What are the Different Types of Claims for Mesothelioma Lawsuits?

In the asbestos litigation, the Mesothelioma litigation, there are two paths to recovery. One is through the court system: that’s litigation, filing a lawsuit, a tort claim. Another path to recovery is bankruptcy trust claims. That’s an administrative process where we file claims and try to get them approved.

I’m going to explain each one. First, the lawsuit. When we file a lawsuit, we may file a products liability claim. We may file a premises liability claim. We may even file a case against suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, and others. The genesis of all this is usually the product manufacturer, but sometimes they may not be available. They may already be in that bankruptcy trust system, and in that case, we’re still going to try to get whoever’s available within the litigation process.

In the litigation format, we’re typically pursuing a few different paths of liability. The most common is products liability- who manufactured the product? Another is premises liability- where did the accident or injury occur? Another is contractor liability- which company was installing the asbestos you were breathing in? Another is suppliers, wholesalers, retailers- at the outset of a case, you never know who’s going to be available. That’s why you’ve got to hire a professional. We will sit down with you, take the time to meet with you, talk to you, figure it all out, and do the research on our end. Whoever we can include in your asbestos case, we will, because the more shares there are to develop a recovery for you, the better off we’re going to be able to do for you. That’s in the client’s best interests.

The bankruptcy trust claims are different from litigation. I think most people know that, but I want to take a moment to explain it. These are companies that were once being sued in the tort system in courts, but they went in front of judges and said, “Judge, bankruptcy judge, our liabilities exceed our ability to pay. We don’t have enough money for all of these claims. Please help us reorganize.” There’s actually a special provision in the bankruptcy code that allows them to do that now.

So, these companies will form trusts. These trusts pay victims of asbestos exposure, and they pay a different amount for Misela and lung cancer. We don’t need to get into that right now, but there are different proofs required. One of the big misunderstandings is that there’s one big asbestos trust. That’s just not true. Some television advertising maybe makes people think that, but these are all individual trusts from individual companies.

If you give me a call, I can talk to you about which one you may have been exposed to and which one might be available for you as compensation for your injury.