Mesothelioma often stays hidden during its initial stages. This rare cancer is attributed mostly to asbestos exposure.
The effects of the exposure hardly make themselves known until about 20 to 50 years after the first contact. Individuals working in trades such as construction, manufacturing, oil and gas, and shipbuilding get diagnosed with mesothelioma years, or even decades, after leaving their workplaces. Once diagnosed, the illness is usually at the advanced stage.
Available mesothelioma data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that 2,669 individuals in the United States were diagnosed with the disease.
Recovery of damages arising from this cancer can be done through several ways. Workers’ compensation is one route that can help recover expenses related to a mesothelioma diagnosis. It’s not the only path, though. A better understanding of the full range of available options and how they combine can mean the difference between recuperating part of the expenses and recuperating all of them.
Keep in mind that state laws can influence recovery. For instance, Louisiana mesothelioma claims can have different procedures and requirements on account of certain state laws. Understanding local laws that affect mesothelioma claims can save time and money during the process.
Let’s look at the aspects that workers need to know when dealing with mesothelioma and recovering the damages brought by the illness.
Why Mesothelioma Is Classified as an Occupational Disease
Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that affects the linings of tissues in the lungs, abdomen, and heart. It mostly occurs as a result of inhalation or ingestion of asbestos fibers. The main risk of the vast majority of cases is recognized as environmental and professional exposure to asbestos.
High rates of mesothelioma have been observed to occur in construction sectors, mainly ship and boat repair, petroleum, industrial and refinery construction, roads and car construction, and even the mechanical repair industry. Work that involves the use of asbestos fibers often has a high risk of having mesothelioma cases.
There are also family members who get hit with mesothelioma from secondhand contact. Asbestos fibers have dust-like properties and can be carried to the home when asbestos particles stay on work clothes or carried equipment. These fibers then end up getting breathed in or otherwise ingested.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has put in place permissible asbestos exposure limits since 1972, but the exposure that occurred before, or right in the early years of those limits, still leads to new diagnoses today.
What Workers’ Compensation Covers for Mesothelioma
Most states treat mesothelioma as a compensable occupational disease under their workers’ compensation systems. A qualified legal professional can make handling a workers’ compensation claim easier. According to workers’ compensation lawyer Brian L. McCulloughlawyers strive tirelessly to help injured employees get the medical care and workers’ compensation benefits they deserve.
The benefits available typically fall into three categories.
Medical Benefits
If a person has mesothelioma, workers’ compensation will take care of the necessary treatment. The benefit can cover services that include items such as X-ray scans, pathology tests, oncologist consultations, and biopsies. The employer’s insurer is responsible for these costs directly. Workers should not be paying out of pocket for treatment related to a confirmed occupational disease.
Wage Replacement Benefits
Indemnity benefits are meant to replace some part of the money a worker can’t earn anymore when the person cannot do their job following an illness. In most states, payments land somewhere around two-thirds to three-quarters of that worker’s average weekly wage. There’s usually a legal limit, or statutory cap for these benefits. In the case of a terminal diagnosis like mesothelioma, permanent total disability benefits often kick in when the worker is typically unable to step back into any gainful employment, not just their old role.
Death and Survivor Benefits
If mesothelioma leads to death, then surviving dependents, like spouses and minor children, may qualify for weekly death benefits. Depending on the jurisdiction, even parents and siblings can be eligible for these benefits. These benefits are handled separately from any civil wrongful death claim the family might decide to file against manufacturers or other third parties.
Filing Deadlines and Why Timing Matters More Than Most Workers Realize
Worker’s compensation claims tied to occupational diseases run under statutes of limitations that are different by state. In most places, the deadline is set somewhere between one and three years, usually starting from the moment the worker knew or should have known the disease was tied to their job. Since mesothelioma tends to have a long latency window, the discovery rule in most states kicks the timer off at diagnosis, not when the exposure supposedly happened.
Separate deadlines apply depending on the legal track being pursued. Workers’ compensation claims typically run one to three years from diagnosis or date of disability, depending on state law. Civil tort claims against manufacturers or suppliers get swept into each state’s statute of limitations for personal injury, usually about one to three years from diagnosis, depending on the place. Wrongful death cases run one to three years from the date of death, but that can change with jurisdiction. For asbestos bankruptcy trust fund claims, the deadlines are carved out per trust. This feature means that they’re separate and not tied to a state statute of limitations.
If you miss even one of these cutoff dates, then that particular path closes permanently. People who wait too long and fail to get legal guidance often learn that they waived claims they didn’t realize they had.
Workers’ Compensation and Asbestos Trust Funds Are Not the Same Claim
One misconception about mesothelioma cases is thinking that workers’ compensation is the only financial recovery available. In reality, there are asbestos settlement trusts that courts required of some companies to support workers who suffered the disease. Manufacturers and other distributors like Johns-Manville, Owens Corning, Armstrong World Industries and others declared bankruptcy just for this purpose. Those trusts, taken together, have over $30 billion reserved for now and for upcoming claimants.
Workers’ compensation is a claim against the employer’s insurer. Trust fund claims are separate claims against the manufacturers and suppliers of the asbestos products that caused the exposure. Workers can pursue both simultaneously. They are not the same defendant, not the same legal vehicle and not drawn from the same money.
Identifying every potentially responsible manufacturer, including companies that no longer exist but left funded trusts behind, requires detailed reconstruction of a worker’s employment history and the specific materials they handled. That reconstruction is precisely what separates a complete mesothelioma claim from a partial one.
How to Start a Workers’ Compensation Claim for Mesothelioma
The process begins with notifying the employer or former employer of the diagnosis as soon as possible. Most states require written notice within a defined window, and delays in reporting can jeopardize the claim. After a notification, the employer’s insurer has to usually answer within about 30 days, either accepting the claim or denying it.
If the insurer denies the claim, workers are able to submit a formal dispute with the state’s workers’ compensation board or commission. Many insurers push back on mesothelioma claims, trying to dispute the connection between workplace exposure and the particular diagnosis. Solid documentation makes the difference, including employment records, job site history, materials handled, and medical records establishing the diagnosis and its likely cause.
The American Cancer Society notes that mesothelioma has a median survival of 12 to 21 months from diagnosis. The claims process moves slowly by comparison. Starting early is not optional.
The Full Scope of What Is Available
Workers diagnosed with mesothelioma are dealing with a terminal illness and a legal situation that has multiple deadlines and multiple potential claims running at the same time. Workers’ compensation addresses medical costs and wage replacement. Civil claims against manufacturers can access asbestos trust funds established specifically for exposed workers. Death benefit claims protect surviving families after a loss.
Each of these tracks has its own rules, its own deadlines and its own documentation requirements. The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, known as ADAO, estimates that the United States diagnoses approximately 3,000 new mesothelioma cases each year. Most of those workers have legal rights they are not fully aware of. Understanding all available options at the time of diagnosis, rather than months later, gives those rights their best chance of holding up.
