Minnesota Mesothelioma Lawyer

Mesothelioma is not a very common form of cancer, but it is incurable and terminal, and there is only one known cause: asbestos exposure. Many places throughout Minnesota have been identified as asbestos exposure risks, and many people have been exposed to asbestos at work in various occupations over the past several decades. If you or a family member is diagnosed with mesothelioma, you need to speak with an experienced Minnesota mesothelioma lawyer.

Representing Mesothelioma Claims in Minnesota

The attorneys at Kelley Ferraro, LLC have nearly 30 years of experience representing clients in mesothelioma cases nationwide. We have successfully assisted more than 40,000 clients and have recovered more than $1 billion in compensation, so we are confident we can provide unmatched representation for your mesothelioma claim in Minnesota. You’re likely to have many questions about your diagnosis, and we can help.

Our firm takes a client-focused approach to legal counsel in mesothelioma cases. This is a life-changing diagnosis, and we help each client understand all of their legal options. Many attorneys do not handle mesothelioma cases because of their complexity and the volume of work they require, but we can help you explore all available legal options and will do everything we can to guide you to a favorable outcome.

Time is a crucial factor for any mesothelioma case. This is an incurable and terminal cancer, and treatment is very challenging in several ways. Once you have received this diagnosis, you should hire a mesothelioma lawyer at Kelley Ferraro, LLC at your first opportunity. We will leverage our experience to help you trace the source of the asbestos exposure that caused your mesothelioma.

Asbestos Exposure Risks and Mesothelioma in Minnesota

The only known cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos, a material that was widely used throughout the US for many years for its insulating and fireproofing properties. Many industries, including construction, shipbuilding, electrical work, steelwork, and manufacturing, used asbestos-containing materials, and many residential and commercial buildings across the US were built with asbestos-containing materials.

Over several decades, thousands of people were not only exposed to asbestos through their job duties, but also from the buildings in which they worked and even some of their homes. Whenever any asbestos-containing material is damaged or disturbed, asbestos fibers can be released into the surrounding area. These fibers are small, sharp, and light enough to float in the air for long periods, where they could be inhaled or attach to skin or clothing.

Mesothelioma has a very long latency period, often taking decades to cause noticeable symptoms after exposure. Only about 3,000 new cases are diagnosed in the US each year, most of which are the result of asbestos exposure that happened many years ago. Despite the risks of asbestos being well understood today, new cases continue appearing every year, and it is vital to know what you can do if you become one such case.

The most common form of mesothelioma is pleural mesothelioma, which forms in the lungs after asbestos fibers are inhaled. Peritoneal mesothelioma can form in the abdomen if asbestos fibers are ingested. It often takes years for symptoms to appear, but the disease’s progression may increase with repeated exposure and because of genetic predisposition to cancer.

Once someone is diagnosed with mesothelioma, life expectancy depends on the stage of the disease at diagnosis. Localized mesothelioma that has not spread very far has an average five-year survival rate of just 23%. Once the disease has spread to distant parts of the body, this drops to just 11%. Mesothelioma treatment focuses on slowing the disease’s progression and mitigating symptoms as much as possible, but the patient will inevitably need to shift to palliative care.

Determining Your Legal Options for Mesothelioma in Minnesota

You could have multiple options for claiming compensation for mesothelioma, and you will need an experienced attorney’s help to explore them as thoroughly as possible. The first challenge you face in this case is accurately determining the most likely source of the asbestos exposure that caused your mesothelioma. This often requires careful review of decades’ worth of employment records and other evidence to narrow down the list of possible causes.

Many US companies that formerly produced asbestos products have been required to establish mesothelioma injury trusts to compensate those harmed by their products. Every year, these trusts distribute billions in compensation to claimants across the country. If the party responsible for your exposure has one of these trusts, your Minnesota mesothelioma lawyer can help you file a claim.

