Mesothelioma in Arkansas

Asbestos Exposure in Arkansas

Arkansas has a long history of industries in which older facilities and equipment could involve asbestos-containing materials.

Federal records identify kraft pulp mills, fossil-fuel power plants and other large industrial operations across the state, including facilities in Pine Bluff, Camden, Morrilton, Redfield and other Arkansas communities.

A historical EPA national list of asbestos landfills also names:

• Arkansas Eastman in Batesville
• Arkansas Kraft in Oppelo
• Arkansas Power and Light facilities
• Cement Asbestos Products in Van Buren

These records can help a person reconstruct where asbestos-containing material may have been handled or disposed of, but a facility name alone does not establish that a particular worker was exposed or that a company is legally responsible.

Employment records, job duties, products, witnesses and other evidence can matter when reconstructing an individual exposure history.

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma following exposure in Arkansas, you may be eligible for multiple forms of compensation.

Compensation Options for Asbestos Exposure in Arkansas

People diagnosed with mesothelioma in Arkansas may have more than one potential source of compensation.

Which options apply can depend on where exposure occurred, the companies or products involved, employment or military history, and the laws governing the claim.

Different compensation routes have different evidence requirements and procedures:

• Personal-Injury Lawsuit: A person diagnosed with mesothelioma may be able to pursue claims against companies that are legally responsible for asbestos exposure when the evidence and filing requirements support a case.
• Wrongful-Death Claim: After a death, Arkansas law generally provides for a wrongful-death case to be brought by the executor or administrator of the deceased person’s estate.
• Asbestos Trust Fund Claim: Some companies that entered bankruptcy established trusts for qualifying asbestos claims, and each trust has its own exposure and medical criteria.
• VA Disability Compensation: Veterans may be eligible when they have a health condition caused by asbestos exposure and had contact with asbestos during military service. VA asks for medical records, service records, and evidence connecting the condition to military asbestos exposure.
• Workers’ Compensation: A work-related occupational disease may support a Arkansas workers’ compensation claim, subject to separate filing and causation requirements.

Our dedicated patient advocates can help you determine your potential compensation and identify your options, based on your unique circumstances and exposure history.

Contact us today for a free case evaluation.

Eligibility Requirements for Compensation in Arkansas

Injured workers and their loves ones must meet general eligibility requirements to qualify for compensation in the state of Arkansas.

The requirements can vary depending on the type of compensation and other factors you choose to pursue.

However, there are general eligibility requirements that most types of compensation share:

• Proof of Exposure: Documentation showing exposure to specific asbestos-containing products or presence at work sites where asbestos was used
• Medical Eligibility: An asbestos-related illness diagnosis backed by documentation and testing that links the condition to the patient’s exposure history
• Statute of limitations: The deadline to file is two years for personal injury and three years for wrongful death claimis.

Proving eligibility requires significant documentation, and the burden of proof is on the victim. The following forms of documentation can provide critical support for your claim.

• Medical records
• Proven diagnosis
• Death certificate
• Employment records
• Eyewitness accounts
• Paystubs

Finding the documents you need to build a strong claim can be challenging, especially in mesothelioma cases, where it can take decades to develop symptoms after asbestos exposure.

It’s okay if you don’t have every form of documentation listed above. Asbestos litigation experts can help you find the information you need. If you think you have a claim, reach out to us now and let us help determine your eligibility.

Mesothelioma Settlements & Verdicts in Arkansas

Claimants in Arkansas have secured multiple large settlements and verdicts worth several million in compensation.

An average mesothelioma settlement claim in Arkansas is $1 million to $1.4 million, per Mealey’s Litigation Report.

Settlement and verdict amounts can vary widely depending on the circumstances of the case. Speaking to an asbestos litigation expert can help clarify what your claim could be worth.

Asbestos Exposure Risks in Arkansas

Arkansas exposure histories has involved industrial work, power generation, pulp and paper operations, construction or demolition, automotive work and older asbestos-containing materials.

Power Generation and Industrial Maintenance

Historical EPA records identify Arkansas Power and Light locations in Newark, Redfield and Dover in a national asbestos-landfill listing. Federal environmental records also document multiple large fossil-fuel power facilities in Arkansas.

Workers performing maintenance, repair, insulation work or demolition in older industrial settings may have encountered materials historically made with asbestos.

Pulp and Paper Mills

Arkansas has long had a substantial pulp and paper industry. EPA records identify kraft pulp mills associated with International Paper, Green Bay Packaging and other operators in Arkansas.

Older industrial equipment could include high-temperature insulation, piping, boilers, gaskets and other materials for which asbestos was historically used nationally.

Construction and Demolition

Older Arkansas buildings may still contain asbestos-containing materials. The Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality requires regulated facilities to be inspected for asbestos before covered demolition, renovation or response work begins and regulates asbestos handling and disposal.

Construction-related exposure histories may involve:

• Insulation
• Pipe covering
• Flooring and associated mastics
• Roofing
• Cement products
• Boilers and mechanical equipment
• Demolition debris

Automotive and Mechanical Work

VA identifies brake linings and clutch facings among products associated with potential asbestos exposure. Mechanics and others who worked with older friction products may therefore need to include automotive work when reconstructing an exposure history.

Secondary Exposure

In some cases, asbestos fibers carried on work clothing or equipment could have created exposure away from the original workplace. Whether this is relevant to an individual claim requires evidence about the worker’s activities, materials and household circumstances.

Top Exposure Sites in Arkansas

Historical federal records can provide useful starting points for reconstructing an Arkansas work or asbestos-handling history.

