Why should I seek compensation for mesothelioma?
Receiving a mesothelioma diagnosis can come as a shock. Your future feels uncertain as you process the new reality, consider treatment options and wonder how you will move forward.
On top of all this, even the thought of seeking financial compensation can seem overwhelming. Some people might wonder if it is worth it to pursue compensation when they already have so much stress on their shoulders.
Here are a few reasons you should pursue a claim for compensation.
It will help reduce the financial stress on you and your family
Financial compensation cannot reverse a diagnosis. However, it can help alleviate some of the stress you face because of the mesothelioma diagnosis. For example, seeking compensation can help cover:
- The costs of your medical treatment and care
- Lost wages, due to your inability to work
- Loss of support your family might experience
- Travel costs if you need to travel for specialized care
You should not have to worry about your finances in addition to a stressful diagnosis and the physical symptoms you are experiencing.
It can provide future financial benefits to your family.
You may be in a financial position such that a mesothelioma diagnosis won’t put a financial burden on you. Even if you are not interested in pursuing a lawsuit or going to court, there is a lot of compensation available to mesothelioma victims. If you do not assert your rights to your fair portion, those amounts will simply be distributed to others. By claiming your rightful share, you may provide future financial benefits helpful to your children or grandchildren (such as college money for your grandchildren).
Compensation is potentially available without you having to file a lawsuit or go to court.
There are multiple asbestos trust funds established to compensate mesothelioma and asbestos victims. Those trust funds have medical and exposure requirement you have to meet in order to qualify for payment. None of them require you to file a lawsuit in order to qualify. While the compensation you might receive from these trust funds is less that you might receive if you file a lawsuit, you do not have to do so. If you choose to file a lawsuit though, there is no reason not to pursue your claims against these trust funds as well.
It serves as a deterrent to future wrongful conduct.
It serves as a way to hold those accountable for your disease, such as manufacturers or suppliers of asbestos-containing products who knew about the dangers of asbestos-containing products but failed to warn you and others like you.
Companies have known about the dangers of asbestos for a long time. And yet, most people who receive mesothelioma diagnoses today suffered asbestos exposure on the job years ago.
In addition to asbestos manufacturers and suppliers, employers like DuPont, Combustion, and T.V.A. knew asbestos was dangerous and even carcinogenic but continued to request and use it, thereby putting their workers and their workers’ families at risk.