A mesothelioma lawsuit is a personal injury or wrongful death claim against the companies that made, sold, or used the asbestos products to which a person was exposed. It is not a claim against your employer in most cases, and it is not a class action. Each case is filed for a single patient or family, based on their work history.
Two things surprise most Pennsylvania families. First, many mesothelioma claims are resolved through asbestos bankruptcy trust funds without a lawsuit ever being filed. Second, when a lawsuit is the right move, the patient usually does far less than people imagine. There is typically one deposition, which can often be taken at home, and most cases settle before trial.
Who can file a mesothelioma lawsuit in Pennsylvania?
The person with the diagnosis can file a claim during their lifetime. If the person has died, the personal representative of the estate can bring two related claims: a wrongful death claim for the family’s losses and a survival claim for what the patient went through.
Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lungs or abdomen, and asbestos exposure is its primary cause, according to the National Cancer Institute. Because the disease appears long after exposure, the defendants are usually companies connected to job sites from years past: shipyards, steel mills, refineries, rail yards, construction sites, and the products used at them. Pennsylvania’s industrial history is unusually well documented, and matching a work history to specific products is the core of the case.
Lawsuit, trust claim, or both
Numerous asbestos manufacturers went bankrupt and were required to set up trust funds for future victims. The U.S. Government Accountability Office reported on the amount set aside for these trusts (GAO-11-819). Trust claims are filed directly with each trust, on paper, without a courtroom.
A lawsuit reaches the companies that are still solvent and never set up a trust. Most Pennsylvania mesothelioma cases end up as a combination: trust claims against the bankrupt manufacturers and a lawsuit against the rest. Which mix fits your family depends on where the exposure happened and which products were involved. That is a records question, and it is answered early in a case, before anything is filed.
How filing works, step by step
In a Pennsylvania case handled by this office, the sequence looks like this:
- Exposure investigation – Work history, union records, Social Security earnings records, ship logs, and product identification. The family gathers nothing; this is the lawyer’s job.
- Filing – Most Pennsylvania cases are filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, which runs a dedicated asbestos program. Michael Schafle is counsel on that docket.
- Discovery – The defendants get to ask questions. For the patient, this usually means a deposition. Courts can accommodate a sick plaintiff, including testimony from home.
- Resolution – Settlements typically arrive on a defendant-by-defendant basis rather than all at once. A trial happens only if a defendant refuses a fair number, and the decision to try a case is always yours.
How long does it take?
It varies by court and defendant, but a living mesothelioma plaintiff’s case generally moves faster than other civil cases because courts prioritize seriously ill plaintiffs. First settlements can come within months of filing; the full case takes longer. Trust claims run on their own schedule and often pay out sooner than the lawsuit is resolved.
What does a mesothelioma lawsuit cost?
Nothing up front. The fee is a contingency: a percentage of what is recovered, and only if there is a recovery. Case expenses, such as records and expert witnesses, are advanced by the firm and come out of the recovery, not out of your pocket as the case goes. The fee agreement puts all of this in writing before you sign anything, and you should not hire any lawyer who won’t do the same.
Pennsylvania law places a limit on how long you have to bring these claims. For mesothelioma, the clock generally starts when the disease was, or reasonably should have been, discovered, not when the exposure occurred. In a death case, the wrongful death clock generally runs from the date of death. These rules have exceptions in both directions, which is exactly why a past diagnosis is worth a phone call rather than assuming it’s too late.
If you want an answer about your own family’s deadline and options, the case review is free, and it is with Michael Schafle directly.