How Long Do I Have To File a Mesothelioma Lawsuit?

Thanks to statutes of limitations, plaintiffs have a limited amount of time to file personal injury lawsuits. This includes mesothelioma lawsuits. If you don’t file your claim within the time frame, the court can dismiss your case.

The time limits to file a mesothelioma lawsuit depend on many factors. Mesothelioma can develop years after asbestos exposure. The time limit may pause until the victim gets a cancer diagnosis for mesothelioma. To understand your legal options after developing an asbestos-related illness, talk to an experienced asbestos lawyer.

Asbestos Exposure and Mesothelioma

Asbestos is a natural mineral that was commonly used in the manufacture of consumer and industrial products. Due to its heat and corrosion resistance, asbestos was popular as an insulation and fireproofing material.

By the 1970s, scientists and government regulators started to understand that asbestos exposure posed a significant hazard to human health. People who worked with asbestos suffered a number of asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a malignant form of lung cancer that is often fatal.

Asbestos Cases and Latency Periods

What makes asbestos-related mesothelioma especially scary is that there may be a latency period. Symptoms might not present for years or even decades after the initial asbestos exposure.

In many cases, people develop mesothelioma as a result of second-hand asbestos exposure. For example, the spouse of an industrial worker may have inhaled asbestos fibers left behind on work clothing.

State laws allow mesothelioma victims and their families to take legal action against asbestos manufacturers and other companies responsible for exposure to this dangerous substance. Time is of the essence when filing claims for asbestos exposure. Once there is a mesothelioma diagnosis, a clock starts ticking for a certain amount of time. If time runs out before you file a lawsuit, you may be unable to seek any mesothelioma compensation at all.

By the time you develop mesothelioma and file a lawsuit, you may find the asbestos manufacturer is no longer around after bankruptcy. However, there are asbestos trust funds with money set aside for people who later develop mesothelioma. Even if the company no longer exists, talk to your attorney about asbestos trust fund claims.

Product Liability and Class Action Claims Involving Asbestos and Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma claims generally fall under product liability legal claims. Product liability cases allege that a defective product caused their injuries. Unlike personal injury cases, the injury victim does not have to show negligence. The asbestos companies are liable for the victims’ injuries because they exposed people to a dangerous product without warning of the dangers.

Asbestos litigation often develops into class action lawsuits. With a class action lawsuit, there are multiple plaintiffs with similar claims. There are too many individual cases of asbestos exposure and mesothelioma compensation for the courts to deal with each case. Instead, the courts create a class of similarly situated plaintiffs and manage the case as a group.

Statutes of Limitations and the Discovery Rule

A statute of limitations is the maximum amount of time that can elapse before a person can no longer file a lawsuit based on a certain event.

The limitations period can differ in a mesothelioma case. Evidence of injuries may not come until decades after the actual asbestos exposure. In these situations, courts typically apply the “discovery rule.” Basically, the clock does not start to run for asbestos cases until the plaintiff discovered, or should have discovered through due diligence, a potential claim against the defendant.

“With mesothelioma patients, most doctors will tell you straight out, ‘You have mesothelioma. It’s caused by asbestos exposure, and you should contact an experienced mesothelioma attorney,'” says Erika A. O’Donnell, an injury attorney at Shepard Law in Boston. “The medical professionals make it pretty clear that mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos.”

In other words, once you have a date of diagnosis for mesothelioma, you should assume that starts the clock to take legal action.

State-by-State Statutes of Limitations for Claims Arising from Asbestos Exposure

Below is a list of each state’s statute of limitations for personal injury, product liability, and wrongful death claims that could be brought for mesothelioma or other asbestos-related claims. These are general guidelines. Due to exceptions or special rules that may exist in your state, it is imperative to speak with a qualified attorney in your jurisdiction as soon as possible about your specific claim.

