Asbestos Claims / Mesothelioma Claims / Mesothelioma Litigation Attorney
Mesothelioma Litigation Attorney
Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive type of cancer that affects the tissue of internal organs called the mesothelium. The cancer commonly impacts the lungs, heart, and abdominal cavity, with the most prevalent cases being pleural mesothelioma (lung)1. One of the primary risk factors, and the known leading cause of mesothelioma, is exposure to asbestos. Unfortunately, even with highly incriminating evidence against asbestos, it is difficult to navigate the legal and corporate landscape individually to seek compensation for damages caused by exposure. Thankfully, with the right mesothelioma lawyer, you can file a proper lawsuit and seek the compensation you’re owed.
Do You Qualify For Compensation?
Quickly and easily find out how you were exposed by searching W.A.R.D., the largest asbestos database on the planet.
FREE SEARCH >History of Mesothelioma Litigation
In 1934, the first asbestos lawsuit was filed. The defendant, Johns Manville – a leading producer of asbestos – settled the case, along with ten others, out of court. Unfortunately, the $30,000 settlement money also came with an agreement that the plaintiff’s lawyer would be prevented from filing future similar lawsuits against the company. This move halted asbestos litigation for decades, and until the stipulation could be removed, there was very little in the way of legal accountability shown by asbestos companies.
The Case of Clarence Borel: Never warned about the health dangers of asbestos
Mesothelioma litigation started properly in 1970. The first case was that of Clarence Borel, who filed a lawsuit in 1969 after being diagnosed with severe asbestosis. In 1970, Mr. Borel would go on to have surgery to remove his right lung where it was determined that his condition had progressed from severe asbestosis to mesothelioma. Mr. Borel died in June of the same year from complications after which his lawyer filed a wrongful death lawsuit, and in 1971, the man’s widow received $68,000.
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If you may have been exposed to asbestos, speak with your healthcare provider about tests and screening to help detect the presence of asbestos fibers and asbestos-related diseases.
What is the Expense of Treating Mesothelioma?
The American Cancer Society estimates that the out-of-pocket cost for mesothelioma chemotherapy treatment is around $12,000. This is very expensive for many families. Even then, there’s no guarantee of a full recovery since mesothelioma is one of the deadliest forms of cancer. It’s not hard to see why it is important to find the right attorney to go to bat for a plaintiff and ensure they receive the compensation owed to them.
What kind of lawsuits can be filed for asbestos exposure?
Well before any paperwork is drawn up, understanding the various types of asbestos-related lawsuits that can be filed will help steer one in the right direction. An attorney can assist a client in determining which suit is most appropriate, but essentially, there are three options:
Product liability lawsuit
A product liability lawsuit is filed against asbestos product manufacturers, distributors, or retailers. The lawsuit seeks compensation due to the failure of these parties to inform their customers about the dangers/health risks associated with their products.
Premises liability lawsuit
A premises liability lawsuit is filed against a property owner for allowing the exposure of asbestos to an individual, whether they be a tenant or a contractor, on their property.
Wrongful death lawsuit
A wrongful death lawsuit is filed by the deceased’s family against an individual or company for negligent action or inaction leading to the death of their loved one. Of course, the plaintiff and their attorney will have to prove that the cause of the death was mesothelioma resulting from high-risk asbestos exposure.
What kind of compensation can be expected for injuries from asbestos exposure?
Compensation will be issued based on three types of damages:
Economic damages
Economic damages are fixed, monetary amounts, including loss of wages and medical bills.This form of damages is fairly straightforward and doesn’t require a difficult litigation process. For instance, if a person paid $10,000 in medical bills, the compensation would be $10,000.
Non-economic damages
Non-economic damages are not as straightforward and require a payout determination from either the judge or a jury. They include damages from pain and suffering or emotional loss and pain of a loved one. Non-economic damages are harder to quantify and even more difficult to prove, which may delay the litigation progress.
Punitive damages
Punitive damages are sought purely as punishment for the party responsible for a mesothelioma diagnosis. Most asbestos companies have paid a significant sum in punitive damages due to the fact that they lied about the risks of asbestos to one’s health, and many of these companies have already deposited money into asbestos trusts to simplify the payout process.
Do You Qualify For Compensation?
Quickly and easily find out how you were exposed by searching W.A.R.D., the largest asbestos database on the planet.
FREE SEARCH >What is Needed to Win a Mesothelioma Lawsuit?
There are a few steps people can take to put themselves in the best position to win their case. One of the biggest ones is selecting the right mesothelioma lawyer to represent you and pursue your interests and right to compensation. Here are a few pointers listed below.
