Asbestos Lawyers Los Angeles: Legal Help for Asbestos Exposure
Asbestos kills 12,000-15,000 Americans per year.
Asbestos-related diseases may not strike victims for decades after they were exposed to asbestos. There were 3,970 asbestos-related deaths in Los Angeles between 1999-2013
In this article, you will discover how to find the best asbestos lawyers Los Angeles has to offer.
Introduction
Asbestos is a heat-resistant mineral fiber found in rock and soil. It was most commonly used to insulate and fire-proof buildings but it was also used to manufacture products, including ceiling, floor tiles, and automotive products.
While most products containing asbestos are legal, including roof coatings and clothing, some products have been banned by the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Consumer Product Safety Act.
Exposure to asbestos can lead to the development of disease and other harmful health conditions decades after initial exposure.
If you were exposed to asbestos, you may want to talk to an asbestos exposure lawyer for help.
Asbestos Lawyers Los Angeles
Asbestos has become a big problem.
Fortunately, there are asbestos exposure lawyers in Los Angeles who have experience handling a wide range of asbestos-related cases, including cases involving exposure at work, exposure at home, or exposure in the military.
If you or a family member been diagnosed with asbestosis, mesothelioma, or asbestos lung cancer, you need to know how to find the best asbestos lawyers Los Angeles has to offer.
As an attorney referral service in Los Angeles, we’re here to help.
Give us a call or click the banner below to discuss your situation and we’ll find a lawyer who can help you seek compensation for your injury.
Asbestos has been found to cause several diseases, including the following:
- Asbestos Lung Cancer – According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), asbestos can cause a higher risk of developing a lung disease like cancer. When asbestos fibers are inhaled, they get trapped in the lungs and lead to disease.
- Gastrointestinal Cancer – The EPA has identified asbestos as a carcinogen that can cause gastrointestinal cancer.
- Mesothelioma – Mesothelioma, a rare type of cancer that occurs in the thin lining of the heart, lung, chest, and abdomen is the most prevalent disease associated with asbestos
- Asbestosis – Asbestosis is a long-term condition affecting the respiratory function. It is associated with shortness of breath and persistent coughing.
Asbestos Exposure Can Occur In the Workplace
If asbestos-containing materials are damaged or disturbed in some way, causing the fibers to be released into the air, you can inhale them. This can happen at work during demolitions, construction, home maintenance, and repair, or any related building material work. It can happen to miners. It can happen on ships or in tunnels or other confined workspaces.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that approximately 125 million people in the world today are exposed to asbestos at their workplace. This includes not only workers but bystanders and others who were close enough to breathe the airborne particles.
The unhealthy effects of asbestos are not limited to the workplace. They also reach into the home and can negatively affect, not only the workers coming home but also other family members.
Asbestos Can Be Found at Home
You can be infected when working with asbestos, but you can also infect others or become affected when you come in contact with asbestos fibers originating from other sources.
Thousands of infected workers have unknowingly brought the deadly fibers home on their work clothes, tools, skin or hair, inadvertently exposing their families.
Asbestos can infect anyone who encounters the toxins in your home like family members living with you or even family members those who had a family member working with asbestos in past years.
Even family members who try to launder work clothes are exposed and can be affected because laundry detergents are not adequate to decontaminate the toxins. A study by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health found that the second-most common occupation for reported mesothelioma victims was “household/homemaker.”
Companies Have Asbestos Trust Funds
The primary reason why so many asbestos companies resorted to filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection was to avoid having to deal with more employees who were taking legal action for injuries or diseases from workplace exposure.
Under this bankruptcy protection, a company that used asbestos before the 1980s could not be held accountable for knowingly threatening the health of its workers. So, these cases became immune to standard litigation and cannot be sued in personal injury cases.
However, these companies were forced to set up trust funds to compensate victims of workplace exposure to asbestos. So, if you cannot file a lawsuit against these companies, you can still recover compensation from their trust funds.
Filing An Asbestos Exposure Lawsuit
If you or a family member has been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease like mesothelioma or asbestos-caused lung cancer, etc., you should consider filing an asbestos lawsuit. Many victims of asbestos-poisoning have filed lawsuits and won their cases because of the clear connection between the negligent use of asbestos and these diseases.
An asbestos law attorney can help you with the filing, beginning with getting proof of your diagnosis and collecting important information like medical records and associated costs.
Your attorney will also get information on your work history and how and where you were exposed to asbestos.
The attorney may also approach representatives of the companies responsible for the asbestos to see if they want to enter into negotiations for a settlement. Most companies would rather agree to settle rather than face the expense of going to court.
If the company (or companies) have set up an asbestos trust fund, your attorney will initiate the trust paperwork for that, since the company cannot be sued and has already set aside money under court supervision to compensate you for the asbestos-related disease.
If the company decides to not compensate you, your attorney will file the complaint and get a summons to serve the company. The company (or party concerned) will have 30 days to respond to your lawsuit.
Your attorney will ask for documents and other evidence as part of a discovery phase. The defendant (the company or party you are suing) will ask for your medical records.
This discovery phase can last several months, but during this time your attorney will work to establish the proof that the company knew about the hazards of asbestos exposure and did nothing to protect you and others. This can lead to an eventual settlement.
Your attorney will confer with you to assess whether the settlement is fair if one is offered. The offer should be compared to what could happen at trial – you may win more money awarded by a jury but there is no guarantee.
You do have a limited time to file an asbestos claim. In California, the statue of limitations is one year. The time starts from the day of the discovery of asbestos exposure or an illness, or the signs of lung cancer showing up in an x-ray or a biopsy.
There are serious health concerns from exposure to asbestos. The result can be devastating. It can be fatal. Consequently, compensation can be extremely high. An asbestos attorney is your best chance to take advantage of the compensation you deserve.
Conclusion
Now that you know the dangers of asbestos and how to find the best asbestos lawyers Los Angeles has to offer, you can move forward with confidence and build your case.
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