FAQs

Your legal claim will be against the company or companies responsible for your exposure to asbestos.

During the investigation phase, your attorney will request all relevant medical records on your behalf, in order to establish your mesothelioma diagnosis. They will also collect work history records and any pertinent documents detailing your employment history. In addition, your attorney will identify potential family members, co-workers, or other witnesses who may be able to assist in substantiating your claim.

Your attorney will also seek to identify the company or companies liable for your exposure to asbestos.

We work hard to ensure that pursing a legal claim causes as little concern and stress to our clients and his or her family as possible. We believe that your health and medical treatment should come first.

While you will be asked to provide some information and answer questions, most of the work (the collection medical records, identification of sources of asbestos exposure, interviewing of witnesses, etc.) is conducted by attorneys and their legal staff. Mesothelioma clients are typically not required to travel or to appear in court.

The first step will be an introductory meeting or telephone call with one of our attorneys. During that meeting, the attorney will explain the various steps of the legal process and answer any questions you may have related to the process of filing a mesothelioma legal claim. In addition, you may be asked some preliminary questions regarding your asbestos exposure and mesothelioma diagnosis.

After that, the attorney will begin the process of obtaining your medical records. Once all the necessary documentation is obtained, the claim is filed. The defendant asbestos company will then be given the opportunity to ask you a series of written questions (called interrogatories) and oral questions ( known as a deposition). Your attorney will explain both processes to you in further detail.

In most cases, we can begin the initial process of evaluating your situation and formulating a plan for how to proceed by telephone, with a follow-up visit to your home or other convenient location. During this initial evaluation, we will talk about what material you may have that can help us maximize your claim.

In some circumstances you may be able to file a mesothelioma claim in more than one state. This will depend on the location of the companies you have identified as defendants, as well as where the asbestos exposure occurred. Your attorney can help you determine the best venues in which to file your claim.

Your attorney can help you determine the appropriate venue in which to file a lawsuit. The appropriate venue will depend on certain factors such as where you were exposed to asbestos or the location of the headquarters business responsible for your asbestos exposure.

Assuming the statute of limitation (amount of time you have to file a case) has not lapsed, family members may be eligible to file a wrongful death case on behalf of a deceased person who died as a result of mesothelioma. An attorney can help you determine whether or not you can file a mesothelioma claim.

Various records and documents, which your attorney can help to locate, are necessary in order to successfully file a mesothelioma claim. These include: 1 - Medical records proving a mesothelioma diagnosis; 2 - Work records demonstrating you or your loved one worked for the company named in the claim; 3 - Testimony that proves your asbestos exposure caused the resulting mesothelioma diagnosis; and 4 - Financial records showing financial damages (i.e. the financial hardships the illness has caused your family).

In order to have a claim, one must have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related injury. So, the vast majority of people who contact us have been told by their doctor that they have mesothelioma or that mesothelioma is strongly suspected. Because mesothelioma is typically a very aggressive type of cancer for which effective treatments are still being sought, it is very important for someone who is diagnosed to contact us as soon as possible.

Some mesothelioma cases are mass tort cases, but many are not. Various factors determine whether or not your case is eligible to be filed as a mass tort. Your attorney can help you determine how best to file your claim.

A mass tort arises when a large group of individuals are claiming the same or similar damages from a common defendant. A mass tort is established in order to expediate the legal process. Mass torts are often handled through multidistrict litigation. When this occurs, a special court is established within a specific district of the U.S. federal court system. The same justice or justices preside over the cases, allowing for uniform rulings on certain issues.