If you are considering starting a mesothelioma lawsuit, you must understand the basic facts about mesothelioma law before beginning the process of finding the right mesothelioma attorneys to represent you. First, you need medical proof that you have mesothelioma. Your efforts to proceed with the legal process rely upon a doctor’s diagnosis. Second, and often most time consuming, you need proof that specific persons or businesses exposed you to the asbestos which caused your mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma Law and Medical Diagnosis
Mesothelioma lawsuits can result in verdicts or settlements for the victim representing millions of dollars in compensation. Businesses responsible for causing mesothelioma and their insurance companies would rather not take responsibility for their actions by admitting guilt or paying out millions of dollars to those they have irrevocably harmed. Because of their unwillingness to admit responsibility for your asbestos exposure, it is critical that solid proof be gathered and documented. Mesothelioma is a devastating preventable type of cancer with only one known cause – exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma silently and slowly attacks the tissues lining vulnerable organs of the body. In most cases because microscopic asbestos dust fibers are inhaled into the lungs, mesothelioma develops in the tissue lining the lungs. This is pleural mesothelioma. But the tiny flecks of asbestos can also make their way through the body’s systems into tissue that line other organs such as the heart and the abdomen.
What makes mesothelioma unusually difficult to diagnose and makes mesothelioma law such an intense area of litigation is that the symptoms only emerge decades after the asbestos exposure. The disease develops silently for many years with no outward signs.
When symptoms first make themselves known they can easily be mistaken for another more common illness such as a cold or flu.
If your cold or flu like symptoms linger longer than normal, and will not go away, don’t hesitate to seek medical help. Be persistent about seeing your primary care physician. If you recall working around asbestos or recall having a family member who did work around asbestos, then take immediate action. Your physician may decide it is necessary to have you go for x-rays, blood tests and possibly additional tests, or send you directly to a cancer specialist. The sooner you have definitive results, meaning a medical mesothelioma diagnosis, the sooner you can put mesothelioma law in play on your behalf.
California Mesothelioma Law Not Limited to Californians
Mesothelioma law in California is often open to non-Californians suffering from mesothelioma. The laws are structured so that you do not have to be a California resident to file a mesothelioma lawsuit here. Nor do the companies named in your lawsuit have to have offices or businesses here.
California has some of the strongest most favorable mesothelioma laws in the country for achieving justice for victims of asbestos exposure. California also has some of the top expert mesothelioma lawyers in the country, like Kazan Law. The following are a few of the reasons why California mesothelioma laws are advantageous to those filing mesothelioma lawsuits: .
- Mesothelioma laws in California are among the most favorable in the U.S. for asbestos victims.
- California residency is not required to file an asbestos lawsuit here.
- California mesothelioma law allows you to initiate your lawsuit even if you have not yet identified who or what is responsible.
- Top pioneers in the asbestos litigation field, like Kazan Law, were at the forefront in helping asbestos victims receive compensation for their injuries
Mesothelioma Law Reflects Mesothelioma Facts
Those of us who helped initiate the first mesothelioma lawsuits and have practiced mesothelioma law for decades expected that by now mesothelioma might be a thing of the past. We had hoped that once it was understood how fatal and preventable mesothelioma was, laws would be enacted to prevent people from being exposed to asbestos that causes mesothelioma.
But unfortunately mesothelioma is still very much part of the global landscape. Although recent laws have cut down on asbestos exposure they have not eliminated it. Mesothelioma law continues to be a necessity as reflected by mesothelioma facts and statistics.
Key current statistics to know are:
- 3,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma in the U.S. every year
- Almost 3,000 people die from mesothelioma in the U.S. every year
- 20 – 50 years is the usual time frame of asbestos exposure to diagnosis of mesothelioma
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) tracks and analyzes mesothelioma statistics. Here are some results from the decade 2001 – 2010, the most recent data set[1] that has been compiled.
- 26, 471 mesothelioma U.S. deaths
- 21, 246 mesothelioma deaths in U.S. men
- 5,225 mesothelioma deaths in U.S. women
- 75 median age of death from mesothelioma in the U.S.
According to the CDC, these states have the highest number of deaths from mesothelioma – which remained constant over the decade even with some fluctuations from year to year:
- California
- Florida
- Pennsylvania
- New York
- New Jersey
- Texas
Survival Statistics
Mesothelioma law is adamant about pursuing businesses that knowingly exposed people to asbestos because mesothelioma is almost always a fatal disease. New avenues of cancer research are making progress in developing new mesothelioma treatments. But at present many of these are not approved by the FDA and can only be accessed through participating in an investigative clinical trial, with no guarantee of results.
Conventional treatments, including surgery to remove tumors, chemotherapy and radiation, can help increase survival time. But overall survival time depends on the stage at which mesothelioma is diagnosed and age at the time of diagnosis. Earlier diagnosis and diagnosis at a younger age can improve survival odds.
Below is current median survival data for mesothelioma from the American Cancer Society[2]. Median survival is similar to an average – half the patients at each stage will not reach the survival time cited but half will live longer.
| Stage | Median Survival |
| I | 21 months |
| II | 19 months |
| III | 16 months |
| IV | 12 months |
Consequently, if you have mesothelioma, you likely have enough time to see your mesothelioma lawsuit to conclusion, at least in California, but it is best to begin as soon as possible.
[1] Mortality multiple cause-of-death data from National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System.
[2] American Cancer Society data 02/17/16
