Call Us :216-575-0777
Call Us :216-575-0777
Long-term asbestos exposure is the biggest risk factor for mesothelioma, and the exposure often happened decades before the diagnosis.
A Louisiana claim usually turns on finding where, when and through which companies or products that exposure occurred.
An old exposure can still be investigated. We review your work history, medical information and other records to trace the exposure, identify companies that may be responsible and pursue compensation where the facts support a claim. We also file wrongful death lawsuits on behalf of surviving family members of individuals who have already died of mesothelioma.
Symptoms may not appear until 20 to 40 years or longer after exposure. That gap can leave a family with a diagnosis and no obvious link to the job, product or worksite behind it.
We help closing that gap by working backward through employment records, worksites, products and family history.
A mesothelioma claim may seek compensation for losses such as:
A lawsuit is one way to pursue compensation from the companies that may be responsible for the exposure.
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Identifying the jobs, worksites, products and companies behind an exposure is one of the central tasks in a mesothelioma case.
In Louisiana, asbestos exposure may have occurred at refineries, natural gas processing plants, chemical plants, shipping facilities, shipyards, manufacturing plants and hospitals.
Jobs that may carry a risk of asbestos exposure include:
A current-day resident of Louisiana may have been exposed to asbestos while working in other states or overseas, including in the military.
Past jobs can still matter.
We also look at earlier asbestos cases tied to the same worksite, because they can help identify the products and companies that were there.
Asbestos was once used in many industrial products, including pipe insulation, gaskets and brake linings. Along the Mississippi River and the Gulf Coast, generations of workers held jobs where asbestos-containing materials may have been present.
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality now oversees the state’s asbestos program, including training and accreditation for asbestos workers.
A diagnosis today may trace back to an exposure that happened before these protections existed, so the current workplace may tell only part of the story.
Secondhand exposure to asbestos (perhaps brought home in a spouse’s hair or clothing, for example) is also a known cause of mesothelioma. Even if your spouse is no longer living when you are diagnosed with mesothelioma, it may be possible to trace the source of the asbestos by reviewing your late spouse’s work history.
We ask every client whether anyone in the household worked at a refinery, shipyard, plant or another place where asbestos may have been present.
Mesothelioma develops in the thin tissue that surrounds certain organs. The two types seen most often in asbestos claims are pleural mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma.
Pleural mesothelioma develops in the lining around the lungs. Peritoneal mesothelioma develops in the lining of the abdomen. Both are linked to asbestos exposure, and either may support a legal claim when the evidence connects the disease to a responsible party.
Mesothelioma cases often require an investigation into events that happened many years ago. A former employer may have closed. Records may be gone. Coworkers may have moved away or died. A person diagnosed today may also have worked at several facilities over a career.
These obstacles do not end the investigation. Employment records, witness accounts, company information and evidence from earlier asbestos cases can help reconstruct where an exposure occurred.
Records and witnesses become harder to find as time passes, which is a practical reason to begin the review early.
Louisiana calls its filing deadline a prescriptive period. If the deadline passes, a court may dismiss the claim.
For most personal injury claims arising after July 1, 2024, Louisiana Civil Code Article 3493.1 provides a two-year period. Louisiana generally allowed only one year before that date, so a different rule may apply to earlier injuries.
Wrongful death claims follow a separate rule. Under Louisiana Civil Code Article 2315.2(B), the period is one year from the death or two years from the day the injury was sustained, whichever is longer.
Survival actions follow a similar rule under Article 2315.1. The legislature amended both articles in 2025.
Asbestos cases can complicate these deadlines because the exposure may have happened decades before the diagnosis. Exposure in another state can also raise questions about which state’s law applies. We review the dates in your case to identify which deadline applies.
Responsibility can extend beyond the company that employed the person who became ill. Depending on the evidence, responsible parties may include companies that made, sold or used asbestos-containing products. Property owners and contractors may also be involved in some cases.
Some asbestos companies later filed for bankruptcy. Certain bankruptcy proceedings created asbestos trust funds to pay qualifying claims. We investigate whether a trust claim may be available and whether other legal claims should also be considered.
We investigate the history behind an asbestos-related diagnosis. Our work may include:
Our goal is to pursue full and fair compensation for the losses the case supports.
A mesothelioma lawsuit may be filed in a Louisiana state district court, and some cases may proceed in federal court. The right court depends on facts such as where the exposure occurred, where the person lives and where a responsible company does business.
In New Orleans, civil suits go through the Clerk of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans.
In Baton Rouge, they are filed with the East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court for the 19th Judicial District Court. We determine the proper venue as part of evaluating a claim.
A Louisiana resident may also have a case based on exposure that occurred somewhere else.
Medical treatment comes first. When you are ready to address the legal side, these steps can make the first review more productive:
You do not need every record before you call. We can help identify details that memory alone may not recover.
For more information about asbestos, mesothelioma and types of help available to sufferers of mesothelioma in the Bayou State and elsewhere, see the following pages of this website:
You can also read about proving the source of asbestos and the legal process.
We start with your own account of where you worked and what you remember about the materials around you. Then we compare that history with employment records, company information and the experiences of coworkers.
Details that seem minor, such as a boiler room, a pipe-covering crew or a brake repair shop, can point to a specific product or company.
Family members often hold part of the picture. A spouse or adult child may remember where a worker spent years, what the work clothes looked like at the end of a shift, or which coworkers visited the house.
For most personal injury claims arising after July 1, 2024, the filing period is two years. Wrongful death claims follow a different rule, and earlier injuries may fall under an older one.
Certain surviving family members may be able to bring a wrongful death claim. Louisiana law lists who may sue and in what order.
Long-term asbestos exposure is the biggest risk factor. The disease may develop many years after the exposure.
Symptoms may not appear until 20 to 40 years or longer after exposure.
Yes. Asbestos fibers carried home on a worker’s clothing or hair can expose other household members.
Examples include refinery and chemical plant work, shipyard work, construction, plumbing and pipefitting, and power plant work. We review your full employment history because exposure may also have happened outside Louisiana.
Possibly. A Louisiana resident may have been exposed in another state, overseas or in the military, and the law of another state may apply.
Possibly. Other companies may share responsibility, and an asbestos trust fund may be available if a responsible company created one through bankruptcy.
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality oversees the state’s asbestos program, including worker training and accreditation.
The person diagnosed with mesothelioma brings a personal injury claim. Qualifying family members may bring a wrongful death claim after that person dies.
No. We accept mesothelioma cases in Louisiana and nationwide from our Cleveland, Ohio office.
We offer free initial in-person or phone consultations to mesothelioma victims in Louisiana and nationwide.
Bring your diagnosis, your medical records if available and a list of past employers and worksites.
We welcome inquiries from people in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport or anywhere in Louisiana. People who now live elsewhere but worked at a Louisiana facility can also contact us.
From our law offices in Cleveland, Ohio, we manage a law practice with a nationwide outreach. Our attorneys have recovered over $1 billion for asbestos and mesothelioma clients throughout the United States. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
A first call can answer practical questions, such as which deadline may apply, which records to collect and whether your work history points to a claim.
Contact Kelley Ferraro to schedule a free consultation.
Our plaintiffs’ law firm also represents people injured on the job in other states, including:
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