Mesothelioma compensation has received increased attention during the last half-decade, and this is because the mesothelioma survival rate is low. Furthermore, the only known cause of mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer, is exposure to asbestos. Since asbestos was part of the work environment in several industries, total compensation amounts have been enormous. In the U.S
The U.S. government enacted the Fairness in Asbestos Compensation Act in 1999. Before that time, a person did not have to develop any signs of mesothelioma in order to file suit over asbestos exposure. The person only had to have worked in an e nvironment where there was asbestos exposure. The law was passed in response to the number of federal courts dealing with mesothelioma lawsuits: 200,000 cases in 1999 alone. Today, there must be an actual diagnosis of mesothelioma in order for a person to file a lawsuit. Punitive damages are no longer awarded in mesothelioma cases.
At first glance, the 1999 law may have seemed to be a blow to workers’ rights, but ultimately it has proved positive for those suing for mesothelioma compensation. Because of the enormous numbers of pre-1999 lawsuits, many insurance companies had to file for bankruptcy, leaving people who actually had mesothelioma without much recourse.
Mesothelioma lawsuits
Though exposure to asbestos is the only known cause of mesothelioma, and though the mesothelioma survival rate is low compared with other types of cancer, mesothelioma lawsuits can be difficult for two reasons. One reason is the non-specific symptoms of mesothelioma in its early stages. This means that many patients do not even know they had mesothelioma until they are actually quite ill. It can take decades for symptoms to develop. Another reason is that in most states there is a deadline by which you have to file suit involving mesothelioma compensation, and the clock starts running on the day of diagnosis.
Sometimes a relative of someone who has died from mesothelioma will file a wrongful death lawsuit. Unfortunately, the attorney working for the plaintiff will mostly be dealing with other employees who worked with the deceased, plus supervisors and others affiliated with the company believed to have exposed the victim to asbestos. Damning evidence may be difficult to gather in these cases.
The amounts recovered in mesothelioma cases will depend on several factors:
* length and severity of asbestos exposure
* state laws
* demands of the person filing suit
Typical compensation amounts range from U.S.$1,000,000 and $3,000,000, and the lawyer’s payment comes from this amount. The usual lawyer’s fee is between 30 and 40% of the compensation amount. There are lawyers today who concentrate exclusively on mesothelioma lawsuits. The job of these lawyers is to obtain compensation for mesothelioma patients and their survivors based on the pain and suffering of the disease.
Industries where Workers were Exposed to Asbestos
Asbestos is a mineral made up of microscopic fibers that can be inhaled easily. The fibers break down in the body and cause damage on a cellular level. The result is mesothelioma, which is almost always a disease of the lungs. There are cases of mesothelioma of the lining of the abdomen (peritoneal mesothelioma), mesothelioma of the sac around the heart (pericardial mesothelioma), and mesothelioma of the lining of the testicals (mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis), but pleural mesothelioma (the type that affects the membrane around the lungs) is by far the most common.
Though doctors can aggressively treat mesothelioma, and though there are numerous clinical trials going on to develop new treatments, the fact remains that treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation cannot do much to stop the progression of mesothelioma. Most people diagnosed with mesothelioma die within one year. This has much to do with the fact that symptoms of mesothelioma do not usually develop until the disease is quite advanced.
Most on-the-job asbestos exposure happened from the late 19th century through the 1970s. During that time hundreds of thousands of workers were exposed in their occupational settings because asbestos was used for numerous industrial purposes. By the 1930s, hazards of exposure to asbestos were known, but regulation did not happen until some 40 years later. The main industries that exposed workers to asbestos were mining and shipping, though there are numerous others. Those who have mesothelioma and their loved ones should know their legal rights because they may have grounds for a mesothelioma lawsuit.
There is hard evidence that many manufacturers and industries that used asbestos in their products knew of the dangers of asbestos for a long time before they did anything to protect employees from it. There were some cases where employers conspired to keep damning information about asbestos exposure from their employees in order to protect their profits. The result was hundreds of thousands of people being exposed to asbestos and the risk of developing mesothelioma.
