With Corporation A and Corporation B, the strength of your case will affect the amount of the mesothelioma settlements. Your attorney will be able to demonstrate to Corporation A that he or she can present a compelling case to a jury. There is a strong likelihood that you would win a large verdict against Corporation A, so your attorney is more likely to be able to negotiate a large settlement amount with Corporation A. With Corporation B, your lawyer might advise you that a modest mesothelioma settlement is a better option than taking your case against Corporation B to the courtroom.
More recently, a 2011 lawsuit ended with a combined verdict of $22 million for two steamfitters exposed to asbestos gaskets. The gasket manufacturers, Goodyear Tire and Rubber and Goodyear Canada, were found partially liable for the lung cancer deaths of Walter Koczur and Eugene McCarthy, despite both being longtime smokers.
Currently, over $32 billion in assets is held by more than 50 asbestos compensation funds. The money in the funds is invested so, even as victims of asbestos-related diseases continue to be paid every year, the amount of funds available has risen over the past several years.
In the expedited review process, claims are paid quickly and at a set value. The trust assigns a fixed payout for each asbestos-related disease, with more serious conditions valued higher than others. Trusts typically publish the scheduled value for each condition in a document called the Trust Distribution Procedure (TDP).
Part of the problem is that trusts are often initially funded based on estimates made during bankruptcy proceedings. Companies going through the bankruptcy will often try to pay as little as possible into the trust, while those arguing for mesothelioma victims will typically try to have more money set aside. As has been shown time and again, the estimates made during bankruptcy trials are often lower than is necessary, especially as more and more victims of asbestos exposure start to emerge.
In addition, juries are more likely to issue higher awards and settlements in major cities where the economies are strong and the cost of living is high. We have seen this firsthand in the San Francisco Bay Area, where Kazan Law is based.
Even with cries to ban the mining and production of asbestos resounding across the world, the industry continues to thrive. Concerns about the diseases caused by asbestos exposure prompted more than 50 nations — including the entire European Union — to ban or severely restrict asbestos use. Strict U.S. regulations took hold in the 1970s. Yet countries like Russia, China, Brazil and Kazakhstan still mine and sell massive quantities of the toxic mineral on a global scale.
To establish the connection between your time in the armed forces and your illness, you will need to document the times and places where you served and the duties you performed, as well as your age at the time of service. The length of time you were exposed to asbestos during your military service is one of the factors the VA will look at in determining your eligibility for benefits and disability. In addition, the younger you were when you were exposed to asbestos, the greater your chances of developing mesothelioma or other asbestos diseases.
When a company is unable to pay its liabilities related to asbestos exposure, it may often end up filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In such cases, courts have determined that companies must establish trust funds that have enough money to pay compensation to victims of asbestos-related diseases, such as mesothelioma.
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