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Mesothelioma lawsuit steps
There
are usually 5 steps in a mesothelioma lawsuit:
- Pre-suit preparation - first
mesothelioma lawsuit step
Prior to filing a lawsuit, you will be asked to sign an attorney-client
contract by the lawyer you have chosen to represent you. Before contacting a
lawyer, your doctor, or your work health surveillance project may have told
you that your lungs appear scarred on X-ray, or you are having trouble
breathing, or you may have been diagnosed with cancer.
The lawyer will want to know where you worked, who you worked with, and what
asbestos products you can recall seeing on the job. He will want to know the
type of work you performed, the number of years you were involved in work
where asbestos was used, and the names of friends or acquaintances you
worked with on the job.
You will be asked to also sign employment, Social Security information and
medical releases. These documents will be needed by the lawyers to gather as
much information as possible about your health and work. The lawyers may
then follow-up by contacting your co-workers or friends to ask them what
they remember about asbestos on the job, and the nature of asbestos exposure
you would have received on the job.
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The filing of the lawsuit - second mesothelioma lawsuit step
After as much information as possible has been gathered before a suit is
filed, the lawyers will prepare a formal complaint. That is a document which
is filed in court and then "served" on the defendants. In this document, the
defendants are informed about the nature of your claim, the legal basis for
recovery, and told they must respond or the judge will enter a judgment
against them.
The defendants will then either file an "answer" to the complaint denying
any responsibility, or file a motion to dismiss which asks the judge to
dismiss the lawsuit and not require them to answer. Motions to dismiss are
based on "legal grounds." The motion may claim you haven't stated a valid
legal basis for recovery in your complaint. It may say that you did not file
your complaint within the period of time the law requires after you knew or
should have known you had a disease - this is called a statute of limitation
defense. In some situations, the defendants may demand a "more definite
statement" claiming they don't understand why they have been sued.
Ordinarily, such motions in the lawsuit create a month to three months of
delay. If you are dying of cancer, the defendants may use such motions as a
tactic to delay your case, hoping you will not live long enough to see
trial.
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Discovery - third mesothelioma lawsuit step
After any pending motions to dismiss have been denied, and the defendants
have answered, you may expect written questions from them in the form of
interrogatories. You will be required to answer the questions they ask to
the best of your ability, and will have to swear to the answers under oath.
The defendants will want to obtain all your past medical records. This is
done in an effort to belittle the extent of your injuries, to find other
possible causes for your damages they can place some blame on - such as
cigarettes - or to try and make some argument the records show you have
known about your asbestos disease longer than you claim. They hope to be
able to show you knew or should have known asbestos made you sick at a time
the statute of limitations would have run before you filed suit. Thus, if
successful in the effort, they can get your case dismissed and not
compensate you.
The defendants will also take testimony of yourself and any witness before
trial. This process is called taking a deposition. The defendants in these
depositions hope to develop testimony showing you can't prove it was their
product that caused your injury. They may try to show you have bad health
habits, such as drinking or smoking that has harmed your health. They will
try to get you to admit you knew you had an asbestos problem years before
the suit was filed in an effort to convince the judge or jury you waited too
long to file suit.
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Trial - another mesothelioma lawsuit step
If your case does not settle, and is not dismissed, the judge will
eventually set a trial date. The trial proceeds as follows:
(1) Jury Selection;
(2) Preliminary jury instructions by the judge;
(3) Opening statement by your lawyer;
(4) Opening statement by the defense lawyers;
(5) Witness and documents presented by the
plaintiff's attorney;
(6) Resting of the plaintiff's case;
(7) Motions by the defense attorneys out of the
presence of the jury asking the judge to dismiss your suit saying you did
not prove your case;
(8) The defense case including their witnesses
and documents;
(9) Resting of the defense case;
(10) Rebuttal of the defense case by witnesses
and documents presented by the plaintiff if necessary;
(11) Jury instructions;
(12) Closing by the plaintiff's attorney;
(13) Closing by the defense attorney;
(14) The plaintiff's rebuttal closing;
(15) deliberations; and finally,
(16) verdict.
- Appeal - the last mesothelioma
lawsuit step
If the plaintiff prevails in the lawsuit and the jury awards fair
compensation, you may expect an appeal of the verdict. The appeal will,
however, require the defendant to "post a bond" in the amount of the verdict
awarded by the jury.
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