Filing a mesothelioma lawsuit allows victims of cancer and asbestos exposure to hold responsible companies who caused such diseases due to work environment. A mesothelioma lawsuit is a type of civil lawsuit filed in state court. Typically, an asbestos lawsuit is filed on behalf of a person or the family of a person who has been diagnosed with cancer or illness caused by asbestos exposure, such as mesothelioma.
Asbestos exposure may have happened when workers encountered products that contained asbestos. Thousands of products were manufactured using asbestos fibers. Asbestos may be found in insulation, drywall, ceiling and floor tiles, cement, paint and more. Most homes and commercial buildings built before 1980 contains asbestos products. The list of asbestos products workers could have encountered goes on and on.
The average mesothelioma settlement is $2.4 million, according to the latest Mealey’s Litigation Report.
Many patients file out-of-court claims against one or more of the approximately 70 different former asbestos corporations that have filed for bankruptcy and established trust funds at the direction of the government to pay any current and future claims. Out of $37 billion deposited into those trusts, more than $18 billion has been paid to people who were injured after being exposed to asbestos.
How the Mesothelioma Lawsuit Process Works
Every mesothelioma lawsuit is unique, each generally follows a course similar to other legal action. Some of the general steps you can expect in a case to follow
1. File a legal document
After gathering information, including identifying the manufacturer of the asbestos to which you were exposed, you and your attorney file a legal document including details of your injuries and says why the defendant is liable for your disease. You may be eligible to file complaints against multiple defendants and file a lawsuit in more than one court.
2. Await Response
Each defendant in the lawsuit will receive a copy of your complaint and has a certain amount of time to respond to complaints, usually 30 days, depending on the state where it was filed and how long it takes to contact the responsible company. Most of the time, the defendant will try to get the judge assigned to your case to dismiss the complaint. Your attorney will try to keep that from happening.
3. Making a Case Study
Before the case gets into trial or settlement, both parties collect evidence by taking depositions and requesting documents, including your work history and medical records and testimonials from coworkers at the workplace. Your lawyer will prepare you for questions the defendant party may ask. The attorney may assemble a timeline to illustrate your experience with asbestos. Sometimes, the exposure involved several manufacturers. Documents important to the case include invoices, anything that details job responsibilities and anything that links the company to asbestos products and use. Medical records may also be sought. This can take several months, but if you are very ill, your attorney can request to fasten the proceedings.
4. Trial or Settlement
Mesothelioma lawsuits usually settle before trial. In fact, a majority of cases ends in a settlement before going to trial. Even if the lawsuit goes to trial, the defendant may settle before the jury delivers a verdict. Moreover, In the case you get a settlement, it is not necessary for you to appear in court. You may be able to participate in the proceedings before trial by video conferencing from your home or any location.
5. In case Defendant files an Appeal
In case you win the trial, the defendant may file an appeal. There is a deadline between one and 6 months, for the appellate filing. But once it’s filed, the courts can take months or longer to issue a ruling. In the meantime, the defendant will have to post “bond” for the amount awarded while the appeal proceeds. This may delay receiving any money from the jury’s award. An appeals court decides whether the trial court correctly applied the law to the case. If the appeal is upheld, the defendant may end up paying a smaller amount or nothing at all. Your attorney will be able to explain the process.
6. Mesothelioma Compensation
If you receive a verdict in your favor and the defendant does not appeal, or an appeal made is denied, you and your family may receive compensation in a few months after the completion of the trial.
A Mesothelioma lawsuit attorney can tell you more about your rights as a mesothelioma patient or family member of a mesothelioma victim. Contact the experienced and best mesothelioma lawyer for filling your lawsuit
