- Since asbestos is widely used in the world including the construction industry it is not easy to establish the validity of your claim that the mesothelioma was contracted due to excessive exposure while in service. To do that you would definitely need the help of a lawyer. Before you employ a lawyer it is important to know what the legal procedure is and how will it ‘pan’ out so that you are well prepared for the often complex and tedious legal processes. The tips are as follows:
- Not any lawyer will do; there are lawyers trained for handling mesothelioma cases and you should approach one of them or a law firm specializing in mesothelioma cases.
- Keep you entire case history and medical records including record of service ready for the lawyer to peruse. This is easier said than done because most veterans do not have their service records maintained. The Department of Veterans Affairs will have to be approached, something which your mesothelioma lawyer is quite conversant with, hence the reiteration to employ only a trained mesothelioma lawyer.
- Not only will your service record be examined but also your work outside the services, in case you had taken employment in automobile industry, or any industry that uses asbestos.
- Having examined the preliminary data, the lawyer will determine whether the case is strong enough to be taken up.
- If the case is sound, the lawyer will then ask you to sign a number of forms relating to authorization to your social security, medical and military particulars as also the remunerations expected by the lawyer taking up the case.
- The lawyer will then substantiate the case by seeking corroboration from your colleagues who may have been similarly exposed. It helps if one of your veteran friends has already got compensation for mesothelioma and you too have a similar service profile. Nevertheless, apprise your old veteran friends that a lawyer may come calling to ask them a few questions regarding their service life and where all had they been exposed to asbestos.
- With these initial steps completed, the lawyer then files a claim against the government in a court if there is no help forthcoming from the government. This is usually the situation as most cases for claiming compensation for mesothelioma are contentious and the government usually adopts the litigation’s route.
- Most often than not, if the government legal team finds that their case is weak, they tend to settle for a compensation out of court.
- The lawyer then advises you how much compensation to bargain for and then on receiving the amount, the case is closed.