If you have been injured by exposure to asbestos, you may already know that an asbestos cancer attorney is key to successfully proving your claim; but what you many not know is exactly how to go about hiring one. Before you set out to find the right lawyer to handle your case, here are a few things about mesothelioma claims and the law firms that specialize in them.
Fact Number One: Cases involving asbestos injury are highly technical and very complex.
In order to successfully prove a claim, an asbestos cancer attorney must show that the defendant(s)listed in the filed suit is both responsible for and was negligent in causing the exposure that ultimately resulted in the claimant’s illness. Doing so requires a high degree of valid and conclusive evidence, and gathering such evidence necessitates that the attorney have a high degree of knowledge about how and why asbestos cancers develop. Only experienced asbestos injury attorneys should be entrusted to meet this significant burden of proof.
Fact Number Two: Not all firms handle cases in-house.
A lot of firms specializing in asbestos legal issues routinely pass off potential clients onto other firms, receiving a portion of the associated fee in return. This practice, while common, is not designed for the client’s best interest. It is highly advised that when hiring an asbestos cancer attorney, you make sure that the one you hire will be the same attorney accompanying you to the courtroom.
Fact Number Three: Attorneys who represent mesothelioma victims are paid on a contingency basis.
It is important to know that asbestos cancer attorneys are paid by what is called a contingency fee. Literally, this means that the fee covering your attorney’s services is contingent—or dependent exclusively—on his or her success in securing compensation for your claim. Thus, no legal fees are collected during the duration of your case but are paid entirely as a percentage of either the final settlement or the total amount of compensatory damages awarded by the court.
Fact Number Four: The average settlement amount for a mesothelioma case varies and is dependent on numerous individualized factors.
Most claimants receive between one and two million dollars for their mesothelioma case, but some receive much more while others receive less. The exact amount worth applying to your particular claim will be related to the length and severity of your illness, amongst other factors.
Fact Number Five: An asbestos injury claim generally takes an average of about one year to complete, from start to finish, but no length of time can be guaranteed.
While any asbestos cancer attorney whom you consult, prior to filing, may be able to make an educated estimate about how long your claim will take to resolve, be aware that no one can say for sure. The length of your claim will depend on many factors related to your individual case—chiefly, whether it settles out of court or ends up going to trial before a judge or jury.