Can I Sue for Asbestos Exposure? The Asbestos Lawsuit Process

If you or a loved one was exposed to asbestos and later diagnosed with an asbestos-related illness, you probably have questions about what happens next. One of the most common is simple: can I sue for asbestos exposure, and if so, who is responsible?

Asbestos lawsuits can be straightforward in some ways and highly complex in others. The first step in succeeding in this litigation is to hire a lawyer with experience handling these types of lawsuits. Your lawyer should have a strong knowledge of the medical issues involved as well as the industries in which asbestos was used and the legal issues that arise in these cases. In addition, a lot depends on the state where you file the mesothelioma lawsuit as the law impacting asbestos lawsuits vary in different states.

If a qualified physician has diagnosed you with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or another asbestos lung cancer and you know where the asbestos exposure occurred, you may be able to file a lawsuit. If someone you love has died of an asbestos-related disease, you may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit on their behalf. This guide will help you understand the process of filing suit.

The Asbestos Lawsuit Process

Mesothelioma is a rare, aggressive cancer that forms in the thin tissue lining the lungs, abdomen, or heart, and most cases are linked to asbestos exposure that happened decades earlier (National Cancer Institute). Asbestos also causes asbestosis, lung cancer, and several other diseases. To succeed in an asbestos lawsuit, the plaintiff needs to show that they were exposed to asbestos or an asbestos-containing product, that they have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, and the damages that disease has caused.

How an Asbestos Lawsuit Works

Every case of asbestos exposure is unique, and so is every asbestos claim. However, there are some elements that are the same across most cases.

For an asbestos lawsuit to have merit, you need to have been harmed in some way. If you have mesothelioma, this harm is obvious. But you also need to be able to prove how that harm happened and that someone has caused it. In an asbestos lawsuit that means proving when and how your asbestos exposure occurred.

How to File an Asbestos Lawsuit: Step by Step

While every mesothelioma litigation case is unique, there are a few important steps you should take as soon as possible after your diagnosis. The first and most important step is to contact an experienced asbestos law firm. An experienced asbestos lawyer can help you evaluate whether you have a legitimate claim and guide you through the process of litigation.

After initiating an asbestos lawsuit, litigation may take some time as collecting and developing evidence can be complicated and time consuming. In terms of litigation, most lawsuits progress in the following way:

• Your attorney will work with you to collect necessary documentation and evidence proving your exposure to asbestos, your asbestos related disease and the impact on you and your family;
• A “complaint” will be filed in the appropriate court. A “complaint” is the legal document that normally initiates a lawsuit;
• Your lawyer and the defendants’ lawyers will seek discovery – that is seek information about your claims and the defenses being asserted. This discovery is both documentary – including medical records, corporate records – and includes testimony under oath, what are known as depositions.
• The parties exchange expert discovery as well – that is reports or testimony of medical and safety experts who support either your claim or the defendants’ positions.
• One objective of the discovery process aside from assuring fairness at trial is to provide the parties with all of the information they need to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their cases to help them decide whether they want to try to negotiate a settlement. And so, at the conclusion of the discovery process, the parties will often attempt to reach a settlement. If no settlement can be reached, the matter will proceed to trial.

Where you file matters. In New Jersey, most asbestos cases are consolidated before the Middlesex County Superior Court as multicounty litigation, which follows its own case management rules and trial schedule. Your attorney will choose the venue that gives your claim the strongest footing under the law that applies to your exposure.

What’s Expected of You If You Decide to Pursue an Asbestos Lawsuit

Asbestos lawsuits of all types require the plaintiff (the person bringing the lawsuit) to be an active participant throughout the process. While an attorney can handle a lot of what happens on your behalf, you will need to be able to work with your lawyer to respond to discovery requests, attend your deposition and provide as much evidence as may be required to prove the elements of your case including medical bills, employment history, and more. Your treatment and employment records are necessary to show that you have been harmed by your asbestos exposure, as well as prove where the exposure occurred.

In any court case, it is critical to be honest and upfront with your lawyer and with the court. Your attorney cannot fight on your behalf without first knowing all the facts of the case.

How to Prove Asbestos Exposure: Evidence You Need

The outcome of any lawsuit depends strongly on the evidence available. The more evidence you bring to your case, the more likely you will be to succeed in it.

