Mesothelioma Compensation Lawyers
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Mesothelioma and asbestosis affect people who have worked with asbestos. You can make a claim for asbestos compensation if your circumstances match certain criteria:
You can claim if you have been diagnosed with:
- asbestosis
- mesothelioma
- pleural thickening or
- asbestos induced lung cancer
As a result of recent legislation you may not claim for pleural plaques.
You need to claim within 3 years of initial diagnosis. If you are claiming for someone who has died, the timescale is still from the date of the initial diagnosis.
It usually takes at least 20 years from exposure to asbestos until symptoms appear. Some companies you worked for may no longer be in business so it is the insurers of the companies that will pay the compensation. They may exist even if the companies have dissolved. There is no limit to the number of companies you can claim against.
About Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos. In this disease, malignant cells develop in the mesothelium, a protective lining that covers most of the body's internal organs. Its most common site is the pleura (outer lining of the lungs and internal chest wall), but it may also occur in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity), the heart, the pericardium (a sac that surrounds the heart) or tunica vaginalis.
Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or they have been exposed to asbestos dust and fiber in other ways. It has also been suggested that washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos can put a person at risk for developing mesothelioma. Unlike lung cancer, there is no association between mesothelioma and smoking, but smoking greatly increases risk of other asbestos-induced cancer. Compensation via asbestos funds or lawsuits is an important issue in mesothelioma