Asbestos Lung Cancer Lawsuits

Asbestos is a known carcinogen. Exposure can lead to serious health problems, including asbestosis, mesothelioma, and asbestos lung cancer.

Asbestos companies knew about the dangers of their products to employees and consumers, yet they continued to use and sell them for decades. This negligence has left them vulnerable to lawsuits and other forms of financial reparations like asbestos trust funds.

An experienced attorney can help eligible victims or their loved ones compile the proper documentation, navigate the legal process, and pursue the maximum possible compensation.

See if you qualify for compensation.

Why You Should Consider Filing an Asbestos Lung Cancer Lawsuit

A diagnosis of asbestos lung cancer comes with a host of physical, mental, emotional, and financial stressors. Lung cancer lawsuit compensation can help pay for intensive treatments, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Compensation can also help with living expenses and create lasting financial stability for victims’ families.
Asbestos lung cancer lawsuits also hold negligent companies accountable for their actions.

For decades, asbestos companies knew their products were dangerous, choosing profits over employee and consumer health. These companies are responsible to their victims for the harm they knowingly caused.

“Lawsuits provide individuals the chance to hold negligent asbestos companies accountable for the harm they willfully caused in pursuit of profit. By filing a lung cancer lawsuit, victims of asbestos exposure can seek necessary compensation to help them pay for treatment and create lasting financial security for themselves and their loved ones.”

– Samuel Meirowitz, Attorney

Who Can File an Asbestos Lung Cancer Lawsuit?

To file an asbestos lung cancer lawsuit, a potential plaintiff must have the following:

• A lung cancer diagnosis
• A history of asbestos exposure

Your history of asbestos exposure may be primary, as in cases of environmental or occupational exposure, or secondary, coming from close contact with an asbestos industry worker. 

Family members of asbestos exposure victims may also be eligible to file a wrongful death lawsuit on their loved one’s behalf. An experienced lung cancer lawyer can help you determine if you qualify.

Family Members

Due to the fast-moving nature of many asbestos-related illnesses like lung cancer, an asbestos exposure victim may pass away before they have the opportunity to seek compensation. When this happens, their dependents are often left struggling with medical debt and financial uncertainty.

It’s important to know that the death of an asbestos exposure victim does not absolve negligent asbestos companies of their responsibility to the victim and their survivors.

In these cases, family members and loved ones may be eligible to file a wrongful death claim against the companies at fault.

“When a loved one passes away from asbestos lung cancer, their dependents are often left in a difficult financial position. The combination of medical debt, burial expenses, and future financial instability creates a second burden on top of their grief. Family members may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the companies responsible for their loss”

– Samuel Meirowitz, Attorney

Steps to Filing an Asbestos Lung Cancer Lawsuit

Filing an asbestos lung cancer lawsuit can be a long and stressful process. When successful, lawsuits often provide high compensation, but the legal process takes time, money, and expertise. 

Here are the basic steps you may experience:

1. Speak to a lung cancer attorney: A lawyer can review the facts of your case and determine if you may qualify to file an asbestos lung cancer lawsuit.
2. Build your case: If eligibility is determined, your attorney will work to gather evidence and build your case against all responsible parties. You may need to undergo several interviews to help them gather as much information as possible.   
3. File your case: After your attorney files your case, all defendants are served copies of the lawsuit. They are then given time to investigate your claims and respond.
4. Pre-trial negotiation and settlement: In many cases, the defendants will offer a settlement, hoping to keep the case out of court. Settlements can be a good option for victims, as they provide a faster, less stressful, and more certain resolution than a trial. You can either accept the settlement offer or move forward to trial. 
5. Go to trial: While trials may offer greater compensation amounts, they can take months or years, particularly if either party chooses to appeal the initial verdict.

Working with an asbestos lung cancer lawyer can help streamline the legal process, address potential complications, and optimize your chances of receiving the maximum compensation.

Proving Asbestos Exposure For Your Lawsuit

To file a successful asbestos lung cancer lawsuit, your lawyer must show a causal link between your illness and your exposure.

To prove this link, they will need extensive medical and exposure evidence and documentation.

Medical evidence includes:

• A lung cancer diagnosis
• Test results supporting the diagnosis from one or more of the following:
  • X-rays
  • CAT scan
  • MRI
  • PET scan
  • Biopsy

Exposure evidence may include:

• Affidavits/witness statements
• Construction records
• Employment records
• Military service records
• Paystubs
• Sales records

Gathering evidence to create a strong case is vital in filing an effective lawsuit. Your lawyer may need to interview you several times to ensure no critical information goes unrecorded.  