The two primary types of evidence that you will need to provide when filing an asbestos claim are proof of your injury and proof of your asbestos exposure. Proving your injury involves collecting medical records and testimony from the doctors who have treated you. Proving your exposure may be more difficult since it likely occurred years or even decades before your case. And so your lawyer will want to know your employment history and speak with your co-workers, union or other sources of information about your work and possible exposure to asbestos.

When a manufacturer or supplier of asbestos products has gone through bankruptcy, compensation may come from an asbestos bankruptcy trust set up to pay current and future claimants (U.S. GAO). Trust claims are administrative rather than court cases, and each trust has its own exposure and medical criteria. Learn more in our guide to asbestos trust fund claims in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

• Evidence that commonly supports an asbestos claim includes:
• Medical records, pathology reports, and testimony from treating physicians
• Employment history, including union records and Social Security earnings statements that show where you worked and when
• Testimony from co-workers, family members, or others who worked alongside you
• Product identification evidence, such as invoices, job-site records, ship or building records, and photographs
• Military service records, if you served in the Navy or another branch where asbestos was used

You do not need to know every product or company involved before you call a lawyer. Experienced asbestos attorneys use decades of discovery records, product databases, and witness testimony to identify exposure sources, even when a client cannot remember specific brand names.

Asbestos Lawsuit Requirements: Who Can File?

To file an asbestos lawsuit, you generally need three things:

• A diagnosis of an asbestos-related disease from a qualified physician
• Evidence that the disease was caused by exposure to asbestos from a specific product, job site, or property
• A claim filed within your state’s statute of limitations

Exposure alone, without a diagnosed illness, generally does not support a lawsuit. If you were exposed but have no symptoms, regular medical monitoring is important, and your right to file typically begins once a diagnosis is made. If a loved one has died from an asbestos-related disease, surviving family members or the estate may be able to file a wrongful death claim.

Filing Deadlines in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

Every state sets a statute of limitations for asbestos claims. Because asbestos diseases can take decades to develop, the clock in Pennsylvania and New Jersey generally starts when the disease is diagnosed or discovered, not when the exposure happened. That means you may still be able to file even if your exposure happened 30 or 40 years ago.

• Pennsylvania: A lawsuit must be filed within two years from the date a physician informs you of an asbestos-related injury, or the date you knew or reasonably should have known of it, whichever comes first (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(8)). Wrongful death claims generally must be filed within two years of the date of death.

• New Jersey: Personal injury claims generally must be filed within two years (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2), with the discovery rule starting the clock when you learn of the injury and its likely cause. Wrongful death claims generally must be filed within two years of the date of death (N.J.S.A. 2A:31-3).

If you were exposed in another state, a different deadline may apply. These deadlines are strict, so talk to an asbestos attorney as soon as possible after a diagnosis.

Asbestos-Related Diseases That Qualify for a Lawsuit

Asbestos exposure is linked to several serious diseases (National Cancer Institute). Mesothelioma and asbestosis are the conditions most strongly associated with asbestos, which often makes the link between exposure and illness easier to establish. Lung cancer claims may require more detailed medical evidence, especially for people with a smoking history.

• Mesothelioma, including pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma
• Asbestosis
• Lung cancer
• Laryngeal cancer
• Ovarian cancer
• Pleural disease, such as pleural thickening and pleural effusion

Can You Sue Your Employer for Asbestos Exposure?

In most cases, workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against an employer for a workplace injury, so you generally cannot sue your employer directly. That does not mean you cannot sue for workplace asbestos exposure. Most occupational asbestos lawsuits are filed against third parties: the companies that manufactured, sold, or installed asbestos products, and the owners of the job sites where exposure happened.

Both Pennsylvania and New Jersey recognize important exceptions:

• Pennsylvania: In Tooey v. AK Steel Corp. (2013), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that occupational disease claims that manifest more than 300 weeks after the last workplace exposure fall outside the Workers’ Compensation Act. Because mesothelioma typically develops decades after exposure, many Pennsylvania workers can sue a former employer directly.
• New Jersey: An employer can be sued outside the workers’ compensation system for an “intentional wrong” (N.J.S.A. 34:15-8). In Millison v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (1985), the New Jersey Supreme Court allowed workers to pursue claims against an employer that concealed their existing asbestos-related illnesses, making those illnesses worse.

Workers’ compensation benefits and a third-party lawsuit can often be pursued at the same time. If you worked in a trade with heavy asbestos use, our guide to workplace asbestos exposure explains which jobs carried the highest risk.