The locations below appear in EPA’s historical National List of Asbestos Landfills. Listing a location does not establish an individual’s exposure, disease causation or legal responsibility.

The following exposure sites have been recorded in the EPA’s historical asbestos-landfill records:

• Arkansas Eastman in Batesville
• Arkansas Kraft in Oppelo
• Arkansas Power and Light in Newark
• Arkansas Power and Light in Redfield
• Arkansas Power and Light in Dover
• Cement Asbestos Products in Van Buren
• Arkansas State Rice Milling Co. in Carlisle
• City of Batesville Ash Landfill in Batesville
• Cherokee Sanitary Landfill in the Cherokee Village area

Arkansas DEQ continues to regulate asbestos activities connected with regulated demolition, renovation, inspection, abatement and waste handling.

How to File for Mesothelioma Compensation in Arkansas

Different compensation routes follow different procedures. These five steps provide a practical framework for organizing an Arkansas mesothelioma claim without assuming every option proceeds through a lawsuit.

1. Meet With a Mesothelioma Attorney

An attorney can review the diagnosis, exposure history, employers and jobsites, potentially responsible companies, jurisdiction and filing deadlines.

This review can also identify whether lawsuits, bankruptcy trusts, VA benefits or workers’ compensation should be investigated.

2. Gather Evidence and Documentation

Useful documentation can include:

• Medical and pathology records
• Employment and Social Security records
• Union records
• Military service records
• Jobsite and product information
• Coworker or witness information
• Photographs, invoices or company records
• Estate or probate documents when applicable

Because asbestos exposure often occurred decades before diagnosis, even partial employment and location information can help guide further investigation.

3. File the Appropriate Claims

A person may qualify for different forms of compensation, each with a separate process. A civil lawsuit is filed through the court system, asbestos trusts follow individual trust procedures, and VA disability claims follow federal benefit rules.

4. Complete Claim Discovery or Review

A lawsuit may involve document exchange, depositions and other civil discovery. A trust claim undergoes the trust’s review process, while VA and workers’ compensation claims are evaluated under their respective administrative rules.

5. Settlement, Trial, Liquidation, or Benefit Decision

A civil lawsuit may settle or proceed toward trial. An asbestos trust may issue a liquidation or payment decision, and government benefit programs issue administrative decisions under their own rules.

Arkansas Asbestos Litigation Rules

Arkansas filing rules require careful attention because the applicable period can depend on the legal theory, the claimant and when the cause of action legally accrued.

Personal-Injury and Product-Liability Claims

The Arkansas Product Liability Act states that product-liability actions must generally be brought within three years after the death, injury or damage complained of occurs.

Arkansas also has a general three-year limitations statute applying to several categories of civil liability. Determining exactly which statute applies to an asbestos case and when the claim accrued requires analysis of the specific allegations and case law.

Wrongful-Death Claims

Arkansas Code § 16-62-102 generally requires a wrongful-death claim to be commenced within three years after the person’s death, subject to statutory exceptions. If there is a personal representative, the statute governs who brings the claim; if there is no personal representative, the action may be brought by the heirs at law.

Occupational-Disease Claims

Arkansas workers’ compensation law has separate occupational-disease provisions. The statute calls for written notice to the employer within 90 days after the first distinct manifestation of an occupational disease and contains additional rules for occupational-disease eligibility and timing.

The Arkansas workers’ compensation statute specifically addresses asbestosis, including special exposure and timing provisions. Mesothelioma and asbestosis are different diseases, so those provisions should not be assumed to apply identically to a mesothelioma claim.

Jurisdiction and Multiple Claims

An Arkansas resident may have exposure history in more than one state, or a defendant or employer may be located elsewhere. That can affect where a lawsuit may be filed and which law controls particular issues.

Similarly, a person may pursue more than one potential source of compensation. Lawsuit, trust, VA and workers’ compensation claims can have different requirements and coordination rules.

Treatment Support

Arkansas patients can find mesothelioma-specific services through UAMS Health in Little Rock. UAMS maintains a dedicated mesothelioma condition page and identifies medical oncology and thoracic surgery providers who diagnose or treat the disease.

The UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute provides multidisciplinary cancer care, and UAMS’s thoracic programs include surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pulmonologists and other specialists.

UAMS thoracic surgeon Jason L. Muesse, M.D., specifically lists mesothelioma among the conditions he treats. His primary appointment location is the Surgical Oncology Clinic at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute in Little Rock.

Patients may want to ask their treating physician whether a multidisciplinary review, second opinion, thoracic surgical consultation or clinical-trial evaluation is appropriate for their particular diagnosis.

How We Can Help

A mesothelioma diagnosis can raise questions about jobs held decades ago, products that are no longer available and companies that have changed names or ownership.

Mesothelioma Fund can help patients and families organize work and military histories, identify information that may be useful in investigating asbestos exposure, understand possible compensation options and prepare informed questions for a case review.

Eligibility and results depend on each person’s diagnosis, exposure history, evidence and applicable law.

Frequently Asked Questions

Written & Legally Reviewed By

Daniel Wasserberg, Esq. Attorney and On-Site Legal Advocate

Daniel Wasserberg was a New York metropolitan area “Super Lawyer Rising Star” from 2013 to 2018 (attorneys under age 40), and a Super Lawyer in 2019. In 2017, Daniel was named a “Top 100 Civil Litigator” by the National Trial Lawyers organization. This recognition is rarely awarded to attorneys under the age of 40. Daniel is proud to call himself a Trial Lawyer, and is often asked to speak at gatherings of the nation’s leading attorneys, from both sides of the bar.

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