Facing Mesothelioma? Clear Answers for Patients and Their Families

Mesothelioma Claims for Florida Families

A mesothelioma diagnosis or an asbestos-related death can leave a Florida family facing medical bills, lost income, and hard questions. What happened? Who is responsible?

A Florida mesothelioma lawyer can help your family learn whether the facts may support a claim. The answer depends on two things. First, where and how the person was exposed to asbestos. Second, which legal system applies to that exposure.

Igor Hernandez is the responsible lawyer for this page. He is one of the firm’s lawyers at CHG Personal Injury Lawyers, a Florida-based personal injury firm. CHG’s lawyers are licensed attorneys admitted to The Florida Bar. The firm represents families throughout Florida.

What Mesothelioma Is and Why It Can Appear Decades Later

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer. It affects the thin membranes around the lungs, chest, or abdomen. These membranes are thin layers of tissue. They cover and protect organs.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry links this disease to asbestos exposure. Asbestos is a mineral fiber. When tiny fibers are breathed in or swallowed, they can stay in the body for years.

The disease usually shows up long after the exposure. A latency period is the time between exposure and the first signs of illness.

OSHA also notes that these diseases have a delayed onset. In other words, they can take a long time to appear. A peer-reviewed article in PubMed Central discusses shorter-latency cases. Peer-reviewed means other researchers checked the article before it was published.

That delay is why many patients cannot name the job or place where they were exposed. A worker may have left a trade thirty years ago. A child may have grown up in a home where a parent came back dusty from a job site. An incomplete memory is common. It does not rule out a claim.

This page does not give medical advice. Please follow your doctors’ care and treatment plan. A clear exposure history can still help your family understand what happened.

Where Asbestos Exposure Happens in Florida

Asbestos exposure often happens on the job. It can also happen at home. Many trades used asbestos-containing materials for decades. Common settings include:

• Construction and the building trades, including insulation, flooring, and roofing work
• Shipyards and maritime work
• Industrial plants and power generation
• Military service, including ships and bases
• Older buildings where asbestos materials were disturbed during repairs or renovation

Household exposure is also real. A family member can be exposed when a worker brings fibers home on clothing or tools. This can happen when dusty work clothes are shaken out or washed at home. Family members may have their own claims. We review those facts with you.

Write down every job, address, and renovation you can remember. An incomplete list is fine. The first consultation is where that review starts.

Two Tracks: Workers’ Compensation and Lawsuits

Many occupational asbestos cases involve more than one system. A family may not know which one applies.

Florida’s occupational disease law says something important. Where the employer and employee are covered by the Workers’ Compensation Law, a disability or death from an occupational disease “shall be treated as the happening of an injury by accident.” The employee, or the dependents in a death case, may be entitled to compensation under that chapter. See § 440.151.

The same statute sets demanding proof requirements. The nature of the employment must be the major contributing cause of the disease. Fla. Stat. § 440.151 reads: “Provided, however, that in no case shall an employer be liable for compensation under the provisions of this section unless such disease has resulted from the nature of the employment in which the employee was engaged under such employer, was actually contracted while so engaged, and the nature of the employment was the major contributing cause of the disease.” Both causation and sufficient exposure to a specific harmful substance must be proven by clear and convincing evidence. For workers’ compensation death benefits, the death must occur within 350 weeks after last exposure.

Which track fits depends on the employer, the job, and how the exposure happened. We review both tracks at the first consultation. This lets the family see how each may apply to their facts.

Florida’s Asbestos Rules That Shape a Claim

Florida has statutes written specifically for asbestos claims. Several of them affect what a family needs to know early.

Where a case can be filed. A civil action alleging an asbestos claim “may be brought in the courts of this state if the plaintiff is domiciled in this state or the exposure to asbestos that is a substantial contributing factor to the physical impairment of the plaintiff on which the claim is based occurred in this state.” See § 774.205.

Mesothelioma and impairment. For most asbestos claims, the statute treats physical impairment from asbestos exposure as an essential element. For a claim based on mesothelioma, however, the statute says that “a prima facie showing of an impairment due to asbestos exposure is not required.” See § 774.204.

Nonmalignant conditions and cancer. A claim for a nonmalignant asbestos condition is separate from a claim for asbestos-related cancer. Damages may not be awarded for fear or risk of cancer in an asbestos claim. See § 774.206.

