An Asbestos Attorney Can Help Victims of Asbestos-Related Diseases
An experienced asbestos attorney can aid victims of asbestos-related diseases. These include asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer.
Many firms offer a free case review for mesothelioma patients. This allows you to learn about how a firm handles these claims and determine if they are the right fit for you.
A lawsuit against a company that manufactures asbestos can result in compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and other expenses. It is costly to litigate.
The History of Asbestos Lawsuits
Asbestos is a mineral that occurs naturally is used as an insulator and a fire-resistant material. It was utilized for a long time in New York, as well as other regions of the nation, in manufacturing, industrial and commercial settings. Workers in a variety of establishments, including shipyards, power plants, and textile mills, were often exposed to asbestos. Some of the workers were diagnosed with mesothelioma and other lung diseases directly connected to their asbestos exposure. The affected individuals should seek out an skilled New York mesothelioma attorney to help them receive the compensation they deserve.
When the first lawsuits were filed in the latter half of the 1960s, researchers confirmed what people had suspected - that exposure causes lung damage and diseases. This revelation triggered a flurry of claims that led to dozens of asbestos companies to declare bankruptcy. In the bankruptcy proceedings, these companies established asbestos trust funds for the families of victims. The amount that was deposited to these trusts is currently in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Congress has attempted to pass legislation to resolve the asbestos litigation. However the bills have failed due to a variety of reasons. For instance, they did not address the treatment options for mesothelioma victims who are recurrently suffering from their illness or are deceased.
The asbestos defense industry is also a major obstacle in its effort to discredit the scientific consensus that asbestos even at low levels can cause mesothelioma as well as lung cancer. These campaigns include funding and publishing articles designed to back the asbestos industry's arguments in court.
Individual cases can be consolidated into multidistrict litigation in order to speed up the process. In 1991, a judge consolidated 885 asbestos lawsuits against power plants to speed the resolution of these cases. The defendants can appeal a verdict within 30 to 180 days. This will delay the payment of any monetary award until the appeal is concluded. A defendant could be required to post bonds for any awards received, based on the outcome of an appeal.
How to File a Claim
An asbestos lawyer can assist families and individuals in filing various types of asbestos claims. These claims may be for reimbursement for funeral expenses, medical expenses lost income, loss in consortium in consortium, pain and suffering and other damages. They can also sue companies for exposing asbestos workers. They can also aid veterans submit a claim for disability compensation through the Veteran's Administration.
A lawyer that specializes in asbestos litigation will review your case free of charge to determine if you are eligible for legal options. They can explain the different legal procedures and address any questions that you have. They can often travel to your hospital or at home for a consultation. They work on a contingency basis, so you will not be responsible for any upfront legal fees.
When a client hires a asbestos lawyer, he/ she must ensure that the lawsuit is filed in line with the applicable statute of limitation. Many states require asbestos sufferers to submit a lawsuit within a few years after being diagnosed with mesothelioma or lung cancer. It can be difficult to determine if a person has been exposed to asbestos because symptoms typically don't manifest until a long time afterward. An experienced asbestos lawyer can help clients navigate the laws specific to their state and ensure that the suit is filed in a timely manner.
After filing the complaint mesothelioma lawyers will collect evidence to back your claim, such as company records and interviews with your family members. They can also subpoena older documents from asbestos companies to prove the negligence of the company.
An experienced asbestos lawyer can also assist you with filing a wrongful death lawsuit if a loved one has passed away from mesothelioma or any other asbestos-related diseases. In a wrongful death suit, survivors may seek compensation for emotional grief, funeral expenses, and loss of companionship. They can also pursue punitive damages against the asbestos company.
An experienced asbestos lawyer has the capability to quickly access documents from different states or asbestos companies and can provide you with more legal options than local law firms. A national asbestos law firm's resources offer victims a better chance of winning substantial compensation.
Preparing for the Trial
Asbestos, a highly toxic mineral has been employed in industrial work for many years. Workers exposed to asbestos in the shipbuilding, construction and automotive manufacturing industries among others, frequently suffer from severe illnesses such as mesothelioma (lung cancer) or asbestosis or the pleural effusion (inflammation of lungs' lining). If you've been diagnosed with an illness caused by asbestos exposure, you're entitled to compensation. An experienced New York asbestos lawyer can help you recover damages.
colorado springs asbestos lawyer can assist you file a lawsuit for personal injury or wrongful death against the companies that are accountable for your exposure. A mesothelioma claim will allow you to receive financial compensation for medical expenses as well as lost wages or income, pain and discomfort, emotional distress, etc.
The statutes of limitation vary in each state for personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. You'll need a knowledgeable mesothelioma lawyer in order to ensure you don't miss the deadline to file an action.
Once the legal process begins your lawyer will begin working on your behalf to investigate and gather evidence. They will speak with you as well as any former landowners, employers, or any other persons that may have been involved in your exposure to asbestos. They will also examine the details of your case in order to determine how they came to know when, where, and how you were exposed.
The majority of asbestos cases are handled on a contingency fee basis. This means that the attorney will be paid a percentage of any amount you are paid. Your attorney will take care of the entire cost of your case. If you win the case, they will be compensated by the winning party.
If you and your asbestos attorney cannot come to an agreement over the amount of a contingency fee, you can hire another firm. However, the attorneys in the second firm must sign a contract to share the cost of work and expenses.
Typically, mesothelioma patients and their families receive compensation when they win a jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff. Many asbestos lawsuits are settled out of court. On average asbestos lawsuits that achieve an agreement that is successful pay between $1 million and $1.4 million to the victims.
Going to Trial
Asbestos lawyers can aid their clients obtain compensation through either a settlement or a successful trial decision. Compensation is contingent on many factors, such as the amount of time and type of asbestos exposure, as well as the degree of symptoms. Asbestos lawsuit compensation may include damages for physical suffering and suffering, loss of income and future earnings, medical expenses and household expenses such as childcare as well as housekeeping, transportation and childcare.
A lawsuit involving asbestos could also result in compensation for wrongful deaths as well as money to pay for funeral costs and other expenses associated with the loss of loved ones. Families could also be entitled to compensation due to the emotional pain caused by the loss of the loss of a loved one.
Lawyers with experience in asbestos litigation can help patients with mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other asbestos-related diseases to seek compensation from asbestos producers. Mesothelioma attorneys can also help file claims with trust funds that were set up by asbestos companies that went bankrupt.
The passage of decades between first exposure to asbestos and the onset of illness can make it difficult to determine who were responsible for the asbestos-related illness. Evidence can also disappear or be destroyed with time, and asbestos-related companies could go out of business. This makes the situation more complicated.
The plaintiff's lawyer for mesothelioma must determine all possible asbestos producers and asbestos-related products involved in the case before filing a lawsuit. An experienced attorney can conduct a thorough analysis of every asbestos manufacturer and product to ensure that all the relevant facts are available to the case.
For decades, mesothelioma lawyers at Belluck & Fox have held negligent asbestos manufacturers accountable for the hardworking individuals they exposed to this dangerous substance. This has helped them secure more than $1 billion in compensation for their clients over the years. The firm has won notable verdicts, including a $22 million award for a Navy veteran who contracted mesothelioma after repairing boilers on ships. There was also an $8 million verdict for a construction worker who died from asbestos exposure in joint-sealing compounds at a Manhattan high-rise.