State	Personal injury statute of limitations	Wrongful death or product liability statute of limitations (if different from personal injury)
Alabama	2 years – Ala. Code § 6–2–38
Alaska	2 years – Alaska Stat. § 09.10.070
Arizona	2 years – A.R.S. § 12–542
Arkansas	3 years – A.C.A. § 16–56–105
California	2 years – Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 335.1
Colorado	2 years – C.R.S. § 13–80–102
Connecticut	2 years – C.G.S.A. § 52–584	Product liability claim: 3 years – C.G.S.A. § 52–577
Delaware	2 years – 10 Del. C. § 8119
Florida	2 years – F.S.A. § 95.11(5)(a)
Georgia	2 years – O.C.G.A. § 9–3–33
Hawaii	2 years – Haw. Stat. §657–7
Idaho	2 years – Idaho Code § 5–219
Illinois	2 years – 735 I.L.C.S. § 5/13–202
Indiana	2 years – I.C. § 34–11–2–4
Iowa	2 years – I.C.A. § 614.1(2)
Kansas	2 years – K.S.A. § 60–513	Claims arising from asbestos exposure not subject to 10 year statute of repose – K.S.A. § 60–3303(b)(1)
Kentucky	1 year – 413.140(1)(a)
Louisiana	2 years – L.S.A.–C.C. Art § 3493.1
Maine	6 years – 14 M.R.S.A. § 752	Wrongful death claim: 3 years – 18 M.R.S.A. § 2–807
Maryland	3 years – Md. Cts. & Jud. Proc. Code § 5–101
Massachusetts	3 years – Mass. Ann. Laws Ch. 260 § 2A
Michigan	3 years – M.C.L. § 600.5805
Minnesota	2 years – M.S.A. § 541.07	Wrongful death claim: 3 years – M.S.A. § 573.02 Product liability claim: 4 years – M.S.A. § 541.05
Mississippi	3 years – M.C.A. § 15–1–49
Missouri	5 years – Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120	Wrongful death claim: 3 years – Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.100
Montana	3 years – Mont. Stat. § 27–2–204
Nebraska	4 years – Neb. Stat. § 25–207	Wrongful death claim: 2 years – Neb. Stat. § 30–810
Nevada	2 years – N.R.S. § 11.190	Product liability claim: 4 years – N.R.S. § 11.190
New Hampshire	3 years – N.H. Stat. Ann. § 508:4(I)
New Jersey	2 years – N.J.S.A. § 2A:14–2
New Mexico	3 years – N.M.S.A. § 37–1–8
New York	3 years – N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 214	Wrongful death claim: 2 years – N.Y. E.P.T. § 5.41
North Carolina	3 years – N.C.G.S.A. § 1–52	Wrongful death claim: 2 years – N.C.G.S.A. § 1–53
North Dakota	6 years – N.D.C.C. § 28–01–16	Wrongful death claim: 2 years – N.D.C.C. § 28–01–18
Ohio	2 years – O.R.C.A. § 2305.10(A)
Oklahoma	2 years – Okla. Stat. Tit. 12, § 95
Oregon	2 years – O.R.S. § 12.110	Wrongful death claim: 3 years – O.R.S. § 30.020
Pennsylvania	2 years – 42 P.S. § 5524
Rhode Island	3 years – R.I.G.L. § 9–1–14 (b)
South Carolina	3 years – S.C. Code Ann. § 15–3–530
South Dakota	3 years – S.D.C.L. § 15–2–14(3)
Tennessee	1 year – T.C.A. § 28–3–104
Texas	2 years – Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 16.003
Utah	4 years – U.C.A. § 78B–2–307	Wrongful death claim: 2 years – U.C.A. § 78B–2–304 Product liability claim: 2 years – U.C.A. § 78B–6–706
Vermont	3 years – Vt. Stat. Ann. Tit. 12, § 512	Wrongful death claim: 2 years – Vt. Stat. Ann. Tit. 14, § 1492
Virginia	2 years – Va. St. § 8.01–243(A)
Washington	3 years – R.C.W.A. § 4.16.080
Washington, D.C.	3 years – D.C. Code § 12–301	Wrongful death claim: 1 year – D.C. Code § 12–301
West Virginia	2 years – W. Va. Code § 55–2–12
Wisconsin	3 years – Wis. Stat. § 893.54
Wyoming	4 years – Wyo. Stat. § 1–3–105	Wrongful death claim: 2 years – Wyo. Stat. § 1–38–102

What Should I Do After a Mesothelioma Diagnosis?

After the biopsy and diagnosis, O’Donnell says, you should start meeting with attorneys as soon as you can.

There will be a free consultation, and if you’re worried about cost, these cases are taken on a contingency fee basis. This means that attorneys are only paid if you recover financial compensation — “and it’s usually a pretty standard one-third of the recovery, plus expenses, although some firms do utilize a 40 percent contingent fee agreement,” O’Donnell says.

“Early contact with an attorney is a must,” she adds. “We have to do pretty exhaustive research since it takes anywhere from 15 to as many as 60 years for asbestos fibers in a person’s system to cause them to develop the disease. So we have a free case evaluation and go back and discuss your entire life and where you could have come into contact with asbestos. The earlier we can talk, the better.”

How Do I Find a Reputable Asbestos Attorney?

When you start doing your own research about the disease, don’t be surprised if attorneys start contacting you.

“Rumor has it that ‘mesothelioma’ is one of the most expensive words on the internet,” O’Donnell says. “What will happen is you’ll be inundated with national firms all over the country reaching out. And you will be completely overwhelmed by the amount of materials you receive. Sometimes, you don’t even realize that you’re talking to an attorney’s office because you’re signing up for a free mesothelioma book, and you actually are speaking with a website that is associated with an attorney’s firm.”

There are many options when seeking a reputable asbestos attorney. O’Donnell says it’s important to consider local options.

“It’s really good to have a local attorney to not only bring you through our court system, but also because local attorneys will understand what happened at the shipyards in Boston and the paper mills in Lee. We know exactly where the asbestos exposures occurred, and so we know which defendants to sue in order to be successful in mesothelioma litigation cases. Having a local attorney, I think, is very, very important and a consideration that folks should make because a lot of the national firms will definitely razzle and dazzle,” she says.

What if a Loved One Has Died From Mesothelioma?

If a family member dies from the disease, the family members or the victim’s estate can file a wrongful death lawsuit. A wrongful death lawsuit allows the loved ones to recover compensation for the loss of a family member caused by asbestos exposure.

Statute of limitations also apply to wrongful death lawsuits. However, the time limit may differ and the clock usually does not start to run until death. If a family member died from an asbestos-related illness, talk to a mesothelioma law firm about a wrongful death lawsuit.

Filing a Mesothelioma Lawsuit

Take legal action to get compensation for yourself, a loved one, or a deceased family member after a mesothelioma diagnosis. The legal process is complex and can take time. Filing a lawsuit as soon as you can will help you get compensation sooner rather than later. Reach out to a qualified attorney who can help you take legal action before it is too late.