Asbestos lung cancer claims

processing claims for over 50 years

Regardless of age, smoker or not, if you or a family member was diagnosed with asbestos lung cancer, we will evaluate your occupational asbestos exposure if you are an industrial worker or serve in the military, or are a veteran.

We can help you and your family members recover compensation through asbestos trust fund claims and additionally VA claims where applicable. We receive a 40% payment after the compensation through the claim was recovered.

Claim Evaluation

With a lung cancer diagnosis, you have immediate eligibility and our expert staff and attorneys will prioritize your case for expedited processing. You will not be required to travel and a family member will be able to step in on your behalf mailing your work history records and medical records.

Claim Evaluation

Lung cancer due to asbestos exposure results in 4,800 deaths per year

A causal relationship between asbestos exposure and lung cancer was suggested by medical researchers in 1935 when the use of this carcinogenic mineral in military and industrial occupational settings was becoming increasingly popular.

Seven years later the National Cancer Institute recognized asbestos as a factual cause of lung cancer. Inhalation of asbestos fibers can lead to lung cancer within 15 to 35 years from the first exposure to asbestos. There are several medical diagnoses that lung cancer is known and treated as, any of these would qualify for a claim:

Once asbestos fibers enter the respiratory tract, they become embedded in tissue very easily due to their rough texture. Since the human body cannot naturally eliminate asbestos, the asbestos fibers will remain in the lungs causing inflammation and severe tissue scarring in the lungs, which 20-30 years later may result in cancerous tumors.

Although lung cancer and mesothelioma have asbestos exposure as a common cause, these conditions are completely different and each of them requires a distinct treatment approach.

Common lung cancer symptoms and lung problems after asbestos exposure

Seeking an accurate diagnosis and opinions from multiple pulmonologists and B-readers is vital if you experience the following symptoms and have a history of occupational asbestos exposure in an industrial setting or the military:

  • shortness of breath
  • chest pain which worsens with coughing or taking deep breaths
  • wheezing
  • a lingering cough, which may be dry or mucus-producing
  • loss of appetite
  • fatigue
  • difficulty breathing and/or swallowing
  • frequent respiratory infections such as pneumonia or bronchitis
  • nail clubbing
  • unintentional weight loss

If you have a history of industrial or military asbestos exposure, smoking can increase the risk of developing lung cancer, however, asbestos fibers can be seen separately in a chest X-ray.

Compensation can help with better treatments and improved lung cancer survival rates

Early diagnosis and new treatment advances may help to improve survival rates in patients with lung cancer, thus, early detection by screening programs is one of the foremost ways that lead to a decline in lung cancer mortality.

Doctors have been able to extend patient life expectancies longer than ever before with innovative treatments, which are often very costly. Lung cancer has the highest lifetime treatment cost of all cancers with estimated expenditures of $282,000 per patient.

For lung cancer patients, treatment may involve surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy to kill cancer cells and/or shrink tumors. The healthcare costs attributed to lung cancer bring a heavy financial burden to patients and their families.

The average monthly costs of different approaches to lung cancer treatment:

  • drug therapy - $4,000+/month depending on the prescribed drugs
  • radiation therapy - around $9,000 or more
  • chemotherapy - can range from $1,000 to $12,000
  • immunotherapy - more than $12,000
  • surgery - about $15,000
  • lung transplantation - between $430,000 and $580,000

Survival of patients with lung cancer is mostly determined by the stage and type of lung cancer, and the patient’s response to treatments. Important aspects of therapy include accurate staging and accurate evaluation of the patient’s functional status. The results of lung cancer treatment tend to be better when the cancer is found and treated early before it has the chance to grow and spread.

What are the types of lung cancer you can develop as a result of asbestos exposure?

There are numerous types of lung cancer, depending on the malignant cells involved in the tumors. Consequently, you should be aware of all the possible lung cancer diagnoses in order to know if you are entitled to file a claim. These are the most common lung cancer types, and if you were told by your doctor that you have one of them, we advise you to contact our legal team, as you may qualify for financial compensation as a victim of asbestos exposure. Keep in mind that this is not a comprehensive list, so you may still have lung cancer but under another name.

