Choosing an Attorney
There are many things to consider when choosing an attorney for a mesothelioma case.
This article outlines what to consider when making your choice.
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What Is Best for You?
There are basically two types of firms that handle mesothelioma cases — the larger, traditional firms that have been doing all kinds of asbestos cases since the early days of the asbestos litigation, and smaller, newer firms and individual attorneys who concentrate on mesothelioma or cancer cases to the exclusion of all or most non-malignant cases. Both types of firm have a presence on the Internet.
The problem with the former type of firm is that lawyers have
to represent all their clients, not just those with mesothelioma. Mesothelioma
cases represent a small fraction of the all asbestos personal injury cases now pending in
the court system. The vast majority of the other cases are for diagnoses of non-malignant
conditions (asbestosis and pleural scarring) that do not, in general, have anything like
the severity of mesothelioma. When your case is handled by a firm that represents
hundreds, or even thousands, of individuals with asbestos-related diseases, this disparity
between your case and most of the other cases can result in several downsides. First, your
mesothelioma case may not get the kind of individual attention it should, especially if it
is a case with difficult exposure issues; second, and more importantly, in settlement
negotiations, the inventory of other cases may not be advantageous to your case, which
will generally be one of the stronger cases in the mix; and, third, some of the larger,
traditional firms have mass settlements with certain asbestos companies already in place
that may not be advantageous to your case. For more on this see Asbestos Litigation.
The smaller, newer firms, which, as rule, contain attorneys
who worked for and cut their teeth at the larger firms discussed above, have different
priorities. These law practices concentrate exclusively or almost exclusively in the
representation of individuals and families of individuals with mesothelioma and lung
cancer, and are selective about the cases they take on. This can be very advantageous
because it puts the lawyer in a strong bargaining position — the defendants will not
be able to force a weak case to trial along with the strong one. The other advantage of
the smaller firms is that each individual case is important to the firm. It is much easier
to get a lawyer or group of lawyers to focus on your case when they do not have a thousand
or more other cases to deal with. A difficult exposure case will get the kind of extensive
investigation needed. While some cases never pan out no matter what resources are put
into them, there are many other cases where the hard work pays off tremendously.
The choice for a mesothelioma attorney is ultimately up to you, the client. Just remember,
don’t be afraid to ask questions, and don’t be afraid to go elsewhere when you
do not get the answers you need.
Clinical Mesothelioma Trials | Mesothelioma Physicians
What is Asbestos? | Products Containing Asbestos | Asbestos Companies
What Does It Mean When a Company Is in Bankruptcy? | Asbestos Litigation
Owens-Corning | Pittsburgh Corning
GAF/Ruberoid | Carey/Celotex/Rapid American
Recent Developments | Asbestos Bankruptcies: The New Wave
Exposés and Documentation | An Expert Physician Speaks Out
Federal Asbestos Laws, Regulations, Standards | Employment Protections
The Lawsuit Process
Send Your Questions | Glossary of Terms
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