Georgetown Asbestos/Mesothelioma Lawyer
Asbestos-laced insulation and other products cause mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive kind of cancer, as well as other serious illnesses. When serious illness unexpectedly strikes, the Georgetown asbestos/mesothelioma lawyers at the Stanley Law Group obtain the compensation these victims need and deserve. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Additional punitive damages are available as well, if a lawyer proves, by clear and convincing evidence, that the defendant intentionally disregarded a known risk.
Compensation is usually very high in these cases, partially because of the severity of the illnesses, and partially because these companies squandered their chance to step up and do the right thing. Asbestos fibers cause many serious diseases which are usually fatal. Furthermore, asbestos providers knew of this risk as early as 1899. However, for the next eighty years, they kept making and selling products laced with a dangerous poison, mostly because asbestos was cheaper than safe alternative substances, like vermiculite.
Georgetown Asbestos/Mesothelioma Lawyers and Asbestos Exposure Victims
Prior to a 1989 partial ban, asbestos was deeply embedded in the supply chain. Almost everyone was at risk, or knew someone who was at risk, of asbestos poisoning. Specific categories include:
- Industrial Workers: Asbestos does not conduct heat or electricity. Therefore, many manufacturers used asbestos in auto parts and other manufactured parts that must withstand great degrees of heat.
- Shipbuilders/Sailors: For much the same reason, the Navy instructed shipbuilders to line ships with asbestos, especially after a 1966 aircraft carrier fire off the coast of Vietnam killed or injured several hundred people. Future movie star Steve McQueen supposedly scraped asbestos off pipes after he went AWOL. Mesothelioma killed him at age 50.
- Construction Workers: These individuals handled asbestos-laced insulation and other such products at residential and commercial construction sites. Original World Trade Center plans called for 5,000 tons of asbestos. This asbestos was in a toxic cloud that covered much of New York City on 9/11.
- Ambient (Environmental): Microscopic asbestos fibers float through the air for about seventy-two hours before they come to rest. They also float in water indefinitely. So, ambient exposure victims include workers who didn’t come into direct contact with asbestos, such as construction site managers, and take-home victims, mostly female caregivers.
In South Carolina, these categories often determine the legal options available to the victim or survivor. More on that below.
Asbestos exposure diseases include mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive form of lung cancer, and asbestosis, an equally-rare lung disease. These conditions, which have about a fifty-year latency period, have very low survival rates.
Your Legal Options
Most victims and survivors have more than one legal option. Each alternative has pros and cons. A Georgetown asbestos/mesothelioma lawyer explains these pros and cons in language you understand, not Legalese.
A civil claim or a Social Security Disability claim is available in most cases. Substantial compensation is available in civil claims, as mentioned above. SSD claims are easier to prove, as the applicant must normally only establish permanent disability, not the source of the asbestos.
Poisoned workers and servicemen often file workers’ compensation or VA disability claims, which are similar to SSD matters in many ways. In some cases, workers’ comp and VA disability are the exclusive remedies for poisoned workers and servicemen.
Non-legal bankruptcy victim compensation fund claims may be available as well. Since no lawyer is on the other side, these claims are usually the fastest and easiest ways to obtain compensation for damages.
Count on a Detail-Oriented Georgetown County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced asbestos/mesothelioma injury lawyer in Georgetown, contact the Stanley Law Group. Virtual, home, after-hours, and hospital visits are available.
