- What is Mesothelioma?
- How an Asbestos Lawyer Can Help After a Mesothelioma Diagnosis
- Types of Claims Mesothelioma Lawyers Handle
- Why Mesothelioma Cases Are Unique
- Living with Mesothelioma
- Discuss Your Case for Free
Most people work to support themselves and their families, and they trust their employers not to endanger them. Sadly, some irresponsible companies have exposed employees to asbestos, posing significant health risks.
Asbestos-related mesothelioma causes catastrophic damage to its victims’ bodies, lives, and families. An asbestos lawsuit can help compensate you for your medical costs and lost earning capacity.
A mesothelioma attorney with Nessler & Associates focuses on asbestos litigation, specializing in personal injury lawsuits, trust fund claims, and wrongful death suits for patients and families facing a mesothelioma diagnosis.
What is Mesothelioma?
Malignant mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops in the tissue lining the chest, abdomen, and organs. It usually occurs decades after asbestos exposure, and many patients don’t know they’re sick until the disease has advanced. Doctors diagnose an estimated 3,300 new cases every year.
Asbestos exposure accounts for up to 70% or more of mesothelioma cases. When you inhale asbestos fibers, they get trapped in the lower third of your lungs, where they trigger an inflammatory process that eventually leads to cancer growth. You may have encountered asbestos near a construction site, garage, shipyard, factory, and in talcum powder or baby powder.
Asbestos exposure can lead to other diseases, such as ovarian cancer, lung cancer, and throat and stomach cancers. It can also cause thickening in the tissue lining the lungs, hard spots in the lungs (pulmonary fibrosis), and pockets of fluid in the lungs, making breathing more difficult.
Our lawyers have a deep understanding of mesothelioma and how it impacts our clients. We know how stressful it is to navigate cancer treatment and get health insurance to cover the care you need. We also understand how a terminal diagnosis affects families and how important it is to spend time together.
We handle every aspect of the legal process and offer compassionate legal services to families going through mesothelioma cancer.
How an Asbestos Lawyer Can Help After a Mesothelioma Diagnosis
This unfortunate diagnosis can be overwhelming for mesothelioma patients. An experienced mesothelioma lawyer at our law firm can help relieve the burden by filing the suit, gathering evidence, negotiating with the insurance company, and taking the case to trial.
Filing a mesothelioma lawsuit
The skilled lawyers at our law firm can file the necessary paperwork within the time limits to hold a manufacturer, employer, or other responsible parties accountable for your condition.
An experienced mesothelioma and asbestos lawyer from Nessler & Associates can help you navigate the complex state legal systems to ensure your claim is filed on time.
Gathering evidence
Your legal team gathers evidence of your asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma or lung cancer. This investigation involves an examination of medical records, health insurance records, employment records, and interviews with healthcare professionals.
Settling your case
Lawyers for mesothelioma victims pursue financial compensation to cover current and future medical bills, lost wages, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, and out-of-pocket medical expenses like medication and travel. Most mesothelioma cases reach an out-of-court settlement.
Trying your case
If the insurance company doesn’t offer a fair settlement, your Nessler & Associates attorney will take your legal claim to court. We have a network of experts that can help juries understand the source of your mesothelioma or other asbestos-related cancers, the impact the disease has on your life, and why you should receive compensation.
Hire a law firm with a strong track record to do the heavy lifting in your asbestos-mesothelioma lawsuit. Nessler & Associates has decades of experience helping victims of mesothelioma.
Types of Claims Mesothelioma Lawyers Handle
At Nessler & Associates, our mesothelioma lawyers handle several types of asbestos litigation.
Personal injury
An experienced asbestos attorney files a personal injury lawsuit after you receive a diagnosis. Personal injury claims might recover financial compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, out-of-pocket costs, and lost wages and earning capacity.
Wrongful death
A mesothelioma attorney will file a wrongful death lawsuit if your beloved asbestos victim passes away. Wrongful death claims might recover funeral expenses, medical bills, and loss of consortium, a legal term for losing companionship, love, help around the house, and physical intimacy.
VA claims
Mesothelioma patients exposed during their military service may file an asbestos claim with Veterans Affairs. VA disability benefits provide monthly compensation based on your disability. A successful claim requires proof that more than 50% of your asbestos exposure occurred while on active duty.
Why Mesothelioma Cases Are Unique
A 1924 UK paper linked asbestos exposure to lung fibrosis and coined the term asbestosis. Researchers connected asbestos to lung cancer and other lung diseases within 10 years of that article and associated asbestos with mesothelioma after 15 more years. This process took a long time because mesothelioma often doesn’t show up until decades after the exposure.
Companies knew about the health risks of asbestos but didn’t stop using it in everything from flooring tiles to home insulation to brake pads. They also didn’t tell their employees of the increased risk to them and their families. Secondhand exposure occurs when a worker brings asbestos particles home on their clothing.
The patient’s history of asbestos exposure may be decades in the past when symptoms first present.
Congress created asbestos trust funds in federal bankruptcy law to compensate each mesothelioma victim or other victim with asbestos-related diseases that files a claim after the company goes bankrupt, protecting their rights to fair compensation. If you meet any of the following conditions, you could file a claim against one or more asbestos trust funds.
- Exposed to asbestos at work
- Used asbestos-containing products at work
- Lived with a family member who had exposure at work
- Exposed environmentally
- Lost a loved one to asbestos exposure
Environmental exposure happens when a mining operation or company in the asbestos industry doesn’t take the appropriate precautions to keep asbestos out of the air. A personal injury attorney with extensive experience handling mesothelioma claims knows how to navigate these unique challenges.
Living with Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma or any other asbestos disease can adversely change your life. Dealing with the physical, emotional, and social consequences in addition to treatment makes it hard to contemplate taking on more challenges with legal action. People with attorneys have better protection of their legal rights and more likelihood of achieving financial security.
Physical symptoms
Mesothelioma causes pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, coughing, sleep disturbances, appetite loss, and excessive sweating. These symptoms affect your ability to perform everyday tasks like working or household chores.
Emotional impact
Anxiety, depression, fear, and a sense of isolation all affect mesothelioma patients. These issues impact your ability to find the same enjoyment of life you had before the diagnosis.
Social consequences
Mesothelioma can wreck relationships. The physical symptoms and side effects from treatment will dampen your ability to participate in social activities. People often don’t know what to say or how to act, so they avoid you, adding to your sense of isolation.
Treatments
Mesothelioma treatments can be invasive and complex, often involving surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Radiation and chemotherapy might require daily trips to the hospital. You might require frequent hospitalization to manage your symptoms.
An asbestos-mesothelioma lawyer knows how to hold these negligent companies responsible for your suffering. Victims of asbestos exposure didn’t know the risks, but the companies did. Those companies chose to continue using asbestos products because no regulations forced them to protect their employees.
Discuss Your Case for Free
Nessler & Associates has a long record of success handling asbestos trust fund claims, personal injury lawsuits, and wrongful death cases. Our dedicated team will fight vigorously to hold negligent asbestos companies accountable for your suffering.
Call us today at (800) 727-8010 to schedule a free consultation and discuss the compensation we can help you recover. Our experienced team of asbestos lawyers knows how to get the maximum compensation for victims of negligence, carelessness, and recklessness.
Our law firm works on a contingency fee basis, so you don’t owe any legal fees unless we secure a settlement or judgment in your case.