How to Find a Mesothelioma Lawyer
If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related illness, the best way to receive the compensation you deserve is to hire the best lawyer to represent you. Look for a lawyer with a track record of successfully litigating and settling mesothelioma lawsuits on behalf of clients.
How to find the Best Mesothelioma Lawyer
When you engage a lawyer to represent you in your mesothelioma claim, you are making a financial decision that can have significant consequences for you and your family. Compensation in asbestos claims can be in the millions. A good lawyer can make a difference of many thousands of dollars; the best lawyer can make a difference of millions! That’s money you need to pay your medical bills and provide for your family. Kazan Law has negotiated settlements for hundreds of clients and won verdicts as high as $27 million for our clients.
Start your search by narrowing down your list to lawyers who specialize in asbestos litigation. Don’t be afraid to talk to more than one law firm before you choose the one best qualified to handle your case.
Here are some questions to ask before you hire a mesothelioma lawyer:
- How long has the lawyer been handling asbestos lawsuits?
- How many clients have they worked with in that time?
- Where has the lawyer filed asbestos claims?
- Do they have experience in the court where your claim will be filed?
- What types of mesothelioma cases has the lawyer handled in the past?
- Have they litigated cases similar to yours?
- How many cases has the lawyer won? Lost?
- How many cases has the asbestos lawyer settled?
- What kinds of settlement amounts have they achieved for their clients? (Settlements may be confidential, but you can ask the lawyer to give you a range.)
- How many clients has the lawyer helped through the process of getting compensation from asbestos trust funds?
Lawyer Tips for How to Find a Mesothelioma Lawyer
I have been helping clients with mesothelioma get the compensation they deserve since 1974. Over my years of handling asbestos lawsuits, I have encountered a lot of wonderful lawyers and, unfortunately, many who were less than scrupulous. Here are some basic steps to take when you are choosing an attorney to represent you in your mesothelioma claim.
- Interview your attorney. If you are not feeling well enough, ask a family member or friend to do this. Request a case evaluation and a personal interview with the attorney who would be handling your case.
- Make sure the attorney’s fees are on a contingency basis. A contingency fee arrangement is when your lawyer gets a percentage of the compensation award you receive from the resolution of your asbestos lawsuit. If you wind up not receiving any compensation for the lawsuit then your lawyer collects no fees. You may still owe charges for court fees, copying, and hiring expert witnesses. Ask how the fee arrangement works – do costs come ‘off the top’ or are they just taken from your share?
- Check the attorney’s references. A good mesothelioma attorney should be able to provide you with a list of references of several previous clients to contact. Although you will only be given the contact information for very pleased clients, it will still be informative to talk to them about their experiences working with a mesothelioma attorney you are considering hiring for your case.
I am proud of the team we have built at Kazan Law. The people at Kazan Law are incredibly talented. I’ve been so fortunate with my partners and the younger lawyers and the paralegals. People seem to stay here because they fall in love with the work; and mostly with the clients – it is really gratifying to be representing people who really need our help where we can make a difference
But not all asbestos attorneys place their clients’ interests above their own.
There are ambulance chasers. There are unscrupulous lawyers. There are guys are out there who run newspaper ads saying, “Call us to find out if you have million dollar lungs.” I think that’s outrageous. I think people need to be really careful about how they select a lawyer and about how they make what will potentially be the most important financial decision of their lifetime.
There are a lot of lawyers out there who are in this just for a buck. If you look for a lawyer on the Internet, the odds are you’re going to find lawyers who aren’t really trial lawyers. They’re really case brokers. Their operations are really designed to lure people in and sign them up and then sell that client’s case to another lawyer who does the work. The problem is they tend to sell those cases to lawyers who will give them the biggest cut rather than who will do the best job.
There is nothing wrong with a law firm advertising on the internet. What’s wrong is lawyers who disguise who they are. You will find a lot of lawyer websites that show themselves as .org sites, a web area intended originally for nonprofits, who in reality are lawyers pretending to be nonprofits, pretending to be public interest groups. What they want to do is get you to fill out their contact form, they want to get you on the phone and sign you up.
The point is clear. Be thorough in your due diligence process, ask the right questions, and meet with the lawyer. Ensure that your best interests are the first priority of any law firm that represents you and your family. Although information is vital in making the right decision so is your confidence that your lawyer is honest, trustworthy, and competent.