When a person dies due to asbestos exposure, their family members are left with both grief and financial burdens. A wrongful death mesothelioma lawsuit can provide funds to pay for medical bills, lost income, and funeral expenses as well as for the victim’s pain and suffering and the survivor’s losses.
Understanding Wrongful Death Lawsuits
A wrongful death lawsuit is a civil action brought when someone dies due to the negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct of another party. When a wrongful death lawsuit follows a death attributed to asbestos exposure, the defendants are typically asbestos companies that manufactured, sold, distributed, or used products contaminated with the deadly mineral without providing adequate warnings to workers and consumers about the health risks of exposure to their products.[1]
The idea behind filing a wrongful death lawsuit is that the person who has died would have had grounds for a personal injury lawsuit had they survived. The death is considered “wrongful” because it resulted from actions or inactions that constituted negligence or a breach of duty by the named defendant.[1]
Wrongful death lawsuits related to asbestos exposure are generally filed following deaths from asbestos-related illnesses including:
- Malignant mesothelioma: A rare, aggressive, and deadly form of cancer that affects the lining of the lungs, abdomen, heart, or testicular cavities
- Asbestos-related lung cancer: Lung cancer specifically caused by inhaling asbestos fibers
- Asbestosis: A chronic lung disease caused by scarring of lung tissue followed by inhaling asbestos fibers
- Pleural plaques, COPD, pleural thickening, and pleural effusions
The Difference Between Wrongful Death and Personal Injury Lawsuits
Both wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits are filed in pursuit of compensation for harms caused by negligence, but there are several important distinctions between the two. They include:[’2”]
The Plaintiff
In a personal injury lawsuit, the victim files the claim themselves. In a wrongful death lawsuit, since the victim has died, certain family members or representatives of the estate file on behalf of the deceased.
Timing of the Lawsuit
A personal injury lawsuit related to asbestos exposure is filed after the victim has been diagnosed while they are still alive. A wrongful death lawsuit is filed after the victim has passed away due to an asbestos-related disease. In many cases, a claim that was originally filed as a personal injury lawsuit is converted to a wrongful death claim after the original plaintiff dies.
Types of Damages
Personal injury lawsuits typically seek compensation for:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Diminished quality of life
- In some cases, punitive damages
Wrongful death lawsuits typically seek compensation for:
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Medical bills incurred before death
- Loss of financial support the victim would have provided had they not been diagnosed with and died of the disease.
- Loss of companionship and consortium
- The mental anguish of surviving family members
- Loss of inheritance
- In some cases, punitive damages
- Statute of Limitations
The time limit for filing a wrongful death lawsuit is different from the limit for filing a personal injury lawsuit. For personal injury claims, the statute of limitations is counted from the time that the disease is diagnosed, but for wrongful death claims, the statute of limitations generally begins at the time of death. These rules vary by state, and personal injury filings in asbestos cases are often entitled to special considerations due to the long latency period of asbestos-related diseases.[”3”]
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Mesothelioma Lawsuit?
Eligibility to file a wrongful death lawsuit varies by state but generally includes:[”1”]
Immediate Family Members
Spouses, children (including adopted children), and parents of unmarried victims are typically included among those eligible to file wrongful death lawsuits in most states.
Life Partners and Financial Dependents
In some states, domestic partners, life partners, or anyone who was financially dependent on the asbestos victim may file a claim.
Distant Family Members
Some jurisdictions allow more distant relatives such as siblings or grandparents to file wrongful death lawsuits. This is particularly the case if there are no closer relatives.
Estate Representatives
In many states, the personal representative or executor of the deceased’s estate can file the lawsuit on behalf of the estate and surviving beneficiaries.
The laws governing who can file a wrongful death lawsuit vary significantly from state to state. For example, in California, domestic partners have the same rights as spouses, while other states’ laws say that only blood relatives or those related by marriage are entitled to file a wrongful death claim.
Why Mesothelioma and Asbestos-Related Disease Claims Are Unique
Asbestos-related wrongful death lawsuits are different from other claims filed by survivors in several ways, including:
Mesothelioma’s Long Latency Period
Most asbestos diseases develop years after exposure to the carcinogenic material, and this is especially the case with mesothelioma, which typically develops 20 to 50 years later. This extended latency period creates real challenges for proving the link between exposure and the condition, as well as for identifying the responsible parties, many of which may have filed for bankruptcy, reorganized, merged, or dissolved over the years.
Multiple Defendants
Most victims of asbestos-related diseases were exposed to asbestos-containing products from numerous manufacturers over their working lives. A typical mesothelioma lawsuit names dozens of defendants, which makes the litigation process long and complicated.
Substantial Settlements and Verdicts
The link between asbestos exposure and diseases like mesothelioma is well established, and so is the fact that many of the companies named as defendants in lawsuits knew about the dangers but failed to warn workers. The overwhelming evidence presented in these cases, as well as the significant pain suffered by the victims and the grief of their families, often lead juries to reach guilty verdicts accompanied by significant monetary awards.
