Mesothelioma Lawyer in Florida for Patients and Families

Mesothelioma Lawyer in Florida | CHG Personal Injury

CHG Personal Injury Lawyers: A Florida Firm for Families Facing Mesothelioma

By Igor Hernandez, CHG Personal Injury Lawyers, Coral Gables, Florida

If your family is facing mesothelioma, you may wonder whether asbestos exposure could lead to a legal claim. The answer depends on where and how the person was exposed. It also depends on medical records and Florida law. CHG Personal Injury Lawyers can review those facts with you.

Igor Hernandez is the responsible lawyer for this page. He is admitted in Florida as a member of The Florida Bar. Our team helps with intake, records, and scheduling. Our team includes the firm’s support staff. The practice focuses on personal injury case types. These include asbestos-related mesothelioma claims and wrongful death matters.

This page is written for patients. It is also written for the spouse, child, or relative who is trying to understand what comes next.

A mesothelioma matter may be referred to, or handled together with, another law firm. CHG will tell you when that applies.

What Mesothelioma Is and Why Asbestos Matters

Mesothelioma is a cancer linked to asbestos exposure. FloridaHealthFinder’s mesothelioma entry describes it as an uncommon cancerous tumor. It mainly affects the lining of the lung and chest cavity. This lining is called the pleura. It can also affect the lining of the abdomen.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry calls mesothelioma a rare asbestos-related cancer. The time between exposure and the first signs of disease is called latency. According to the American Cancer Society, mesothelioma usually develops decades after a person was first exposed to asbestos. Whether and when it appears in any one person depends on that person’s exposure history and medical records.

That long gap is why exposure history matters so much. A person may not connect a past exposure to a diagnosis until years later.

ATSDR’s asbestos information states that exposure to amphibole asbestos, a type of asbestos fiber, is associated with an increased risk of mesothelioma.

Medical decisions belong to your doctors. Follow your doctors’ care plan. Bring your exposure history to every appointment.

Where Asbestos Exposure Happens and How It Affects a Claim

A claim turns on where and how the person was exposed. These facts are the starting point for any legal review. Possible settings include:

• Job sites where asbestos materials were present or disturbed.
• Military service. Assignments and duties may appear in service records.
• Household contact. FloridaHealthFinder’s asbestosis entry says household members may be exposed secondhand. Fibers can be carried home on workers’ clothing. This is called take-home exposure.

Gather what you can. This includes your exposure history, employment or military records, and medical records. These records help show what happened and when.

Florida’s workers’ compensation law generally handles occupational disease. Under Fla. Stat. § 440.151, an occupational disease is treated as an injury by accident.

The employer is liable only if the job was the major contributing cause of the disease. Medical evidence must show this. For disability from a dust disease, the statute names the last employer where the worker was exposed for at least 60 days. Other requirements may apply.

Types of Claims a Florida Family May Explore

Families may explore a lawsuit, an asbestos bankruptcy trust claim, workers’ compensation, or a wrongful death claim. Which paths apply depends on the facts and on Florida law.

• Lawsuits. A lawsuit may name companies that allegedly exposed workers or households to asbestos. A lawsuit makes allegations. It does not prove them by itself.
• Under Fla. Stat. § 774.206, a nonmalignant asbestos condition, meaning one that is not cancer, is a separate claim from asbestos-related cancer. Florida’s asbestos and silica statute, § 774.206(2), provides that damages may not be awarded for fear or risk of cancer in a civil action asserting an asbestos or silica claim. How that provision applies to a particular claim depends on the facts of each case and Florida law.
• Asbestos bankruptcy trusts. Some companies went through bankruptcy and set up trusts. These trusts may pay asbestos claims separately from a lawsuit. Whether a trust is available depends on its terms, the exposure facts, and applicable law.
• Wrongful death. Under Fla. Stat. § 768.19, a wrongful death claim generally requires, among other things, that the death was caused by a wrongful act, negligence, default, or breach of contract or warranty, and that the person who died could have brought an action and recovered damages if he or she had survived. Other requirements and limits in Florida’s Wrongful Death Act may also apply, and whether they are met depends on the facts of each case and Florida law.
• Under Fla. Stat. § 768.20, the action is brought by the decedent’s personal representative. That is the person who manages the deceased person’s estate.
• The action is brought for the survivors and the estate.
• Shared fault. Florida applies comparative fault, or shared fault. Under Fla. Stat. § 768.81(6), a claimant whose share of fault is greater than 50% generally may not recover damages in a negligence action. This rule generally applies to negligence actions filed after March 24, 2023, and the statute contains exclusions, such as medical negligence actions, so how it applies depends on the facts of each case and applicable Florida law.

How a Mesothelioma Matter Moves Forward

A mesothelioma matter begins with a conversation. You talk about the diagnosis or loss and the exposure history. The steps below may change based on the facts of each family’s situation.

1. First conversation. You share the diagnosis or loss, the basic exposure history, and any records you have.
2. Records. The firm helps gather medical, employment, and military service records. It also looks at where and when exposure may have happened.
3. Review. The firm reviews possible paths. These include a lawsuit, a trust claim, workers’ compensation, or a wrongful death claim. It also decides whether a referral to another firm is appropriate.
4. Next steps. If the facts and Florida law support a claim, the firm may pursue it, or may refer it to or handle it together with another law firm. The firm keeps you informed.

Florida’s general filing deadlines appear in Fla. Stat. § 95.11. The period depends on the type of claim, when it began, and possible exceptions.

Under § 774.206(1), for asbestos claims not barred as of July 1, 2005, the limitations period may not begin to run until the exposed person discovers, or should have discovered with reasonable diligence, that he or she is physically impaired by an asbestos-related condition, and whether this applies depends on the facts of each case and on other periods or exceptions that may apply.

Deadlines apply, so contact the firm promptly. How long a case takes to resolve depends on the facts of each case. No timeline can be promised.

Why Families Contact CHG

CHG is a Florida personal injury firm with an office in Coral Gables, Florida. It helps families understand exposure history, records, and possible claim paths in plain language.

• Responsible lawyer. Igor Hernandez is admitted in Florida as a member of The Florida Bar.
• Support staff. The firm’s support staff help with intake, records, and scheduling.
• Outside professionals. The firm may work with medical providers and outside witnesses who review records. Those professionals give their own opinions.
• Plain language. The firm explains each step in everyday words. This helps families know what comes next.

No result can be promised. Each family’s situation is different. Results depend on the facts, the records, and applicable law.

Common Questions From Families

Talk With CHG About Your Family’s Situation

If a parent or spouse worked around asbestos, or a diagnosis has raised questions about exposure, you do not have to sort through them alone.

Reach out through the CHG contact page to talk through the exposure history and the records that may matter. Igor Hernandez is the responsible lawyer. The office is in Coral Gables, Florida.

CHG charges no attorney’s fees and no case costs unless there is a recovery.