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Step 1: Mesothelioma Claims Consultation and Case Evaluation
Step 2: Assemble Evidence, Documentation, and Paperwork for Your Mesothelioma Claim
Step 3: Evaluate Potential Asbestos Trusts and Other Liable Parties to Name in Your Asbestos Claim
Step 4: Determine the Appropriate Venue for Your Claim, And File It
Step 5: Filing the Claim with the Relevant Trusts and Legal Venues
Step 6: Opening Discovery, and Evaluating Your Claim
Step 7: A Settlement Offer Is Made, Or the Claim Is Rejected
Step 8: The Settlement Offer Can Be Negotiated, Or the Case Can Proceed to a Lawsuit and Trial
Personal injury claims and wrongful death claims involve complex legal processes, and asbestos-related disease cases like mesothelioma are no different.
Fortunately, many institutions that have been sued multiple times in the past have developed an expedited process for reviewing mesothelioma claims in order to pay out settlements more efficiently to victims. Most of these organizations have established asbestos trusts following the bankruptcy of the original business entity.
Other businesses and employers that have exposed workers to asbestos in the past do not have such a trust formed. Filing your claim and negotiating with their lawyers will therefore more closely mirror the typical process for a complex injury claim.
If you are interested in how the mesothelioma claims process would work in either situation, you can expect the following X steps before your claim is ultimately resolved and your settlement hopefully paid.
Step 1: Mesothelioma Claims Consultation and Case Evaluation
The first step in a mesothelioma claim is to make the decision to start your claim in the first place.
Individuals diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma or who are suffering from symptoms likely connected to the condition have to be aware that they have the right to claim damages for their medical costs, lost wages, diminished quality of life, pain and suffering, the suffering of their family, and other potential damages.
Once an individual is aware of their right to put forth a claim, they should quickly try to assemble medical documentation of their condition as well as evidence that you could have been exposed to asbestos by an employer or products manufacturer.
Time is of the essence. Many courts place a statute of limitations — meaning an expiring time limit — on mesothelioma claims. The statute of limitations often ranges from just two years after a mesothelioma diagnosis to ten years or more.
Since the time between exposure to asbestos and the first emergence of mesothelioma symptoms can span decades, individuals who suspect they might have mesothelioma should go to a licensed medical care professional as soon as possible for a screening.
Even if you cannot locate all of the documentation you have available or haven’t obtained a confirmed mesothelioma diagnosis, you can begin the process of forming your claim. While you have the option to file the claim yourself, an experienced mesothelioma lawsuit attorney will have the skills and knowledge you need to strengthen your claim, speed up the process, and potentially retrieve the maximum amount of damages available under your circumstances.
When you meet with a mesothelioma lawyer, they will ask you questions about your medical history and your history of potential exposure to asbestos. The more specific times, dates, companies, and products you list, the more complete your case will be right from the beginning.
After engaging with an attorney, you can form a strategy to begin assembling your claims case before filing it with the appropriate company or companies.
Step 2: Assemble Evidence, Documentation, and Paperwork for Your Mesothelioma Claim
Once your case has begun, you and your attorney will work together to uncover as much needed evidence as possible for your claim. Medical documentation will be particularly important. You will want test results, biopsy results, images, physicians’ notes, and other forms of proof to assert the accuracy of your diagnosis and the current severity of your condition.
Your attorney will also help you dig deeper into your employment history and job details that could reveal how and when you were exposed to asbestos-containing products.
The ultimate goal of this phase is to uncover as much as possible in preparation for filing your mesothelioma claims.
Step 3: Evaluate Potential Asbestos Trusts and Other Liable Parties to Name in Your Asbestos Claim
Mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases have lead to thousands of personal injury cases that have bankrupted dozens of institutions that once sold, manufactured, distributed, or use asbestos-containing products.
Many institutions liable for asbestos-related damages but that no longer exist in their historical form have created trusts for the sole purpose of evaluating lawsuit claims and paying out appropriate settlements to claims that meet their established criteria.