Asbestos Trust Funds
Facing wrongful death and personal injury verdicts totaling millions of dollars, many major asbestos companies were forced to file for bankruptcy over the years. As part of that process, the bankruptcy courts ordered these companies to establish trust funds with holdings that would compensate victims diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases far into the future. A wrongful death claim may involve both filing a lawsuit against existing companies and claims against these trust funds.
Notable Wrongful Death Asbestos Lawsuit Awards
In many cases, a lawsuit filed against an asbestos company ends in a settlement between the parties. While the terms of a settlement often require that the amount paid to plaintiffs remains confidential, some publicly reported verdicts and settlements illustrate the potential compensation in these cases:
- $16 million was awarded to the family of Steve Kotzerke, who died of asbestos lung cancer at the age of 67. The father of two blamed asbestos supplied by Asbestos Corporation Ltd., a Canada-based mining company that has refused to participate in discovery based on an assertion that they are protected from doing so by Canadian law.
- $8.5 million was awarded to the widow of Dennis Britt, an employee benefits advisor who was exposed to asbestos during on-site visits to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation.
- A Chicago jury awarded $45 million to the survivors of Theresa Garcia, who died in 2020 of mesothelioma after a lifetime of using Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder on herself and her six children.
- A California jury awarded Richard Booker’s survivors $22 million after agreeing that both Vanderbilt Minerals and Imerys Talc America purposely misled consumers about the presence of the toxin in their talc product. Mr. Booker died of mesothelioma after decades of mixing paint that contained the asbestos-contaminated product.
- Union Carbide Corporation was ordered to pay $10.4 million to the adult daughters of a pipefitter who died of mesothelioma after years of exposure to their asbestos-containing products.
- The widow of a man whose mesothelioma death was blamed on secondhand exposure to asbestos on his father’s work clothing was awarded $30 million by a Chicago jury.
- After Kathy Weist died of mesothelioma following second-hand exposure to asbestos from her father and husband’s work clothes, her son and widower were awarded $32 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
These large verdicts are exceptional: The average settlement in a mesothelioma lawsuit, whether a personal injury lawsuit or a wrongful death claim, ranges from approximately $1 million to $1.4 million, while verdicts handed down by juries (when plaintiffs win) average around $2.4 million. Many factors influence the amount, including:
- The strength of the evidence that links the asbestos exposure suffered by the victim to their death
- The number of companies named as defendants
- The state where the lawsuit is filed
- The specific circumstances of exposure
- The deceased’s age, earning capacity, and family situation
- Whether punitive damages are awarded. Punitive damages are added to the compensation awarded as a punishment for and warning against reckless disregard or malicious actions against the victim.
The Process of Filing a Wrongful Death Mesothelioma Lawsuit
Every wrongful death mesothelioma lawsuit is different, but they all generally involve the following steps:
- Gathering evidence: Documenting the asbestos victim’s work history, particularly if they suffered occupational exposure to asbestos through their environment or the asbestos-containing products with which they worked. Evidence also includes exposure to asbestos-containing consumer products and medical records establishing that mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease caused the death.
- Identifying defendants: Researching which companies manufactured, sold, distributed, or used the asbestos-containing products that the deceased was negligently exposed to.
- Filing the complaint: Submitting the formal legal document that initiates the lawsuit.
- Discovery phase: Both sides exchange information and evidence, often including deposition testimonyfrom family members, co-workers, and expert witnesses.
- Settlement negotiations: Many asbestos cases are settled before or during a trial. Companies named as defendants often prefer to avoid the uncertainty, cost, and negative publicity of a trial.
- Trial: If a settlement can’t be reached, the wrongful death claim will proceed to trial, where a judge or jury will decide liability and damages.
- Appeals: Either party can appeal the verdict if they believe legal errors occurred during the trial.
Help for Families That Have Lost Loved Ones to Mesothelioma
Wrongful death mesothelioma lawsuits are an essential legal tool for families who’ve lost loved ones to mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases. These cases differ significantly from personal injury lawsuits in terms of who can file, what damages can be recovered, and how the cases proceed.
If your family has lost a loved one to an asbestos-related disease and you’re considering your legal options, a mesothelioma attorney who is experienced in asbestos litigation will be one of your most valuable sources of information. These professionals specialize in asbestos litigation and understand the complex medical and legal issues involved. They can help you identify the companies responsible for putting asbestos-containing products into your loved one’s environment and select the most advantageous state in which to file. They can also answer your questions about possible outcomes and statutes of limitations and help you file claims with asbestos trust funds.
While no amount of money can make up for the loss of your loved one, filing a wrongful death lawsuit both provides financial support for families facing economic losses following the death and holds negligent companies accountable for their failure to protect workers and consumers from the dangers of asbestos.
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