An Asbestos Attorney Can Help Victims of Asbestos-Related Diseases
An experienced asbestos attorney can aid victims of asbestos-related diseases. They include asbestosis and mesothelioma, as well as lung cancer.
Many companies offer a free case review for patients with mesothelioma. This will let you observe how a particular company manages these claims and determine if they’re the right fit for your.
A lawsuit against an asbestos-related company can result in compensation for medical bills or lost wages, among other expenses. However, litigation is expensive.
The History of Asbestos Lawsuits
Asbestos is a dangerous naturally occurring mineral that is used for insulation and fire resistance. It was widely used in New York, as well as in other areas of the country in manufacturing, industrial and commercial settings. Many of these facilities, including power plants, textile mills, and shipyards, exposed workers massive amounts of asbestos regularly. Some of those workers later developed mesothelioma and other lung diseases directly linked to their exposure. A New York mesothelioma lawyer can help affected people receive the amount of compensation they’re entitled to.
As the first lawsuits were filed in the latter half of the 1960s, researchers confirmed what people had believed – that exposure to asbestos causes lung damage and disease. This knowledge spurred a wave of claims that led to dozens of asbestos producers to declare bankruptcy. In the bankruptcy proceedings, the companies set up asbestos trust funds for the families of victims. The amount of money that was deposited into these trusts is in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
While Congress has tried to pass legislation to resolve the asbestos litigation process, these bills have been unable to pass due to a variety of reasons. They didn’t address the issues of the best way to treat patients suffering from mesothelioma who have recurrences or have passed away.
Another roadblock has been the asbestos defense industry’s campaign to discredit and undermine the scientific consensus that asbestos in all forms, even at low levels, are capable of producing mesothelioma and lung cancer and other asbestos-related ailments. These campaigns include funding and publishing articles designed to back the asbestos industry’s arguments in court.
Individual cases may be consolidated into multidistrict litigations to speed the process. In 1991, a judge joined over 850 asbestos lawsuits filed against power plants to speed the resolution of these cases. Plaintiffs are permitted to appeal a verdict within 30 to 180 days. This will delay the payment of any monetary award until after the appeal is completed. Depending on the outcome of the appeal the defendant could be required to post a bond in exchange for any monetary award.
How to File a Claim
An asbestos lawyer can assist families and individuals with filing different types of asbestos claims. These claims can include reimbursement for funeral costs, medical expenses lost income, loss in consortium in consortium, pain and suffering and other damages. They may also sue companies that exposed asbestos workers. They can also help veterans to file a claim for disability compensation with the Veteran’s Administration.
A lawyer who is an expert in asbestos litigation will review your case at no cost to determine if there are any legal options that are available. They can help you understand Asbestos Attorney the various legal procedures and address any questions that you have. They can come to your workplace, hospital or home to meet with you for a consultation. They operate on a contingency basis so you won’t have to pay upfront legal costs.
If a client employs an asbestos lawyer, he/ she must ensure that the lawsuit is filed in accordance with the applicable statute of limitations. The majority of states require victims to file an asbestos lawsuit within a few years after being diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, or an asbestos-related disease. It can be difficult to determine whether a person has been exposed to asbestos since the symptoms usually don’t show until a long time afterward. A lawyer for asbestos can help clients navigate the laws of their state and ensure that lawsuits are filed in time.
After filing the complaint mesothelioma lawyers will collect evidence to prove your claim, which could include company records and interviews with family members. They may also request old documents from the asbestos companies to prove negligent conduct.
An experienced asbestos attorney can also assist you in filing a wrongful death lawsuit when a loved one died from mesothelioma, or other asbestos-related illnesses. In a wrongful death suit survivors may seek compensation for emotional grief, funeral expenses, and loss of companionship. They can also seek punitive damages against the asbestos company.
An experienced asbestos attorney has the capacity to swiftly access information from various states and asbestos claim companies, and can provide you with more legal options than an individual law firm could offer. A national asbestos law firm’s resources will offer victims a better chance of receiving a large amount of compensation.
Preparing for the trial
Asbestos, a toxic mineral has been employed in industrial work for many years. Workers who were exposed to asbestos in shipbuilding, construction, automobile manufacturing, and other industries frequently suffer from severe diseases such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis or pleural effusion (inflammation of the lining of the lungs). If you’ve been identified as having a disease related to asbestos law exposure, you’re entitled to compensation. An experienced New York asbestos lawyer can help you recover damages.
A mesothelioma attorney can help you make a personal injury claim or wrongful-death lawsuit against the businesses responsible for your exposure. A mesothelioma claim permits you to claim financial compensation for medical expenses and lost wages as well as pain and discomfort emotional distress, etc.
The statutes of limitations vary in each state for personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. You need an experienced mesothelioma lawyer to ensure that you don’t exceed the deadline for filing a claim.
Your attorney will conduct an investigation and gather evidence on behalf of you once the legal process has begun. They will question you and your former employer, landowner or other individuals who could have been involved in your asbestos exposure. They will also look into the details of your case to determine the location, the method, and when you may be exposed.
The majority of asbestos cases are handled by a contingency fee, meaning that the attorney takes an amount of the compensation you receive as your representation. Your attorney will take care of all costs associated with your case. If you win you will be paid by the winning party.
If you and your asbestos attorney are unable to agree on a contingency payment then you can choose to work with a different firm. The attorneys from the second law firm will be required to sign a contract that divides the work and costs.
In most cases, compensation is granted to mesothelioma patients as well as their family members when a jury is found in their favor. Many asbestos lawsuits are settled outside of court. On average asbestos settlement lawsuits that have an outcome that is successful will pay between $1 million and $1.4 million to the victims.
Going to Trial
Asbestos lawyers can help their clients recover compensation via either a settlement or successful trial verdict. Compensation is determined by several factors, including the length of exposure to asbestos, as well as the severity and frequency of symptoms. Asbestos lawsuit damages could include damages for pain and suffering, loss of income and future earnings as also medical expenses including childcare, transportation and housekeeping.
A lawsuit against asbestos can also result in compensation for the wrongful death of a person that include money to pay funeral costs and other expenses associated with the death of loved relatives. Families may also be entitled to compensation because of the emotional pain caused by the loss of an individual they love.
Lawyers with experience in asbestos litigation can help victims of lung cancer, mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases to seek compensation from asbestos producers. In addition, mesothelioma lawyers could help with filing claims using trust funds established by asbestos companies that have gone into bankruptcy.
The time between first exposure to asbestos and the beginning of illness can make it difficult to determine which defendants were responsible for the asbestos-related illness. Evidence may also vanish or be destroyed with time, and asbestos companies could cease to be in business. This makes the case more complicated.
The attorney representing the plaintiff for mesothelioma must determine all possible asbestos producers and asbestos products involved in the case before submitting a lawsuit. A knowledgeable attorney can conduct a thorough examination of each asbestos manufacturer and product to ensure that all the relevant information is available to the court.
For decades, mesothelioma lawyers at Belluck & Fox have held negligent asbestos producers accountable for the countless people who were exposed to this harmful substance. This has allowed them to secure more than $1 billion in compensation for their clients over the years. The firm has won a number of notable verdicts, such as a $22 million settlement for a Navy veteran who contracted mesothelioma following the repair of boilers on ships. There was also an $8 million verdict for an employee of a construction company who died from asbestos exposure joint-sealing compounds at an Manhattan high rise.