When you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma due to asbestos, you may be entitled to compensation. Due to your case of mesothelioma, you’ve spent thousands of dollars on medical bills and hospital stays. Do you know how much you should be compensated for? This post will walk you through the different aspects of mesothelioma compensation and things decisions you’ll need to make.
Settlement vs. Trial
The first thing you need to decide when going after compensation for mesothelioma is if you should settle or take your case to court and let a jury decide. According to a recent study, the average compensation amount awarded to mesothelioma cases that go to court is $2.4 million and the average settlement is around $1 million.
So while you could potentially win more compensation if you take your case to trial, trials take time meaning you wouldn’t get your compensation as quickly as if you settled. Plus, the longer the trial process takes, the more you would pay in legal fees. Deciding to settle or take your case to trial is an important decision that you and your family make together.
Statutes of Limitations
Like every case, there are statutes of limitations on mesothelioma cases. This is why it is so important that if you believe you are entitled to compensation that you start the legal process early in order to stay within the statute of limitations.
Every state has its own statute of limitations. A statute of limitations is a set amount of time, determined by the state, where you can present your case. If you file a lawsuit outside of that timeframe, it will not be considered. Statute of limitations are designed to protect those involved by making sure claims are filed in a timely fashion.
Personal Injury vs. Wrongful Death Statutes of Limitations
If you are filing for a personal injury lawsuit the statute of limitations starts as soon as the diagnosis is received. Generally the timeframe for filing a lawsuit is shorter for personal injury. For example, in Tennessee you only have one year from the diagnosis date to file a claim. You will want to make sure you reach out to a personal injury lawyer Melbourne, FL relies on as soon as you can in order to start your case before the statute of limitations expires.
For a wrongful death lawsuit, the statute of limitations starts on the day the person passed away. If a person had already filed a personal injury claim, the family would need to start the process over as now the lawsuit has changed to a wrongful death. Each state has its own time frame for the statute of limitations so you’ll need to do you research before you start your claim.
In both personal injury and wrongful death cases, it’s important to start your claim early. Filing a lawsuit is probably the farthest thing on your mind when you are dealing with a life threatening illness, but in order to protect your family from paying the expensive medical bills, it’s critical to start right away.
Thank you to our friends and contributors at Arcadier & Associates for their insight into personal injury cases.
