your compensation, or verdict, is determined by the judge and the jury in court.
Hiring a mesothelioma law firm with experience filing and also preparing asbestos lawsuits for trial ensures you will receive the largest results possible.
Why Hire Simmons Hanly Conroy?
“People hire the firm for our expertise and our compassion,” says Perry Browder, head of Simmons Hanly Conroy’s Asbestos Group. “Even though we’re one of the largest firms in the country, we treat our clients like family.”
Perry manages more than 40 mesothelioma lawyers who focus solely on helping people with asbestos-related cases. Each senior attorney operates within a small legal team, and each team has in-house access to the following resources as they work to build your case and ensure you receive the asbestos lawsuit settlement you deserve:
- Research and Discovery Department comprised of veteran attorneys and PhD researchers
- Robust national network of medical and safety experts
- In-house medical department led by registered nurses
Our combination of compassion, resources and experience have helped us secure some of the largest asbestos verdicts and settlements in the country for patients and families devastated by mesothelioma.
At Simmons Hanly Conroy, we are not only dedicated to our clients, but also to our communities. We support a wide variety of national and local organizations and are one of the nation’s leading legal contributor to mesothelioma cancer research. Read More about our fight to end mesothelioma.