Industries where asbestos was used
During the 20th century, 30 million tons plus of asbestos were used in industrial applications, schools, homes, steel mills, shipyards, commercial buildings, and power plants. Not only do the workers in these environments risk the development of mesothelioma, their family members bore an increased risk as well, due to fibers coming home on the worker’s clothing.
One industry in which asbestos exposure is now, decades later, turning to mesothelioma is repair of brakes on trucks, cars, tractors, and machines. Exposure to brake linings and pads carried with it risk of asbestos exposure. Asbestos was used in brake linings, gaskets, and clutches until the 1990s. Asbestos itself has never been completely banned in the U.S., so that many workers have been exposed to brakes containing asbestos as recently as the past decade.
One particularly haunting case of mesothelioma in Australia developed as a result of a man having been exposed as a child to asbestos fibers as a child while going on outings to a popular miniature railway in the 1970s in Western Australia. The man, age 40 at the time of the lawsuit, said he inhaled asbestos fibers at the Castledare mini railway in 1972, on the grounds of a boys’ home. The swamp surrounding the area was filled with asbestos from a factory in the 1960s and 70s. Men who lived at the orphanage as boys reported playing in asbestos mounds and being covered in dust as a result. The company was urged as early as 1971 to stop dumping asbestos.
A mesothelioma patient in the UK is certain that she contracted the disease from exposure to her father’s work clothes when she was a child. The woman, now in her 70s, was diagnosed in 2008. Her father worked for a castings company in Derbyshire as a bricklayer, where he worked with asbestos products, which covered his clothing. The woman said that as a child she would help wash her father’s work clothes, standing outside and shaking out the dust before washing the clothes. Other women in the region have developed asbestos related disease after washing their husbands’ work clothes. In a five-year period, 168 cases of asbestos-related deaths occurred in the county where the woman lived, with six of the victims being women.
People who served in the armed forces have also made claims of asbestos-related lung cancer. Navy veterans who worked in shipbuilding in World War II have filed claims through the Veterans Administration. Because the paperwork involved in filing claims against the armed forces is complex, there are lawyers who specialize in helping veterans complete the paperwork successfully.
Mesothelioma claim deadline
Anyone interested in filing a mesothelioma claim must act quickly to be eligible. In most states, a deadline of one to two years is in effect between the day of diagnosis and the time a claim is filed. Lawsuits must be filed within that window of opportunity to optimize chances of receiving compensation. The same deadlines are in effect for those filing wrongful death suits on behalf of deceased relatives. Though there is a wealth of information on mesothelioma compensation on the internet, anyone who thinks they may have a claim should contact a lawyer as soon as possible to evaluate the specifics of their case. There are numerous lawyers in every state who have successfully filed mesothelioma compensation claims.
Filing a lawsuit will involve providing many details of the mesothelioma sufferer’s case, including the type of disease, when the diagnosis occurred, and whether it has been declared terminal. Litigants must also provide details of time and place he or she was exposed to asbestos. Lawyers can hire researchers to nail down specifics if exact dates of exposure cannot be remembered.
The filing process is the same whether the mesothelioma patient is alive and being treated or if he or she has died and the claim is being filed by a relative of the deceased. Though there are no guarantees, suits filed in California in the U.S. are typically tried or settled within one year. Under California state law, a person with a terminal disease, or who is over age 70 has the right to set a trial for within four months of the request for a trial date.
Medical costs of treating mesothelioma can easily bankrupt even an insured patient in the U.S., and claims ask for compensation for these costs, as well as costs for severe pain and suffering, inability to work or care for oneself, decreased quality of life, and loss of income. Cases may be settled from asbestos bankruptcy trusts (from companies that have filed bankruptcy due to asbestos-related lawsuits). They may be settled out of court, in court, or partially out of court with select defendants being brought to trial. Many mesothelioma cases are settled before a trial takes place.
Mesothelioma compensation may be small or sizeable (in the millions of dollars), and every claim is different. Often a defendant will deny guilt, yet admit responsibility and offer a monetary settlement out of court. A lawyer skilled in mesothelioma cases can determine if the offer is worth taking. If the plaintiff takes the settlement, he or she may not go to trial and the case is closed. In cases that do go to trial, there is no set compensation for mesothelioma patients and their relatives, and the defendant will have the right to appeal an award determined at trial.