Types of Asbestos Claims: Lawsuits, Wrongful Death, and Trust Funds

If you file a lawsuit for your exposure to asbestos products, the type of suit will change based on your case’s circumstances.

There are three main types of asbestos claims, and the process for each one is different. In an individual lawsuit for personal injury or wrongful death, you go up against the entity that caused the asbestos exposure. This may end in a settlement or a trial.

If the company that exposed you to asbestos has already been proven liable, you may be able to file a trust fund claim. Asbestos bankruptcy trusts sometimes have a lower burden of proof than lawsuits do, and they are useful if the company has gone out of business, but they generally come with lower recoveries.

Is There an Asbestos Class Action Lawsuit?

Asbestos claims are almost always filed as individual lawsuits, not class actions. In Amchem Products, Inc. v. Windsor (1997) and Ortiz v. Fibreboard Corp. (1999), the U.S. Supreme Court rejected nationwide asbestos class settlements, finding that people with different exposures, diseases, and injuries could not be fairly grouped into a single class. Filing individually allows each person to seek compensation based on their own exposure history, diagnosis, and losses. Learn more about the difference between mass torts and class actions.

Types of Compensation That Can Be Recovered in an Asbestos Claim or Lawsuit

There are two primary types of compensation you can recover in a mesothelioma lawsuit. The first is economic damages, which includes things like lost earning potential, or past or future medical expenses associated with your asbestos exposure. The second form of damages are for more intangible losses like pain and suffering and loss of life’s pleasures. In some cases, a plaintiff may also be eligible to recover punitive damages, which are meant to punish defendants for intentional or reckless conduct.

What to Expect When You Sue for Asbestos Exposure

Every asbestos exposure and mesothelioma case is different, and every exposed person has unique circumstances. A lot depends on the facts of your case. When and where were you exposed to the asbestos-containing product? Does the company responsible for your asbestos exposure have the resources to handle an extended court case? A dedicated attorney can explain the process to you step by step.

What to Expect with a Mesothelioma Lawsuit

Asbestos litigation doesn’t look like the court dramas you’ve seen on television. Whether a case ends in a settlement or a trial, a lot goes on behind the scenes. Your legal team will find and interview expert witnesses, examine medical records and negotiate with the defendant’s lawyers.

How Long an Asbestos Claim Takes

Court cases and settlements can often take months or years, and this is especially true when medical issues are at stake. Judges can sometimes expedite cases if required. This happens occasionally in mesothelioma cases since a person with lung cancer has a vested interest in finishing the case quickly.

How Much Is an Asbestos Lawsuit Worth?

There is no hard-and-fast rule that says “this type of case can expect this kind of compensation.” With any court case also comes the risk of losing. Compensation can vary greatly depending on the facts of the case (such as whether it’s for asbestos-related illness or wrongful death) and the defendant’s ability to pay.

You may be able to receive compensation for a variety of damages, including lost wages, the cost of medical care, and even pain and suffering in some cases.

For a closer look at how these cases resolve, see our overview of average mesothelioma settlement amounts and every type of mesothelioma compensation available.

Asbestos Lawsuit FAQs

Can I sue for asbestos exposure if it happened decades ago?

Yes. Asbestos diseases usually appear 20 years or more after exposure, and in Pennsylvania and New Jersey the filing deadline generally runs from your diagnosis, not from the exposure itself.

Can I file an asbestos claim if I can’t prove where I was exposed?

Often, yes. You do not need to identify every product or job site on your own. Asbestos attorneys use work histories, co-worker testimony, product databases, and records from prior litigation to trace exposure sources.

Can family members sue after a loved one dies from an asbestos disease?

Yes. Surviving family members or the estate may file a wrongful death claim. Family members who developed an illness from asbestos carried home on a worker’s clothing may also have their own claim; see our guide to secondary asbestos exposure.

How much does it cost to hire an asbestos lawyer?

Cohen, Placitella, Roth & Goslee handles asbestos cases on a contingency fee basis. You pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.

Talk to an Asbestos Lawyer About Your Case

Cohen, Placitella, Roth & Goslee takes on, and wins, the fights that others think can’t be won. Our asbestos lawyers have represented workers and families across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the country against the companies responsible for asbestos exposure.

If asbestos exposure has changed your life, call us at (888) 560-7189 or contact us online today for your free case evaluation.