When you have been diagnosed with a life-threatening disease like malignant mesothelioma, legal matters are probably not the first issue on your mind.
It is completely natural to be fearful, angry and concerned over how you will pay for your mesothelioma treatment and what will happen to your family when you are no longer able to work. It is for these last two reasons however that you should be considering legal action from the moment you are diagnosed with mesothelioma. The main reason for this is because of the statute of limitations on legal action.
This is a period of time within which you must file a claim, or forfeit your right to do so. The statute of limitations varies from one state to another. Any delay could impact your right to make a claim, but do not assume it is too late. A mesothelioma lawyer may still be able to recover damages on your behalf even if the common statute of limitations has passed. The other reason you need to find a mesothelioma lawyer as soon as possible is because it may be the only recourse you have in order to get compensation for medical expense and lost income.
Because of the system currently in place, –retaining a lawyer and filing a lawsuit may be your best choice to hold corporations accountable and force them to cover your pain, suffering, expenses and losses - all for which they may be found liable.
What an Asbestos Attorney Does
A mesothelioma lawyer is one who practices in the field of torts - that is, personal injury law and has experience representing victims of asbestos. Torts cover everything from minor sports injuries caused by a Little League coach's oversight to wrongful death due to gross negligence on the part of a large corporation.
Because asbestos litigation is now entering its fifth decade, has become so frequent and involves such large sums of money, it has become a sub-specialty of the law; in legal terms, asbestos liability is said to be a mature tort. This means that there have been enough cases over a sufficient amount of time to establish case law and precedent.
Since mesothelioma can take years and even decades to appear after initial asbestos exposure, these cases pose unique challenges. Over such periods of time, companies go out of business, change their names and/or go into the production of different materials; they move to other states or even other countries; often, they have been acquired by other corporations and are operated as subsidiaries.
This can cause difficulty in identifying the party who bears ultimate liability. Typically, preparing for an asbestos case requires large amounts of painstaking research which involves close examination of old records, previous cases, legal documents and even photographs. Often, witnesses must be found and asked for testimony regarding events and issues dating back twenty to forty years and more.
In addition, because the onset of the disease is often years after exposure to the cause, establishing this causation ("cause and effect," which is at the heart of all personal injury litigation) often requires the testimony of medical experts.
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