What to consider when choosing a mesothelioma attorney
- Finding an asbestos attorney with knowledge and experience
First, it’s important to hire a mesothelioma lawyer who is well-versed on these types of cases. A lawyer can offer advice for how to navigate the legal and corporate landscapes to get the compensation their client deserves. They’ll help identify the type of lawsuit that needs to be filed and the kind of compensation a person could get, as well as offer strategies for winning that compensation. - Proving you were exposed to asbestos (We can help).
For the lawsuit, the client must prove they were exposed to asbestos. This includes the type of product the client used or information regarding the property in which they lived.
Some of our clients can vividly remember the names of the asbestos products they were exposed to and how they were exposed. But our average client has a hard time remembering which products they were exposed to and where.
Fortunately, we have a number of resources to help, including our W.A.R.D. database, the largest of its kind, with a wealth of information about worksites and products known to contain asbestos. If you worked at one of these worksites or with one of these products, you can usually prove exposure. Search W.A.R.D. for free! - Proving you were diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease caused by exposure.
Proof that an asbestos-related disease like mesothelioma was caused due to exposure to asbestos is also needed. While asbestos exposure is the primary risk factor, it is not the only risk factor.
In virtually every asbestos lawsuit, the asbestos companies argue that either the person suing them isn’t really sick, or that their sickness wasn’t really caused by asbestos. Because it happens almost every time, we know how to counter those arguments.
Medical case histories, along with the claimant’s own documents, can be used to link their diagnosis to asbestos exposure. We work with world-class doctors and medical experts from around the country. Some of the doctors we work with have special certifications held by less than 200 doctors in the country and less than 700 in the world.
Our database also contains thousands of medical articles that link specific medical conditions to specific types of asbestos exposure.
To our knowledge, no other asbestos law firm has a medical database as large as ours. - Negligence and the asbestos industry’s failure to warn
Finally, proof is needed that it was the defendant’s negligence that led to asbestos exposure, which ultimately caused mesothelioma. Again, a legal team will be able to compile this information and present it in a clear and convincing manner.
We have information on all the major asbestos manufacturers.
With large asbestos companies, there are many records available. Remember, most asbestos companies started getting sued in the 1970’s, and some of them have been sued thousands of times.Our database has millions of documents on major asbestos manufacturers. However, our law firm’s asbestos database is not limited to large asbestos companies.
We have millions of pages of evidence about very minor companies. No matter how small or remote a worksite, we usually have the information.
Our law firm includes staff members whose entire job is to research these lawsuits, obtain relevant information from the lawsuits, and upload them into our database.
This enables us to quickly find the damaging documents relating to the companies who harmed our clients.
Even lifelong smokers can collect compensation for asbestos damage. |
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Many of our clients believed they weren’t eligible to file an asbestos lawsuit because they were cigarette and cigar smokers. This isn’t true under the laws of many states. Our database contains the medical evidence needed to show that smokers who are exposed to asbestos are far more likely to develop cancer than smokers who weren’t exposed to asbestos. Cigarettes and asbestos are far more dangerous than cigarettes or asbestos. |
How our Asbestos Law Firm Can Help You Before you File an Asbestos Lawsuit
We find that the best way we can help clients who have been injured by asbestos is to give them an honest and straightforward analysis of the legal options they have available and how much time they have to decide which options to pursue.
We know the Statutes of Limitations for Asbestos Litigation.
As we discuss quite often on this site, each state has different laws setting deadlines for how long a person has to file a lawsuit. We’ll look at your specific case and tell you how long you have to decide whether or not to file a lawsuit.
We also work to give our clients a realistic expectation of what to expect in an asbestos lawsuit.
Trials and lawsuits are not like they are portrayed on television. Receiving compensation you deserve can be a relief. But sometimes litigation can be slow or frustrating.
We explain the good, the bad, and the ugly about our civil justice system. We won’t just give you doom and gloom, or sunny skies.
Instead, you will always receive our informed and experienced professional opinion.
No law firm is ethically permitted to promise a winning result in a case. But we’ll give you our honest assessment of how “good” your case is or isn’t and why.
All of the legal professionals at this law firm are good listeners who will speak to you with respect and empathy.
We don’t use “high pressure” sales tactics and we never, ever talk down to our clients.
To do so would be to add insult to their already serious injuries.
One of the differences between this law firm and other asbestos law firms is that we always respect the client’s wishes, even if the client’s wishes aren’t what we would choose.
Asbestos claims lawyers – like all attorneys – are supposed to let their clients make the important decisions. But we have been told by clients that some lawyers act like they know better, or are worried about their own reputation or paycheck.
With us, you will always be listened to, and you will call the shots.
For example, some clients are opposed to filing a lawsuit under any circumstances.
