Mesothelioma in Indiana

Asbestos Exposure in Indiana

The state of Indiana has had an extensive history with asbestos exposure throughout the state. Indiana currently ranks 17th nationally for mesothelioma diagnoses, with just over 95 deaths each year.

Asbestos exposure has been identified in over 3,000 job sites and 55 cities throughout the state of Indiana.

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

Mesothelioma Compensation Options in Indiana

People diagnosed with mesothelioma in Indiana 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, Indiana 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 Indiana 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 Indiana

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

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 Indiana

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

An average mesothelioma settlement claim in Indiana 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.

Exposure Risks in Indiana

Indiana residents may have encountered asbestos through occupational, environmental, military, or secondary exposure. Risk depends on what materials were present and whether fibers became airborne—not simply on a job title or facility name.

Manufacturing and Industrial Work

Factories and industrial plants historically used heat-resistant insulation, gaskets, packing, cement products, floor materials, and other products that could contain asbestos. Maintenance, repair, and demolition could disturb those materials.

Indiana environmental guidance specifically identifies factories and industrial operations among settings associated with higher asbestos exposure.

Construction, Renovation, and Demolition

Workers who renovated or demolished older buildings could disturb insulation, pipe covering, flooring, roofing, cement products, or other asbestos-containing materials.

IDEM notes that demolition and renovation can release fibers when asbestos-containing materials are damaged or disturbed, and the state regulates asbestos inspection and handling for covered facilities.

Potentially affected occupations can include:

• Construction workers
• Demolition crews
• Pipefitters
• Insulators
• Electricians
• Plumbers
• Carpenters
• Maintenance workers
• Boiler and equipment technicians

Automotive and Friction Products

Historically, brake linings, clutch facings, and similar friction products could contain asbestos. Mechanics or others who serviced these parts may therefore have encountered asbestos dust.

VA also recognizes servicing friction products as a potential asbestos-exposure activity when evaluating military claims.

Military Exposure

Veterans may have encountered asbestos in construction, demolition, insulation work, shipyards, pipe systems, flooring, roofing, and other military settings.

VA may provide disability compensation when the evidence connects military asbestos exposure with an asbestos-related health condition.

Secondary Exposure

Family members could sometimes encounter asbestos fibers carried home on contaminated work clothing, footwear, equipment, or personal belongings. Establishing a legal claim based on secondary exposure depends on the facts and applicable law.

Top Exposure Sites

Public records can help identify Indiana properties where asbestos-containing materials have been documented. A site listing does not establish that every worker or nearby resident was exposed or that a listed company is legally responsible for an individual diagnosis.

• Ingram Richardson Company: EPA reports that the former manufacturing property had asbestos-containing building materials among the contamination addressed at the site.

EPA describes the 17-acre Ingram Richardson property as a former manufacturing site that operated from 1915 to 1981. Cleanup addressed contaminated soil and debris as well as asbestos-containing building materials.

Other Indiana workplaces or properties may be relevant to an individual exposure history even when they are not included in this table. Employment records, coworkers, product information, historical facility records, and an approved asbestos-exposure database may help reconstruct older exposure.

How to File for Mesothelioma Compensation in Indiana

The exact process depends on the type of compensation being pursued. Lawsuits, asbestos trusts, VA claims, and workers’ compensation claims each follow different procedures.

1. Meet With a Mesothelioma Attorney

An attorney familiar with asbestos litigation can review the diagnosis, exposure history, potential defendants, filing jurisdictions, and applicable deadlines.

Because asbestos exposure may have occurred decades before diagnosis, early investigation can also help preserve employment, product, and witness evidence.

2. Gather Evidence and Documentation

Useful documents can include:

• Medical and pathology records
• Employment and Social Security records
• Union records
• Military service records
• Worksite information
• Product or equipment records
• Coworker statements
• Residence history
• Death certificates and estate documents when applicable

3. File the Appropriate Claims

Depending on eligibility, this could involve a personal-injury or wrongful-death lawsuit, asbestos trust claims, a VA disability claim, workers’ compensation, or a combination of different options.

