What Determines the Outcome of Your Mesothelioma Claim?

What Determines the Outcome of Your Mesothelioma Claim?

Since Mesothelioma, once diagnosed, kills its victims within a few years, the goal of any Mesothelioma claim is to get a verdict as quickly as possible. If you go with a a law firm that specializes in Mesothelioma lawsuits, your chances of a successful verdict or settlement are higher than if you had gone with another law firm. Those claims that wait to go through the legal system, ending up in court and be deliberated are the ones that typically take the longest to resolve. The cases that are settled out of court usually can be resolved fairly quickly. But what determines the outcome of your claim?

The two key determinants of the success and amount of your Mesothelioma claim are liability and the amount of damages that can be given. Liability is the biggest hurdle to overcome. Your attorney will seek to prove to the court that the defendant is liable for your condition. In some states, such as Texas, all that is needed is to prove that the defendant is at least 51% responsible for your condition and that standard of proof will have been met.

Monetary damages are another thing to consider. Your attorney will instruct the jury (in a trial) how much damages you are seeking and these damages will be broken up into two parts – compensatory and punitive. Compensatory damages are monies paid to the victim that compensates (hence the term) the victim for money the victim has lost as a result of the harm that was inflicted. Most states cap compensatory damages. Punitive damages are not capped which is a good thing. These damages are meant to punish (again, hence the term) the companies responsible for your condition.

The punishment is meant to prevent the company from engaging in the same activity in the future. The punitive damages can be quite high if the jury believes the defendant’s actions to be willful and deliberate. And since the actions result in the death of an individual and punitive damages are not capped, these damages in asbestos/Mesothelioma cases can be in the millions of dollars. Most of the time, the jury believes the companies knew the danger of asbestos and declined to stop using it or provide proper safety equipment and procedures for its workers.

If you are diagnosed with Mesothelioma, you do not have time to lose. You should contact an attorney, who specializes in these types of cases, immediately.