If you were exposed to asbestos at your current job, this can qualify as a work-related illness and grounds for a workers’ compensation claim. This insurance can cover medical expenses for work-related illness or injury and provide ongoing disability benefits when an injury or illness prevents the victim from working. This may not fully compensate for all damages related to your mesothelioma, but it is still worth exploring if this is an option in your case.

When a specific party’s negligence, misconduct, or regulatory noncompliance caused your mesothelioma, this can form grounds for a toxic exposure personal injury case. A plaintiff’s success with any personal injury case hinges on their ability to prove that a defendant is directly responsible for causing their claimed damages. Your Minnesota mesothelioma attorney at Kelley Ferraro, LLC can help you gather the evidence you will need to prove liability.

In the event a family member dies from mesothelioma, your family could have grounds to file a wrongful death case against the party responsible. This would effectively replace the personal injury claim they could have filed if they had survived. Your Minnesota mesothelioma lawyer can explain the state’s wrongful death laws as they apply to your situation and guide you through this difficult series of proceedings.

Claiming Compensation in a Mesothelioma Personal Injury Case

If you have grounds to file a personal injury case for your mesothelioma diagnosis, this offers the greatest chance of securing as much compensation as possible for your damages. Your attorney can gather and preserve evidence crucial for showing that the defendant is directly responsible for causing those damages.

A personal injury plaintiff can seek compensation for all economic and non-economic damages a defendant inflicted. Economic damages in a mesothelioma personal injury case are likely to include medical expenses, including the cost of future palliative care the victim will need, and lost income, if they were forced to stop working sooner than expected because of their diagnosis. Your attorney can help you calculate all other financial losses you can include in the case.

Non-economic damages include pain and suffering, and you will need a skilled attorney’s help to secure appropriate compensation for the physical pain and discomfort of your symptoms, the challenging side effects of cancer treatment, and the psychological distress of receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis.

In some of these cases, defendants are forced to pay punitive damages in addition to their other claimed losses. This is usually a response to egregious negligence or any form of illegal misconduct, such as concealing a known asbestos exposure risk. Your attorney can explain whether this could be a factor in your case and how it could influence your recovery.

What to Expect From Your Minnesota Mesothelioma Lawyer

Receiving a mesothelioma diagnosis is traumatic and life-changing. You need to know what you can do in this situation and your options for claiming compensation. You’re likely to have many difficult legal questions after your diagnosis, and you need to hire a mesothelioma lawyer at your first opportunity to help you build your case.

The attorneys at Kelley Ferraro, LLC have the skills, resources, and experience required to handle the most challenging mesothelioma cases in Minnesota. You can trust us to help you identify the most likely source of the asbestos exposure that caused your condition, identify the party responsible, and explain all of your legal options for claiming compensation. In some of these cases, victims have multiple avenues of compensation available to them.

We can assist with a claim against a mesothelioma injury trust, and you can rely on us to guide you through a workers’ compensation claim if your mesothelioma diagnosis is work-related. If you are eligible to file a mesothelioma personal injury case, you can trust us to uncover all avenues of compensation available to you and attempt to resolve your case as swiftly as possible.

Many mesothelioma cases can be settled, but Kelley Ferraro, LLC is a team of trial attorneys. We prepare every case for litigation to strengthen our client’s negotiating position, and this strategy prepares us should litigation be necessary to resolve the case. We are confident in our ability to represent you in the courtroom.

You may be concerned about the cost of hiring legal counsel, but our firm accepts most of these cases on a contingency fee basis. Under a contingency fee agreement, there is no upfront cost to hire our firm, and we charge the contingency fee only if we secure compensation for you. This fee is a percentage of the total recovered, and there is no cost to you if we are unable to secure compensation.

Receiving a mesothelioma diagnosis is life-changing for the victim and their family, and we know you’re likely to have many complex questions about your situation following this diagnosis. The team at Kelley Ferraro, LLC is ready to help you prove liability and claim compensation, but you have a limited time to build your case. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with a Minnesota mesothelioma lawyer and learn how we can help.