Losing a Loved One to Mesothelioma: A Florida Family Guide

Mesothelioma Wrongful Death Florida: Support for the Family Left Behind

By Igor Hernandez, CHG Lawyers, Coral Gables, Florida

Florida law may allow certain family members to pursue a mesothelioma wrongful death claim after a loved one dies. Whether a claim exists depends on how the person was exposed to asbestos. It also depends on the medical and work records and on Florida law. This guide explains the basics in plain words.

What Families Should Know About Mesothelioma Wrongful Death Claims

A wrongful death claim may let certain survivors seek recovery. Florida’s wrongful death rules may be cited as the Florida Wrongful Death Act.

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry describes it as an asbestos-related cancer. It affects the membranes around the lungs, chest, or abdominal cavity.

Signs of asbestos-related disease may appear long after exposure. Latency is the time between exposure and when signs of disease appear.

A family may not learn of an exposure source until long after it happened. A wrongful death claim is separate from any claim the person brought while alive.

Who Can Bring a Wrongful Death Claim in Florida

The action is generally brought by the decedent’s personal representative. This is the person who manages the estate. The action is for the survivors and the estate.

Under § 768.20, that personal representative recovers for the benefit of the survivors and estate. The statute also says a personal injury action does not survive the person’s death. A pending action stops.

Survivors are defined in § 768.18. They include the decedent’s spouse, children, and parents. Certain blood relatives and adoptive brothers and sisters may also count. This applies if they were partly or fully dependent on the decedent for support or services.

Whether any particular person qualifies depends on the facts of each case and applicable Florida law. Who may file, and how any recovery is shared, depends on the statute’s terms and the family’s circumstances.

Asbestos Exposure and How Mesothelioma Claims Are Traced

A mesothelioma claim depends on where and how the person was exposed to asbestos. The ATSDR asbestos overview states that exposure to amphibole asbestos is associated with an increased risk of mesothelioma.

Exposure can happen in several settings. Possible settings include:

• Jobs where a person handled asbestos products or worked near them
• Military service
• Household exposure, where fibers came home on a worker’s clothing or belongings

Tracing that history may involve work and military records, employer or union records, product information, and statements from coworkers or household members. The records available differ from family to family. Keep a loved one’s old work papers, union cards, and service records together.

What a Florida Wrongful Death Claim May Include

Survivors may be able to recover certain losses under § 768.21.

A surviving spouse may recover for loss of the decedent’s companionship and protection. The spouse may also recover for mental pain and suffering from the date of injury. Minor children may recover lost parental companionship, instruction, and guidance, as well as mental pain and suffering from the date of injury. All children may recover these damages when there is no surviving spouse. Each parent of a deceased minor child may recover for mental pain and suffering.

A survivor who paid medical or funeral expenses may be able to recover them. The estate may recover certain losses. The statute describes which losses the estate may recover and the conditions that apply to each.

Comparative fault can limit recovery. Under § 768.81(6), which generally applies to negligence actions filed after March 24, 2023, a plaintiff found greater than 50 percent at fault for his or her own harm may be barred from recovering damages in a negligence action to which that section applies, and whether it applies depends on the facts of each case and applicable Florida law. In a wrongful-death claim brought by the family, defenses that could have been raised against the decedent may affect the family’s recovery, and comparative fault under § 768.81 may limit recovery. How these rules apply depends on the facts of each case and on applicable Florida law. This bar does not apply to medical negligence actions under chapter 766.

Chapter 774 of the Florida Statutes contains provisions that may limit punitive damages in certain asbestos claims, and whether they apply depends on how the claim is defined under § 774.203, its effective-date limits, and the facts of each case.

This guide gives no dollar figures. The value of any claim depends on the facts of each case and on Florida law.

Asbestos Bankruptcy Trusts and Other Sources of Recovery

Some companies that made or used asbestos products have dealt with asbestos claims through bankruptcy. Section 524 of the federal Bankruptcy Code states what a discharge in a case under that Code does. Section 524(g) also authorizes a channeling injunction that sends asbestos claims to a trust created in the reorganization.

Trusts created through those cases may pay claims separately from a lawsuit. Whether a trust claim is available depends on three things: the trust’s terms, the exposure facts, and the decedent’s history. Some families may pursue a trust claim, a lawsuit, or both. The routes that may apply differ from one case to the next.

Deadlines and the Evidence Families Gather

Time limits apply to these claims. Families should raise timing questions early.

Florida sets time limits for civil actions in § 95.11, and a wrongful death claim generally must be filed within two years from the date of death. Other periods or exceptions may also apply.

For some asbestos claims, § 774.206(1) says the limitations period (the deadline to file) does 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. That rule covers claims not barred as of the statute’s effective date. Whether this rule applies depends on the facts of each case and applicable Florida law.

Helpful evidence may include:

• The death certificate
• Medical records and the diagnosis
• Work, military, and union records
• Product labels or job-site information
• Photographs
• Names of coworkers or household members who may know about exposure

Do not throw away items that may relate to the loved one’s work or exposure history.

How the Process Works With CHG Personal Injury Lawyers

The process starts with a conversation. You share the loss, the exposure history, and your questions. The firm then reviews the records the family can provide. It identifies any gaps. Next, the firm assesses whether a claim may exist and which routes may apply.

1. A conversation about the loss, the exposure history, and your questions.
2. A review of available records, and a list of gaps still to fill.
3. An assessment of whether a claim may exist and which routes may apply: a lawsuit, a trust claim, or both.
4. Investigation and handling, including communication with other parties and their insurers as the case requires.

Timing varies with the records and the case. No timeline can be promised. This matter may be handled together with, or referred to, another law firm, depending on the case.

CHG Lawyers represents clients in Florida. The firm focuses on personal injury and wrongful death matters, including mass-tort claims such as mesothelioma. Igor Hernandez is admitted in Florida as a member of The Florida Bar. The firm’s office is in Coral Gables, Florida.

Frequently Asked Questions About Mesothelioma Wrongful Death Claims in Florida

Talk With Igor Hernandez About Your Family’s Next Step

If your family is asking whether a mesothelioma death may support a claim, Igor Hernandez can review the exposure history with you. CHG charges no attorney’s fees and no case costs unless there is a recovery. Contact CHG Lawyers to start that conversation.