Asbestos litigation has been a hot topic since asbestos was banned in 1977. For more than 30 years new cases have continued to be diagnosed. As more and more cases of asbestos continue coming in, the trend in asbestos litigation in the United States is on the rise, with respect to average settlements, costs, attorney’s fees, and outside financing. Those who have been exposed to asbestos and suffered, as a result, may be entitled to compensation for pain and suffering, hospital bills, and lost wages.
A Quick Overview of Asbestos
Asbestos is a mineral fiber that can cause dangerous forms of cancer, such as mesothelioma. This cancer builds in the lung, chest, heart, or even abdomen lining. Asbestos, which has high strength and heat resistance properties, can be found in rock and soil. For many years, it was used in insulation, vinyl flooring, roofing shingles, and textured paint. Although it was banned in 1977, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) it can still be found in older homes built before this period. Mesothelioma can take many years to develop, which is why after all these years we are still seeing record numbers of asbestos-related cases being litigated now.
Average Payouts
With the potential costs of asbestos exposure high, compensation may be needed to cover lost wages, pain and suffering, medical expenses, funeral costs and any travel costs needed as part of medical treatments. In this type of case attorneys usually work on a contingency basis, i.e they don’t collect a fee unless they win in a court of law or through settlement. Average asbestos exposure cases pay out between $1 million and $5 million. With the Plaintiffs typically getting about two-thirds of the total payout award. The pay-out for a mesothelioma asbestos case averages about $2.4 million, according to Mealey’s Litigation Report. Settlements to the Plaintiff average out to about $1.4 million.
However, since every case is different, they result in a wide variety of settlement amounts. Consider the construction worker in New Jersey who died from mesothelioma — the family was awarded a settlement of $2.1 million. Conversely, a Navy vet suffering from asbestos-related cancer got a settlement of just $461,000.
A Growing Trend- 85 New Cases a Day
In recent years, there’s been a big increase in the filing rates of asbestos cases, with personal injury claims averaging approximately 85 a day, according to The Wall Street Journal. With the long incubation period, many companies and manufacturers are long out of business by the time an asbestos claim is filed, as mesothelioma can take years to develop. One puzzling problem lies in the fact that although asbestos-related claims are on the rise, the actual incidence rate of mesothelioma in the United States has fallen 22 percent between 1992 and 2009, according to the National Cancer Institute. Unfortunately, there has been a rise in fraudulent mesothelioma claims, which contributes to this skyrocketing litigation rise, says The Wall Street Journal.
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| Surviving Mesothelioma and Other Cancers: A Patient’s Guide | Mesothelioma and Me | In His Grace, Grappling with Mesothelioma, The Randy Brady Story | 100 Questions & Answers About Mesothelioma |
Byline:
Marty Slater is a freelance writer based in Jacksonville, Florida.
Image courtesy of Renjith Krishnan/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net