We always respect their wishes and will work with them to obtain settlements from the asbestos bankruptcy trusts as those claims do not require a lawsuit.
Our job is to help obtain justice, in the way that our clients define it.
If you have any questions about filing an asbestos lawsuit or obtaining compensation for someone harmed by asbestos, please contact our office today.
The only law we practice is asbestos law, and we always welcome the opportunity to answer questions.
Everyone at this law firm is passionate about helping victims of the asbestos industry, but no one more so than Justinian himself.
For Justinian C. Lane, getting compensation for asbestos victims is personal.
Justinian’s grandparents and his father all worked with asbestos in their younger years and died from asbestos-related cancers in their later years.
At the time of each of their deaths, no one in Justinian’s family knew that they were eligible to file an asbestos lawsuit and to seek compensation from the asbestos trusts. Because no one in Justinian’s family knew their options, they never received any compensation for the death of their loved ones.
There is no risk or cost to speak with one of our staff about your asbestos litigation.
All of our consultations are free, and we offer consultations in person, over the phone, via e-mail, or through any modern video-conferencing application such as Zoom or FaceTime.
We invite you and your family to contact us as soon as you’re able to so we can answer all of your questions and decide what options are best for you. No matter what, there is no fee for the consultation, and no obligation to hire us.
Justinian Means Justice.
At the Law Offices of Justinian C. Lane, Esq., we have the resources available to litigate asbestos cases against the largest companies in the world.
We have recovered many millions of dollars for people who were injured by their exposure to asbestos and we would graciously welcome the opportunity to obtain compensation for you and your family.
Every case is different, but we are driven by a sense of justice, and aim to deliver justice for our clients, whatever that means for them.
Why Most Asbestos Companies are Liable for Peoples’ Asbestos-Related Diseases and Injuries
One of the reasons why mesothelioma has grown into a media sensation recently is that more people are developing symptoms. Most companies knew as early as 1906 that asbestos carried serious health risks. Unfortunately, the industry was the ‘goose that kept laying golden eggs’ at the time, and this information was kept hush-hush.
As part of an elaborate cover-up, information on the health risks of asbestos remained concealed for a long time. Meanwhile, there were thousands of workers in asbestos industries who developed complications due to exposure, and some even unwittingly took the fibers home, exposing their spouses and children. It wasn’t until the 1980s that the dangers of asbestos exposure became widespread public knowledge. By then, the damage had already been done; however, “failure to warn” arguments in court gained traction and ensured these companies were held liable.
The Latency of Asbestos affects your health (and legal rights).
The challenge with asbestos-related conditions is that symptoms tend to have a long latency period. This means those exposed in the 1970s are only beginning to develop health complications, such as mesothelioma, today. This is clear proof of negligence on the part of most asbestos manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, who knew much sooner than the general public that asbestos exposure could be life-threatening.
While today most people are aware of these dangers, there’s a catch when it comes to seeking compensation for damages as a result. Most companies will only agree to compensate a claim if exposure occurred prior to 1982. The working theory is that after 1982 the risks of asbestos became “public knowledge,” and as a result, anyone who continued to handle asbestos after that time had enough knowledge about the mineral to assume the risk.
While this complicates things for most, it doesn’t mean that compensation for mesothelioma is only a sure thing if exposure occurred before 1982. It just makes it all that more important that a claimant works with a skilled mesothelioma lawyer.
Do You Qualify For Compensation?
Quickly and easily find out how you were exposed by searching W.A.R.D., the largest asbestos database on the planet.
FREE SEARCH >AsbestosClaims.LawAsbestosClaims.law is your comprehensive resource for all things asbestos. We hope this information is helpful. If you have any additional questions or concerns related to asbestos, check out our website and YouTube page for videos, infographics and answers to your questions about asbestos, including health and safety, asbestos testing, removing asbestos from your home and building, and legal information about compensation for asbestos injuries. And if you believe that you were exposed to asbestos, or have been diagnosed with an asbestos illness, you could be entitled to significant compensation—money you could use to cover the costs of asbestos removal services, pay for medical treatment, and preemptively protect your physical well-being. All without filing a lawsuit. If you’d like help with filing a claim, please get in touch by email at [email protected], us or call or text us at (833) 4-ASBESTOS (427-2378) or (206) 455-9190. We’ll listen to your story and explain your options. And we never charge for anything unless you receive money in your pocket. |
1 Sam M. Janes, M.D., Ph.D., Doraid Alrifai, M.D., Ph.D., and Dean A. Fennell, M.D., Ph.D. (2021). Perspectives on the Treatment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma. N Engl J Med(385). September 23, 2021. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra1912719.