You can find example lists of asbestos-related injury claims criteria, including their needed evidence of medical diagnosis and exposure history. These criteria will help guide your claim formation and potentially expedite review of your claim so that you can get an appropriate settlement more quickly.
Not every company that’s potentially liable for asbestos exposure will have formed a trust, however. Mesothelioma victims and their attorney will therefore have to research all applicable legal entities (like businesses) in order to track down their current versions and file a claim for your damages.
Step 4: Determine the Appropriate Venue for Your Claim, And File It
Once you have identified the potentially liable party or parties with which you will file your mesothelioma claim, you and your mesothelioma attorney will then have to determine the appropriate legal venue under which you will file your claim.
A “venue” most often refers to the court jurisdiction under which you will file your claim. For instance, you could choose to file a civil damages claim under the state court of the state you currently lived in, or you could choose to file under the court of the region in which you were initially exposed.
Different venues can dramatically affect the outcome of your potential claim. Certain courts may be quicker to process the claim, more likely to side with the victim, or more familiar with the mesothelioma claims process in general.
Step 5: Filing the Claim with the Relevant Trusts and Legal Venues
When your claim is complete and ready for submission, your attorney will file it with the chosen legal venue and send notice to the named parties within your claim. These parties, which can include asbestos trusts and attorneys representing former companies, will then have the option to respond to your claim.
Step 6: Opening Discovery, and Evaluating Your Claim
All defendants receiving your claim can evaluate it according to their standardized process. They may request clarification on certain matters or correction if they identify what they see as an error in the claim’s submission.
Once the claim proceeds past this phase, both sides can open up what the courts call the “discovery phase.” Discovery allows parties to petition one another for information regarding their case. This information is used as information to strengthen the veracity of a claim, or it can be used by the defending parties to raise questions about the claim.
Both sides can also begin negotiating and exchanging information during this phase.
Step 7: A Settlement Offer Is Made, Or the Claim Is Rejected
Evaluating a mesothelioma claim can take months for an asbestos trust or a company to complete. Once the defending parties have fully evaluated the claim, they may decide to put forth a settlement offer in order to compensate the injured party for their damages.
Many asbestos trusts have payment schedules used to standardize the amount offered given a complete claim. This scheduled amount will be adjusted according to current factors, including the progression of the mesothelioma condition or whether information regarding exposure was incomplete.
Alternatively, the defending parties can choose to reject the claim. Rejected claims can be re-submitted, or the claim can proceed to a trial or other form of dispute resolution, such as a mediation.
A plurality of mesothelioma claims filed under the typical claims process will not proceed to an “adversarial” legal process. What this means is that most asbestos trusts and other companies will take a claim seriously and not attempt to fight it; their decision will instead come down to how complete the evidence is and what amount they feel is appropriate given the claimed damages.
Step 8: The Settlement Offer Can Be Negotiated, Or the Case Can Proceed to a Lawsuit and Trial
If your mesothelioma claim results in a settlement offer that is less than satisfactory, the offer can be rejected and a counter-offer can be put forth.
Note that an asbestos trust can choose to reject this counter-offer and refuse to put forth a secondary offer of their own. Mesothelioma victims will therefore have to strategize with their legal advisors to determine whether to accept or reject the initial settlement offer.
If a settlement cannot be negotiated — or if the defending parties refuse to accept your claim at all — you can decide whether to proceed with your lawsuit. Once a lawsuit is under way, both parties can attempt to have the case resolved through negotiation or mediation.
If the case cannot be resolved through alternative dispute resolution methods, the case will then likely proceed to trial or an arbitration. Mesothelioma lawsuit trials can last for years, though, and they can be quite expensive, so both parties will be highly likely to attempt to resolve the case outside of the court system.
These Are the Typical Steps to a Mesothelioma Claim, But Many Cases Are Different Because of Their Unique Circumstances
Asbestos exposure-related claims are complex, often involving hefty volumes of medical documentation alongside nebulous questions of who was near what products at what time and for how long.
If you have mesothelioma, know that the law and precedent have fallen on your side time and time again. You can take the first step by beginning your claim and speaking with a qualified, knowledgeable mesothelioma attorney.