Each uses its own eligibility standards and paperwork.

4. Complete Claim Discovery or Review

A civil lawsuit may involve written discovery, document production, depositions, and other court procedures.

Trust funds use their own review processes. VA claims are developed and reviewed under federal benefits procedures, while workers’ compensation claims follow Indiana’s administrative process.

5. Settlement, Trial, Liquidation, or Benefit Decision

A lawsuit may resolve through settlement or trial. An asbestos trust may issue a payment under its applicable review and liquidation procedures. VA and workers’ compensation claims result in administrative benefit decisions.

The path and timeline depend on the individual claim.

Indiana Asbestos Litigation Rules

Indiana law contains both general filing rules and provisions directed specifically at asbestos claims. Applying them correctly requires identifying the type of defendant and legal claim involved.

Personal-Injury Deadline

Indiana Code § 34-11-2-4 generally requires an action for injury to a person to be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrues.

Indiana also has a separate provision for certain asbestos product-liability claims. Indiana Code § 34-20-3-2 states that covered actions based on injury, disease, disability, or death caused by asbestos must generally be filed within two years after accrual.

For the personal-injury claims specifically covered by that section, accrual occurs when the injured person knows they have an asbestos-related disease or injury.

That asbestos-specific statute has defined limits on which product-liability defendants it covers, so it should not be assumed to control every Indiana mesothelioma lawsuit. Indiana appellate decisions have addressed those distinctions.

Wrongful-Death Deadline

Indiana’s general wrongful-death statute provides that a qualifying personal representative must commence the action within two years. Indiana courts describe this period as running from the date of death under the general wrongful-death statute.

Asbestos Product-Liability Rules

Indiana Code § 34-20-3-2 contains special provisions for certain asbestos-related product-liability actions. It also states that development of an additional asbestos-related disease or injury may constitute a new injury and separate cause of action within the scope of the statute.

Because the statute defines which defendants fall within that special provision, a lawyer should determine how it applies to a specific exposure history.

Workers’ Compensation and Occupational Disease

Indiana maintains separate occupational-disease provisions that include specific asbestos rules. Some provisions depend on when the employee’s last asbestos exposure occurred, making historical employment dates especially important.

Workers’ compensation timing should therefore be evaluated separately from a civil lawsuit deadline.

Jurisdiction and Multiple Claims

An Indiana resident may have worked with asbestos in another state, worked for an out-of-state company, served in the military elsewhere, or have claims against multiple asbestos trusts. Those facts can affect jurisdiction, governing law, filing strategy, and deadlines.

A person should not calculate an individual filing deadline from a general website summary.

Treatment Help

People diagnosed with mesothelioma often need specialists experienced in complex thoracic or other cancer care. Indiana residents can discuss appropriate referrals and treatment options with their physicians.

UI Health Simon Cancer Center

IU Health Simon Cancer Center is located at 1030 W. Michigan St. in Indianapolis and works in partnership with Indiana University School of Medicine. IU Health describes a multidisciplinary approach involving specialists from multiple fields as well as opportunities to participate in cancer research and clinical trials.

The Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center is an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center. Indiana University reports that its researchers conduct laboratory, clinical, and population-based cancer research, while physician-scientists provide patient care through IU Health.

Patients should ask their treating physician whether the center’s available thoracic, surgical, medical-oncology, radiation-oncology, or clinical-trial services are appropriate for their particular diagnosis.

How We Can Help

A mesothelioma diagnosis can leave patients and families trying to reconstruct decades of employment, military service, workplaces, products, and medical history at the same time they are making treatment decisions.

Mesothelioma Fund can help you organize that information, understand potential compensation options, identify records that may be useful, and prepare informed questions about a possible claim.

Eligibility and results depend on the individual facts, but learning which options may apply can provide a clearer next step.

Frequently Asked Questions