A mesothelioma diagnosis can place a significant financial strain on your family. Asbestos bankruptcy trust claims and lawsuits against financially solvent companies are two potential avenues for pursuing compensation for medical bills, lost income, and other losses.
Depending on your circumstances, you may be eligible to pursue both options simultaneously. While trust fund claims often offer a more streamlined path to financial relief, a lawsuit may increase the total compensation you recover. Understanding the differences between a mesothelioma lawsuit and an asbestos trust fund claim can help you make sense of your options after receiving an asbestos-related diagnosis.
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- Asbestos bankruptcy trusts provide compensation to eligible people exposed to products made by companies that later filed for bankruptcy.
- Mesothelioma lawsuits allow patients and surviving family members to pursue compensation from financially solvent companies.
- Trust fund claims generally offer faster, more predictable payments. While lawsuits can take longer, they may increase the total compensation a patient or their family may recover.
- Your options depend on your asbestos exposure history. Some families facing asbestos-related diagnoses are eligible to file multiple trust fund claims and lawsuits at the same time.
- The Gori Law Firm can identify all available sources of compensation and handle the legal process on your family’s behalf with no upfront fees.
What Are Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Funds?
Asbestos bankruptcy trusts are funds established by bankrupt asbestos companies to compensate people harmed by their products without the need to go to court. In the late 20th century, many of these companies faced so many asbestos lawsuits that they had no choice but to file for bankruptcy. As part of the bankruptcy process, the courts required the companies to set aside money for people who would later develop asbestos-related diseases because of their products.
Each trust determines what a qualifying claim is worth. However, it generally pays only a set percentage of that amount, so enough money remains for people who develop asbestos-related diseases in the future.
How Trusts Review Asbestos Claims
Most asbestos trusts offer two review options: expedited and individual.
With expedited review, the trust determines whether your claim meets its standard requirements, such as having a mesothelioma diagnosis and proof of exposure to one of the bankrupt company’s products. If it does, the trust assigns the claim a fixed value. This option is usually faster, but it doesn’t account for the unique circumstances that could increase your claim’s value.
In addition to basic information about your diagnosis and exposure, the individual review considers case-specific details, such as the severity of your illness and your lost income. The trust may assign your claim a different value than it would through expedited review, but the process can take longer.
How Do Mesothelioma Lawsuits Work?
A mesothelioma lawsuit allows you to pursue compensation from asbestos companies that have not filed for bankruptcy. A patient may file a personal injury lawsuit for losses they’ve suffered as a result of their disease. Surviving family members may be eligible to file a wrongful death lawsuit for the damages they’ve incurred as a result of their loved one’s asbestos-related death.
These cases move through the court system and involve an extensive discovery process, so they often take longer than asbestos trust fund claims. While most asbestos lawsuits end in a settlement before reaching trial, some result in a jury verdict. The extra time and effort are often worth it, as lawsuits may provide access to significantly more compensation than trust fund claims alone.
Key Differences Between Asbestos Trusts and Lawsuits
Asbestos trust fund claims and mesothelioma lawsuits differ in how long they take, how much compensation they may provide, the risk they carry, and who qualifies:
- Timeline: Trust claims often pay within a few months through the expedited review process. Lawsuits may take a year or more, especially if they proceed to trial.
- Potential compensation: Trusts provide more predictable payments, but payment percentages limit how much claimants can receive. Through a lawsuit, a patient or their family may recover the full value of their damages.
- Risk: Qualifying trust claims offer a relatively certain payout. Lawsuits carry the risk of an unfavorable verdict if the parties don’t reach a settlement.
- Eligibility: Trust fund claims are only available to people exposed to asbestos products manufactured, distributed, or used by bankrupt companies. In contrast, a lawsuit may be an option if the illness is linked to a financially solvent company.
You may not need to choose between these paths. Many people are eligible to pursue both a trust fund claim and a lawsuit simultaneously, depending on their exposure history.
Our Nationwide Asbestos Law Firm Helps Families Seek Financial Relief
Asbestos-related diseases often take decades to develop after a person is first exposed to asbestos. To recover compensation, you must determine when and where the exposure occurred and identify the specific companies involved.
Your family is dealing with enough after an asbestos-related diagnosis. While you focus on your loved ones, our experienced asbestos attorneys can handle the investigation and evidence building on your behalf. After we build your case, we’ll identify all available sources of compensation and pursue the full amount of damages through each option.
We handle asbestos cases on a contingency fee basis. That means there are no upfront costs to work with our attorneys, and you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.
How to Begin Pursuing Asbestos Compensation
Here’s how to begin the claims process if you or a loved one has been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease:
- Gather medical records: Get a copy of all records related to the asbestos-related diagnosis, including pathology reports, imaging results, and doctors’ notes.
- Create an exposure history log: Write down anything you can remember about your or your loved one’s asbestos exposure. List former employers, job sites, military service, and asbestos-containing products, along with a timeline for each.
- Collect supporting documents: Look for employment records, union documents, Social Security records, tax returns, military files, and names of former co-workers who could help confirm the exposure.
- Contact our asbestos attorneys for a free case evaluation: Strict legal deadlines can limit how long you have to pursue compensation after receiving a diagnosis. The sooner you reach out to our legal team, the better positioned we’ll be to seek the compensation you deserve.
Have Questions? Speak to an Asbestos Lawyer Today
An asbestos-related illness can leave your family facing an uncertain future and questions about accountability. You don’t have to find the answers alone.
The Gori Law Firm can help you find out who’s responsible for the exposure and pursue every available source of compensation, whether that’s a mesothelioma lawsuit or an asbestos trust fund claim. We’ve recovered over $4 billion in compensation for people harmed by asbestos exposure, and we’re ready to put our track record to work for you. Contact us online or call 618-659-9833 today for a free case evaluation.