The victims of mesothelioma and their loved ones, from anywhere in the United States, should arrange at once to discuss their rights – including their right to compensation and benefits – with a mesothelioma lawyer.
Mesothelioma is an incurable cancer caused by asbestos exposure. Victims have the right to be compensated by the party responsible for their asbestos exposure. However, you’ll need an attorney’s help to recover the compensation and benefits that you’re entitled to by the law.
What compensation and benefits are available to asbestos victims and their families? What steps can you take in order to recover that compensation? How will a mesothelioma attorney help? Keep reading for the answers that you and your family may be seeking.
What Compensation May Be Available to Mesothelioma Patients?
Several kinds of compensation may be available to a mesothelioma patient, including:
Compensation from a lawsuit: Companies that wrongfully exposed their employees to asbestos have liability. A personal injury lawsuit against such an employer, if it prevails, can pay for medical costs, lost income, pain, suffering, and more.
Asbestos trust funds: Asbestos manufacturers have placed billions of dollars into a number of special trust funds dedicated to mesothelioma patients and their families.
VA Claims: Veterans who were exposed to asbestos in the military may qualify for subsidized treatment and disability benefits through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Workers’ Compensation: In some cases and in some states, mesothelioma patients qualify for workers’ compensation disability benefits. Depending on the details of your case, those disability payments may be permanent or temporary.
How Do Asbestos Trust Funds Work?
Because of personal injury lawsuits based on mesothelioma, a number of companies have been forced into bankruptcy. The bankruptcy courts have required these companies to create asbestos trust funds as a condition of their bankruptcies.
If your employer is no longer in business, and you are unable to sue or to file a workers’ compensation claim, your attorney can probably negotiate with an asbestos trust fund for the compensation that you and your loved ones need.
These asbestos trust funds have been established to pay asbestos claims to mesothelioma patients and their families. In the United States, there are now more than five dozen asbestos trust funds that have set aside more than $30 billion for mesothelioma victims.
Compensation from Personal Injury Lawsuits
A mesothelioma lawyer will investigate your case to identify the party who is liable for your asbestos exposure, and your lawyer will help you with the legal paperwork and advise you regarding personal injury laws and the statute of limitations in your own state.
Many mesothelioma claims are settled out-of-court, but if liability for your asbestos exposure is disputed, or if no reasonable settlement is offered, your lawyer will take your claim to trial and tell a judge or jury how you were exposed to asbestos and why you should be compensated.
How much compensation can mesothelioma patients recover? That amount will depend on your medical expenses, the total of your lost wages, and the extent of your employer’s negligence.
What Compensation is Available for Veterans?
Veterans constitute about thirty percent of all mesothelioma patients in the United States. Asbestos was extensively used by the U.S. military until the 1970s to protect service members from fire-related injuries and death.
Although the military didn’t intentionally expose anyone to asbestos – it was the manufacturers who failed to disclose the dangers of asbestos – the Department of Veterans Affairs allows veterans to bring compensation claims based on asbestos exposure and mesothelioma.
The military classifies mesothelioma as a one hundred percent disability. If you’re a veteran who has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, and you need help filing a claim, or if your claim is disputed, ask a mesothelioma lawyer to help you and to advocate on your behalf.
Can You Receive Workers’ Compensation Benefits?
Depending on several factors, a mesothelioma patient may qualify to receive workers’ compensation benefits. A workers’ compensation claim is filed with the employer and is usually handled outside of the courts.
Even if your exposure to asbestos happened decades ago, your deadline for submitting a workers’ compensation claim is based not on when you were originally exposed to asbestos, but when you were diagnosed with mesothelioma.
Deadlines for filing workers’ compensation claims vary among the states, but a mesothelioma attorney can explain your own state’s workers’ compensation rules and work on your behalf if the employer denies your claim.
How Will Your Attorney Help?
Whether you bring a lawsuit against an employer or file a workers’ comp claim, a trust fund claim, or a claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs, you’ll need proof that you were exposed to asbestos.
In most cases, a mesothelioma attorney can help you determine when and where you were exposed to asbestos and help you compile documentation to verify that exposure.
But how can you find the right attorney – an attorney who has substantial experience and a record of success representing mesothelioma victims? There’s no need for an extended search. Instead, take your case directly and promptly to Frost Law Firm.
Why Should You Choose Frost Law Firm?
As mentioned previously, each state has established a deadline for workers’ compensation claims, and each state also has a deadline (or “statute of limitations”) for filing a personal injury lawsuit.
If you need to recover mesothelioma-related compensation, you must act now and contact an attorney who will provide you with personalized advice and help you gather the documentation you’ll need to prove that you’ve been exposed to asbestos.
Award-winning attorney Scott L. Frost has more than twenty three years of experience prevailing on behalf of those who’ve been injured by someone else’s negligence. The team at Frost Law Firm represents mesothelioma victims throughout the United States.
We have recovered millions of dollars for our clients. You can call Frost Law Firm now – from anywhere in the U.S. – at 866-FROST-WINS to learn more about your rights as a mesothelioma victim and to begin the process of recovering the compensation you need.