Punitive damages. Punitive damages are extra damages meant to punish the wrongdoer. They “may not be awarded in any civil action alleging an asbestos or silica claim.” See § 774.207.

Reports and forms. At the time a complaint is filed, the plaintiff must file a verified written report with the court disclosing the total amount of any collateral source payments received. The form asks for:

• The claimant’s identifying information
• The specific location of each alleged exposure
• The beginning and ending dates of each exposure
• The occupation and employer at the time
• The specific condition claimed
• Supporting documentation

See § 774.205.

Collateral source payments. The plaintiff must file a verified written report. This report discloses collateral source payments received, including future payments. These payments come from settlements or judgments based on the same claim. See § 774.207.

These forms are why the exposure history matters so much. The details a family gathers early become the foundation of the claim.

Paths to Compensation: Asbestos Trusts, Lawsuits, and Wrongful Death

Compensation may come through an asbestos bankruptcy trust claim, a lawsuit, or both. Many companies that went bankrupt set up trusts. These trusts pay eligible claims of people who allege harm from asbestos exposure. A trust may pay a claim separately from a lawsuit.

Lawsuits may be filed against companies that did not set up trusts.

When an asbestos disease causes a death, the family may bring a wrongful death claim. Florida law says that when a death is caused by the wrongful act, negligence, default, or breach of contract or warranty of any person, and the event would have entitled the injured person to maintain an action and recover damages if death had not ensued, that person “shall be liable for damages.” This applies under the wrongful death act, even though the injured person has died. See § 768.19.

The damages statute requires that all potential beneficiaries be named in the complaint. The decedent’s estate is among the potential beneficiaries who must be named in the complaint.

• A surviving spouse may recover for loss of companionship and protection, as set out in § 768.21.
• Minor children may recover for lost parental companionship, instruction, and guidance. They may also recover for mental pain and suffering from the date of injury. If there is no surviving spouse, all children may recover in this way.
• Each parent of a deceased minor child may recover for mental pain and suffering.
• A survivor who paid medical or funeral expenses may recover them.
• The decedent’s personal representative may recover for the estate. This includes certain lost earnings and expenses.

See § 768.21.

Depending on the facts, a claim may address medical expenses, lost income, loss of companionship, and emotional distress. No amount can be promised. The value of any claim depends on the facts and the paths available.

What to Expect: The Step-by-Step Process

1. Free, confidential first consultation. We review the diagnosis or loss, the exposure history, and the claim paths. This includes the workers’ compensation track. There is no obligation to continue.
2. Records gathering. We help collect work, military, and medical records. We also help gather the details needed for the exposure information described above.
3. Review of trusts and defendants. We identify which trusts and companies may be involved. We also look at where each exposure took place.
4. Filing when appropriate. When that path fits the facts, we or co-counsel file trust claims, a lawsuit, or a workers’ compensation claim. We keep the family updated at each step.

Timelines vary widely. Some trust claims and lawsuits take months or longer. We explain the expected timing for your situation during the consultation.

Florida Deadlines: Why to Act Promptly

Florida sets filing deadlines for these claims. The deadlines can be short. Waiting can limit your options.

For asbestos claims not barred as of the act’s effective date, Florida law gives a rule about when the clock starts. The limitations period does not begin to run until the exposed person “discovers, or through the exercise of reasonable diligence should have discovered, that he or she is physically impaired by an asbestos-related or silica-related condition.” A limitations period is the legal time limit for filing. See § 774.206.

Deadlines still apply. Wrongful death claims, trust claims, and workers’ compensation claims each have their own timing. Please contact us promptly. We can review the timeline under current Florida law.

Why CHG Personal Injury Lawyers: Florida-Based Representation

CHG Personal Injury Lawyers is a Florida-based personal injury firm. We handle accident and injury claims of every severity. These range from everyday accidents to catastrophic injuries and wrongful death. We also handle mass-tort matters, including mesothelioma. These matters involve many people harmed by the same product or conduct.

• Licensed attorneys admitted to The Florida Bar
• Serving families throughout Florida
• Free, confidential first consultation with no obligation to continue
• No attorney’s fees and no case costs unless there is a recovery

Mesothelioma and other mass-tort cases may be handled together with, or referred to, another law firm. If that happens in your case, we will tell you before you decide.

Frequently Asked Questions About Mesothelioma Claims in Florida