Can You Sue Your Employer for Asbestos Exposure?
Exposure to asbestos may cause mesothelioma, other types of cancer, other serious diseases, or death. If you are suffering from an illness you think may be due to asbestos that you were exposed to on the job, you deserve compensation for your losses and to help pay for your expenses. You may also be eligible for compensation if you had a loved one who passed away because of an asbestos-related illness.
Because asbestos-related diseases are so serious, the expenses can be overwhelming. If you file a lawsuit in court, you might receive significantly more money than you could get from a workers’ compensation claim. Money awarded for workers’ comp claims is limited. If you file a lawsuit in court, you may get compensation for things like pain and suffering, which you can’t get through workers’ comp.
You may have heard that you can’t sue your employer for a workplace-related injury, that you can only get workers’ comp. However, this is not always true. There are some situations where you can sue your employer for asbestos exposure. There are also situations where you can sue somebody other than your employer for the harm caused by your workplace asbestos exposure.
Figuring out who you can sue is a complex undertaking. You should consult an experienced asbestos attorney to find out what you can do in your situation. There may be a lot of money at stake, so it’s smart to talk to an asbestos attorney as soon as possible.
These are some of the situations where you may be able to file a lawsuit seeking higher amounts than you could get through workers’ compensation:
You May Be Able to Sue the Owner of Your Job Site If That Was Not Your Direct Employer
Many industries have layers of contractors and subcontractors. You could be working in a factory every day but not be directly employed by the owner of the factory. Instead, your direct employer might be a contractor.
Your direct employer is whoever signs your paychecks, not necessarily whoever owns the premises where you work. If your direct employer is a contractor of the factory owner, you may be able to file a lawsuit against the company that owns the factory.
OSHA has strict rules about how companies are supposed to keep workers safe from asbestos exposure. If the factory owner was not your direct employer and was careless in following the OSHA rules, you may be able to sue them for negligence.
You May Be Able to Sue Someone Else Who Was at Your Workplace
There may have been people at your job site who were working for another employer. For example, you may have been working for one contractor, and they were working for another. If any of those people were responsible for carrying out OSHA regulations at your workplace, you may be able to sue their employer if they were negligent.
You May Be Able to Sue If Your Employer Intentionally Harmed You
Most of the time when employees are hurt at the workplace, if the employer was at fault, it was because the employer was careless. However, sometimes an employer deliberately harms its employees. If that happens, you may be able to file a lawsuit against your employer in court.
You May Be Able to Sue Manufacturers
If you were exposed to a product at work that contained asbestos, you may be able to sue the manufacturer of the product. If the product exposed you to harmful levels of asbestos because it was defective in the way it was designed or made, or if it was unreasonably dangerous, you may have a case for product liability. You might also have a case if the manufacturer failed to put a required warning on the product or the packaging.
If you were exposed to asbestos because you used protective equipment that failed to protect you, you may be able to sue the manufacturer of that equipment.
If you file a product liability lawsuit, you may be eligible for payment for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and sometimes punitive damages.
You May Be Able to File a Claim Through an Asbestos Trust Fund
When someone is exposed to asbestos at work, many years may go by before any symptoms of disease appear. By that time, the company where the person worked may have gone out of business.
Some companies shut down because so many of their workers had gotten sick from asbestos exposure. Some of these companies were required to set up large trust funds to pay off future claims from workers who had asbestos-related illnesses from exposure on the job. If you are in this situation, you’ll need an asbestos lawyer to process your claim.
Call the Asbestos Lawyers at Raynes Lawn Hehmeyer for Help
You need a highly competent lawyer if you want to file a lawsuit for asbestos exposure in the workplace. Your attorney needs to work with investigators and expert scientists to uncover evidence about working conditions that may have existed many years ago. Your attorney needs to determine which companies to sue. Then, a crucial part of the case is putting together the evidence to show that it was the asbestos exposure that harmed you or your loved one.
The asbestos legal teams at Raynes Lawn Hehmeyer are committed to helping people who got sick from asbestos exposure at work. We are dedicated to helping you get justice and get the financial help you need to ease your burden. We care about our clients as people. We work hard and are proud of our results. Lawyers in our firm regularly appear on lists of the top lawyers in the area and in the country.
Call us today at 1-800-535-1797 to make an appointment to talk to us and find out more. The consultation is free, and there is no obligation. We will be glad to answer your questions, evaluate your case, and tell you about the steps that you can take next.
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