Being diagnosed with mesothelioma is tough enough as it is. People who were exposed to asbestos in industries such as construction, auto mechanics, fire fighting, shipyard, in the military, and several other industries may have been exposed to asbestos and may come down with mesothelioma or other deadline lung problems as a result. When this happens and the exposure was due to neglect or lack of training or disclosure by the employer, an individual may seek compensation from the company through a lawsuit. If an employer failed to disclose the presence of dangerous asbestos or failed to provide the necessary safety equipment to safely work in such conditions, the company may be at fault in the situation.
Adding the burden of a lawsuit to seek proper recompense only makes the situation more difficult. However, if you want to seek justice for contracting this disease, or for losing a loved one to it, then consider hiring a mesothelioma lawyer to help you file a winning case.
Your Big Why
The biggest reason why you should hire a lawyer is also the most simple one–this legal process can be tedious, and you’ll need all the help you can get to see it through. From gathering evidence, filing the paperwork, preparing for the deposition, computing for your desired computation, or even negotiating for a settlement, all of these things would have to be handled by someone who is well-versed with the ins and outs of the process.
With their professional skills and know-how, you can rely on them to take care of everything else for you so you can spend your time on what matters most: spending quality time with your loved ones.
A Highly Specialized Lawsuit
Mesothelioma is a unique type of cancer by itself because of several factors, one of which is that it is directly caused by exposure to asbestos. The other thing that makes this unique, therefore, is that without this exposure, it means the disease is avoidable.
The fact that it could have been avoided implies a responsibility on the part of someone accountable for another person’s welfare, such as an employee. This is also why mesothelioma claims can be filed either as a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.
Clearly establishing causation, however, is going to be challenging, especially because you need to establish a clear timeline of the exposure. As is the case with mesothelioma, symptoms usually don’t appear until 10 to 15 years–or sometimes longer. You’ll have to go through many years of employment history, or any other possible instance of exposure to asbestos before you can even identify who to seek compensation from.
There is also the matter of meeting deadlines when filing your claim. A mesothelioma lawsuit is one of those that fall within a strict statute of limitations. Depending on the state you’re in, you can only have anywhere from a year to five years to file suit. Beyond the prescribed period, you lose the opportunity to seek compensation, regardless of how strong your evidence may be.
High Stakes
Historically speaking, mesothelioma compensation can range anywhere from $1 million to $5 million. How you arrive at the amount that you seek, however, will have to depend on a variety of factors, such as degree of pain and suffering, amount of income lost, emotional damage to you and your family, etcetera.
Your mesothelioma lawyer can help you arrive at a viable conclusion to this key feature of your lawsuit. Again, the sooner you start working with one to build your strategy, the better chances you have at receiving the award you deserve.