Mesothelioma is a tragic diagnosis that affects thousands of Americans every year. Because of the massive harm a mesothelioma diagnosis poses both to its victim and their family members, many people seek out reckless manufacturers who cultivated mesothelioma-causing products and file lawsuits against them. If you or a loved one has been affected by mesothelioma, you may be entitled to compensation and justice. Here is a useful guide to navigating a mesothelioma lawsuit.
What is Mesothelioma?
Many people struggle to fully understand the scope and nature of mesothelioma when they’re first diagnosed. Understanding the definition of mesothelioma is crucial as you pursue potential lawsuits. To put it bluntly, malignant mesothelioma is a type of cancer that occurs in the thin layers of tissue covering your internal organs (or at least the majority of them). Unfortunately, mesothelioma is a deadly and aggressive form of cancer. While there is no cure for mesothelioma, there are treatments that can help mitigate and slow down the disease, while helping to ease the patient’s suffering at the same time. To hold manufacturers responsible, victims can seek out mesothelioma lawyers in their area to begin their journey toward justice.
Since mesothelioma can affect many parts of the body’s internal organ system, there are many varieties of mesothelioma doctors deal with. When mesothelioma is affecting multiple parts of the body’s internal organ system, it’s dubbed pleural mesothelioma. Typically, people first realize they have mesothelioma when they have chronic nausea, coughing, unexplained bodily lumps, pain, and other common symptoms. Seeing a doctor early on can significantly increase the effectiveness of treatments, and can slow down the spread of this dangerous and often deadly disease.
What Types of Legal Claims Can Mesothelioma Patients Make?
Thankfully, there are many legal routes for victims, or family members of victims to take against the companies or persons that caused their mesothelioma. These lawsuits allow them to seek financial compensation from negligent manufacturers, especially those who’ve produced asbestos-containing products in the last few decades. Although it’s an uncomfortable truth, many of these manufacturers knowingly kept using asbestos-containing products, even though they understand the potential risks they posed to their consumers. This negligence is criminal and deserves to be confronted in full force.
Several forms of mesothelioma lawsuits are typically filed. The most common lawsuit filed against mesothelioma-causing companies and manufacturers are personal injury lawsuits. These are filed by victims of mesothelioma that are still living.
Wrongful death lawsuits are typically filed when the victim is deceased. Family members, spouses, adult children, and other legally-defined people may file a wrongful death suit on the mesothelioma victim’s behalf. This ensures that manufacturers are held accountable for the death, and the harm they’ve caused not only to their victims but their families and communities as well.
If multiple victims join together, they may file a mesothelioma class-action lawsuit against manufacturers. In some cases, these cases may become multidistrict litigation efforts. That being said, class action suits often lead to much smaller settlements than wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits.
Can a Personal Injury Claim Lawyer Help?
Personal injury lawyers are on your side. They can help you navigate the complicated and emotional path of filing a mesothelioma lawsuit. Nobody wants to be caught up in court and litigation issues, but it’s important that victims, and their families, receive the full justice and restitution they deserve. Holding asbestos-using companies that have caused a wave of mesothelioma diagnoses accountable is essential to our future.
The Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Fund Claims
For those who need immediate relief, there are different organizations and trust funds set up to assist mesothelioma victims that were affected by the reckless and negligent action of asbestos manufacturers. Currently, there are over thirty billion set aside to help victims and the families of deceased victims. These funds come from the pockets of the asbestos-using manufacturers who caused this great pain and suffering. Their actions have directly impacted and harmed thousands of families across the US, and their dangerous actions have taken course over more than three decades.
Filing a Claim
Filing an asbestos claim requires a helping hand in most cases, although you can choose to do it individually. Ideally, you will want a personal injury or wrongful death attorney by your side to both expedite and perfect the filing process. After all, with as many details that have to be considered during the filing process, you’ll need an expert by your side to make sure every box is ticked, and every piece of evidence against abusive asbestos manufacturers is included.