“Lung cancer lawyers know where and how to look for evidence that will build a compelling case. Their experience allows them to gather the needed proof quickly and organize it to clearly show a link between asbestos exposure and lung cancer diagnosis. Working with an expert allows asbestos exposure victims to pursue the maximum possible compensation in the shortest amount of time.”

– Samuel Meirowitz, Attorney

Types of Lung Cancer Lawsuits to Pursue

There are four primary types of lung cancer lawsuits that asbestos exposure victims — or, in some cases, surviving family members — can pursue. Your lawyer can help determine the best option depending on the circumstances of your exposure history.

Product Liability Lawsuits

Product liability lawsuits are filed on the understanding that all entities along the manufacturing and distribution chain of a dangerous or defective product bear responsibility for the damages caused by that product.

In the case of asbestos products, where manufacturers have known of the dangers of asbestos for decades, there is often a case to be made for negligence.

Personal Injury Lawsuits

Personal injury lawsuits are cases where, through negligence, strict liability, or intentional wrong, a defendant is said to have caused physical, emotional, or reputation harm to a plaintiff.

If the lawsuit is successful, the plaintiff is awarded damages to cover their losses, including:

• Household assistance
• Lost wages 
• Medical expenses
• Mental and emotional distress
• Pain and suffering
• Travel expenses

Wrongful Death Lawsuits

Wrongful death lawsuits are civil suits brought by family members against companies that, through action or inaction, have willfully or negligently brought about the death of a person.

Wrongful death actions allow survivors to seek compensation for losses and damages caused by the death of a loved one.

Class-Action Lawsuits

Class-action lawsuits allow one or more plaintiffs to file on behalf of an entire “class” of people. In this case, a class means a large group of people who have been harmed the same way in the same circumstances by the same defendant.

A judgment in a class-action lawsuit binds all class members, whether or not they know about the lawsuit.

Deadlines for Filing a Lung Cancer Lawsuit

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with asbestos lung cancer, it’s crucial to act quickly.

The statute of limitations in asbestos cases varies by state, but the average is only 1 to 3 years following diagnosis. Once the statute of limitations ends, victims can no longer seek compensation through a lawsuit.

Reaching out to a lung cancer lawyer as soon as possible may jump-start the filing process, helping you meet this critical deadline.

Working With an Asbestos Lung Cancer Lawyer 

A lung cancer diagnosis is overwhelming, and treatment even more so — commanding the bulk of a family’s mental, emotional, and financial resources.

The thought of navigating the complex legal system, no matter how necessary the potential compensation might be, is more than many people want to take on. 

Working with an experienced asbestos lung cancer lawyer can help remove this stress, allowing families to seek compensation while keeping their focus on the health and well-being of the lung cancer patient.

A reputable lawyer can provide essential benefits, namely:

• Experience with the legal process: Lawyers understand relevant deadlines and filing processes, saving time and streamlining what can otherwise be a lengthy process.
• Understanding where and how to prove exposure: Lawyers conduct interviews, gather documentation, and assemble proof into a compelling case.  
• Maximizing compensation: Lawyers know how to track down and hold all responsible parties accountable. They understand all the different options for compensation and how to maximize potential winnings.

If you or a loved one has recently been diagnosed with asbestos lung cancer and you’re ready to begin exploring options for compensation, reach out to our dedicated team to see if you may be eligible.

Written & Legally Reviewed By

Samuel Meirowitz

Attorney and On-Site Legal Advocate

Samuel Meirowitz is a member of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers.” Mr. Meirowitz was named a “Rising Star” in 2013 & 2014 by Super Lawyers and then a Super Lawyer every year since 2016. In 2013, Mr. Meirowitz obtained what is believed to be the first multi-million-dollar asbestos verdict seen in more than two decades in a New York federal court. In that highly contentious matter, Mr. Meirowitz was able to convince the jury to hold a boiler manufacturer responsible for 60 percent of the $3.8 million awarded, despite the defendant’s attempt to escape all blame by pointing fingers at the plaintiff’s employer and the U.S. Navy (in which the plaintiff admirably served from 1966-70 during the Vietnam conflict). This verdict was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Learn More