Mesothelioma Settlements
Many people diagnosed with mesothelioma, or who have passed away because of this terrible disease, were diagnosed after working under unsafe conditions over which they had no control. Workers exposed to harmful asbestos for years on the job in construction, in the military, in shipyards, and in other industrial settings, without understanding or being aware of the risks, are now paying the price.
Decades after inhaling or ingesting asbestos dust and fibers on the job, some of these workers were diagnosed with mesothelioma. Many of them are now fighting for settlements to get fair compensation for the high costs of living with this devastating disease. The average mesothelioma settlement amount is around $1 million to $1.5 million, but the exact amount any victim can get depends on individual factors.
Asbestos and Mesothelioma Victims
Asbestos was used in many industries and as a component a wide range of different materials for several decades. Until the mid-1970s, when regulations were put in place to limit its use and to require safer work environments, asbestos was heavily used in construction, shipbuilding, manufacturing, and other industries. Workers were most often not aware they were exposed or of the risks of working with asbestos.
Asbestos is known to be a human carcinogen, a substance that can cause cancer. The most common type of cancer diagnosed as a result of asbestos exposure is pleural mesothelioma, although it is rare in the general population. Mesothelioma is deadly, aggressive, and difficult to diagnose and treat; most victims don’t know they have it until decades after they were exposed to it. This kind of cancer affects tissue around the lungs and causes symptoms like difficulty breathing, coughing, and chest pains.
Many people who develop mesothelioma are considered victims because they were exposed to asbestos either without being aware of it or without knowing that there were risks associated with handling the material. Even family members of people who worked around asbestos were put at risk. Workers brought fibers of asbestos home on their clothing and exposed family. In some cases residents of neighborhoods near facilities that used asbestos were also exposed.
Mesothelioma Settlements Explained
A settlement is a legal agreement between two opposing parties that typically awards monetary damages to the individual who first brought the lawsuit against a defendant. The process of getting a settlement begins with a mesothelioma victim turning to an experienced lawyer to begin a lawsuit against the responsible party, in these cases the companies that exposed the victim to asbestos.
Asbestos exposure lawsuits rarely go all the way to a court trial. Instead they are typically resolved in a settlement, agreed on by both sides. If the two sides cannot agree on a fair settlement amount to be awarded to the victim, the case may go to court. Here, each side will argue the case and either the judge or a jury can choose to award a settlement amount or to decide in favor of the defendant.
Working with a Mesothelioma Lawyer
If you or someone in your family needs financial assistance to cover the costs associated with mesothelioma or other asbestos-related illnesses, it is important to work with an expert mesothelioma lawyer. This professional should have experience working on asbestos cases and be expert in asbestos laws in the state in which you will be filing.
With the right lawyer or legal team on your side you have the best chance of reaching a fair settlement with the company negligent in your asbestos exposure. While your lawyer will do most of the work, it is your role to provide all the necessary information that will build a strong case. You will be asked to share your medical records, work history, and any military experience.
Types of Compensation
The defendant in a mesothelioma settlement case may be forced to pay compensatory damages, punitive damages, or both. Punitive damages refer to compensation that the defendant must pay as punishment for being negligent, and to demonstrate to other potential offenders, that putting people at risk of asbestos exposure is costly.
Compensatory damages depend on a victim’s actual expenses related to being sick, and may cover a variety of expenses. They include past medical bills and future expected medical bills, actual lost wages, predicted lost future wages, physical pain and suffering, and emotional trauma. For the loved one of someone who passed away from mesothelioma, the compensation may include amounts to cover lost income for dependents, emotional pain and suffering, and loss of companionship.
What Affects a Mesothelioma Settlement?
There are several factors that go into agreeing on a settlement amount:
- How liable the defendant is
- The severity of the plaintiff’s illness and resulting disability
- The degree to which asbestos exposure impacted the plaintiff’s life or the family
- The exact costs the plaintiff incurred as a result of being sick
- Emotional suffering of the plaintiff or family
- Whether or not the plaintiff smoked
- Individual state laws
- Loss of companionship or monetary support in wrongful death cases
Settling out of Court vs. Going to Trial
If you are filing a mesothelioma settlement claim, you will have to choose whether you want to take an amount offered during an out of court settlement agreement or to let your legal team take it to trial. The latter can be risky because you must abide by the decision of the court. Your lawyer can give you expert council to help you decide, but ultimately the choice is yours. Many mesothelioma patients choose to settle out of court because trials are lengthy and time is limited with this disease.
Examples of Mesothelioma Settlements
More mesothelioma and asbestos cases end in settlements than go to trial. While everyone’s case is different, and individual factors influence settlement results and amounts, it can help to see what other victims have been able to win in their settlements:
- In Libby, Montana in 2011, one the most well-known mesothelioma cases, the judge-awarded a $43-million settlement to a group of plaintiffs. The victims included thousands of miners and town residents exposed to asbestos through a nearby vermiculite mine.
- In another 2011 case, victim Nancy Lopez was awarded a $10 million settlement verdict, approved by a Missouri circuit court judge. According to court documents, Lopez worked at the Jackson County courthouse in St. Joseph, Missouri, a building filled with asbestos. She died in 2010 from malignant mesothelioma. Lopez was part of a class action mesothelioma lawsuit brought about by numerous Jackson courthouse employees who were also exposed to asbestos. The total mesothelioma settlement for the class action suit was $80 million.
- The wife of a former steel worker in Illinois received a $250-million settlement in 2005. U.S. Steel, the company her husband worked for, was ordered to pay the amount. The former employee, 70-year-old Roby Whittington, was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in 2001, after of decades of asbestos exposure on the job. It’s one of the largest mesothelioma settlement awards given out for a single plaintiff.
A legal settlement is an important way that victims of asbestos exposure get needed compensation. They also get the satisfaction of the negligent company recognizing the harm it caused. Most people who develop mesothelioma were exposed to asbestos without being warned of the risks or the presence of the material. They were truly victims and are therefore owed compensation. If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, find the right lawyer who can help you win a settlement to help cover your costs and compensate you for being ill.
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