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The time it takes to settle a mesothelioma claim can vary tremendously form case-to-case and from defendant-to-defendant.
Nearly all companies once deemed liable for asbestos-related deaths and personal injuries have formed individual trusts to handle litigation, process claims, and make final decisions on settlement offers.
Despite this standardized process, predicting the timeframe for your mesothelioma settlement can be nearly impossible. Even still, you can look to a number of common factors to help you predict the general realm of possibility when it comes to how long it will take to receive your mesothelioma settlement.
The Standard Process for Filing a Mesothelioma Claim and Receiving a Settlement
There will certainly be exceptions to the standard process asbestos exposure victims use to obtain their settlement, but the average case will be likely to proceed according to the following steps:
- Beginning Your Case — Your case will begin with an introductory case review and assessment. If you have a representing mesothelioma attorney, they will ask you about your current medical condition, your symptoms, your history of exposure, and any other potentially relevant factors.
- Assembling Evidence of Your Claim — Your asbestos injury claim requires several standard elements of proof. First, you have to establish that you do have a medical condition potentially related to asbestos exposure. Then, you have to quantify your exact window of possible exposure, including which employers or product manufacturers might be responsible. The time period from the onset of your case to the moment your claim is ready can be two to ten months or more.
- Filing Your Claim With an Asbestos Trust — Your claim will be filed with the appropriate trust or defending party. They will evaluate it according to their criteria. Both parties may also open discovery, which means they can gain access to information and share it as is needed to strengthen or refute the case. The process of receiving a claim, undergoing discovery, and going on to finally evaluate your claim can take six to eighteen months or more.
- Receiving Your Settlement Offer — After reviewing your claim and undergoing needed discovery, the potentially liable parties will either reject your claim or give you a settlement offer. You can accept this offer and reject it in order to put forth a counter-offer. This final leg of the process can take a few weeks to a few months.
Expedited Versus Individual Review from a Mesothelioma Trust
Knowing that many mesothelioma victims may have just a few years to live, many asbestos trust institutions have established an “expedited review” process for receiving, evaluating, and potentially paying out a settlement to asbestos injury claims.
These expedited review cases can still take eight to 18 months or longer, and they typically result in a lower average settlement compared to an individual review case.
Individual review cases can take even longer, often requiring six months to a year from the time the claim was filed for the claimant to even receive a response. Navigating discovery and the available evidence can take an additional year, with the final settlement offer not available until two years or more after the claim was filed.
Overall, individual review cases can take between two to four years simply because institutions are so overwhelmed with claims. According to one asbestos trust website, the trust is able to process around 430 claims a week and finalize under 200.
Note that these are just rough estimates. Your case could be much quicker or even longer depending on available evidence combined with the complexity of your overall medical history and exposure history. You can work with an experienced mesothelioma attorney to get better insight on how strong your claim might be and what the timeframe could be for you to potentially receive your final settlement.
