Asbestos & Mesothelioma Law Blog
If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you may be entitled to compensation for the damages you have suffered. The range of compensation is wide, from thousands of dollars to tens of millions of dollars. There is no one set amount and mesothelioma compensation will be dependent on each unique set of facts.
Still, certain factors are considered in every case. First and foremost is the seriousness of the injury you have suffered. This factor is actually highly complex because of the symptoms and characteristics of mesothelioma. Mesothelioma will arise and conclude within a relatively fixed, identifiable period of time. The window of time in which you might be exposed to asbestos and then become ill with mesothelioma can span from 20 to 50 years. The reason for this is the latency time between asbestos exposure and the presence of cancer in the body. If you are now in your later years, for example, you may have been exposed to asbestos from the 1940s to 1980s, but not become ill until recently. During the time between your exposure and succumbing to illness, you may have been in good health.
Alternatively, you may have experienced respiratory problems from the point of exposure. If your mesothelioma is present in malignant cancerous form, the illness will almost always prove fatal. As hard as this is to contemplate, it bears heavily on the amount of compensation you may be entitled to. How much you are suffering, how long you have and will suffer, the cost of your medical treatment, and impact on your loved ones – all these considerations are relevant to the issue of mesothelioma compensation.
Another important factor that must be considered in mesothelioma compensation includes the defendant’s ability to pay. Because of the potentially significant latency between asbestos exposure in the workplace and the onset of mesothelioma, it is possible that the company or companies you worked for at the time of your exposure are either no longer operating or in possession of only limited funds. On the positive side, the company may have established a compensation fund precisely for victims like you.
Lastly, the longer it has taken to resolve your claim, with you and your family suffering all the while, the stronger the basis for a more substantial financial recovery. To discuss the legal and medical specifics regarding your unique claim for financial compensation, contact a skilled and experienced mesothelioma attorney as soon as possible.