If you worked with asbestos or were exposed to it in the military and have one of these lung cancer diagnoses, give our law firm a call to find out whether you qualify for compensation. The money you will get from asbestos trust funds if you are eligible for compensation will greatly help you with your medical expenses, among other things. If you are a veteran, you will also be able to file a disability claim with the VA with the assistance of our skilled lawyers, which will provide you with even more financial help.

Lung cancer can be misdiagnosed as benign lung conditions

Many pulmonary diseases that occur as a consequence of asbestos exposure are very insidious, as the majority of people suffering from one experience no obvious symptoms until their illness becomes extremely severe.

In the event that symptoms are present, they are more or less the same for each disease, from asbestosis to lung cancer and other types of cancers, benign or malignant neoplasm, or metastases in the respiratory system they all have mild to severe symptoms in the lungs.

This way signs of lung cancer can easily be mistaken for those of more common respiratory conditions such as:

Considering all these aspects, it should not come as a surprise that asbestos victims are frequently misdiagnosed, even by medical experts. Receiving a wrong diagnosis can hinder your prognosis terribly since each disease stemming from asbestos exposure calls for a unique treatment approach. Additionally, it will also affect the financial compensation you can recover from asbestos trust funds, as the sum of money asbestos victims are eligible for depends primarily on their diagnosis. If you currently have a lung cancer diagnosis, we strongly advise you to seek a second opinion from a medical specialist that has previously diagnosed asbestos-related diseases. A third opinion is welcomed as well since these illnesses are complicated to correctly diagnose. Oftentimes, what is initially thought to be lung cancer is later proven to be mesothelioma or vice-versa.

Asbestos lung cancer victims are eligible for compensation

Asbestos trust funds represent the primary source of compensation for former workers who were later diagnosed with lung cancer following occupational asbestos exposure. Filing a claim with asbestos trust funds does not entail going to court and waiting several years for a resolution. However, although it is a considerably less complex and time-consuming process than standard litigation, only a lawyer specializing in asbestos cases will be able to successfully submit an asbestos claim on your behalf.

As a veteran seeking compensation for lung cancer caused by asbestos exposure, you will have to send our attorneys your military records, which you must retrieve, and your medical records. If you or someone in the family was diagnosed with lung cancer as a consequence of occupational asbestos exposure, we strongly encourage you to contact us at your earliest convenience. Our expert team will dedicate its efforts to achieving the most satisfactory outcome and maximum compensation for your case.

Claim Evaluation

Family members diagnosed with lung cancer are also eligible for compensation

Secondary asbestos exposure was very widespread for the better part of the last century, as there were no effective workplace regulations requiring employees to change their clothes at the end of the day. Thus, it was common for workers who were handling products that contained asbestos at the job to return home with asbestos dust on their clothes, as well as on their skin and hair, indirectly exposing their families to this toxic mineral. Women were mainly exposed to asbestos by laundering their husband's work clothes, whereas children were more likely to inhale asbestos fibers while greeting their father upon coming home.

If you were/are a smoker and were diagnosed with cancer and have occupational, military, or industrial exposure to asbestos, we can look into eligibility for a claim for you.

If you lost a family member to asbestos lung cancer, we will recover compensation on their behalf

It is not uncommon for asbestos victims suffering from lung cancer to fail to pursue a lung cancer claim during their lifetime, as factors such as poor health will often deter them from seeking financial compensation. However, pursuing compensation for lung cancer, as well as for any other disease caused by occupational asbestos exposure, is no longer a complex, time-consuming process. If you have a family member with a lung cancer diagnosis who had not filed a claim before passing away, you can recover compensation on their behalf. With nearly 30 years of experience in asbestos cases, our expert team will help you file a claim with one or multiple asbestos trust funds, which requires no trial.

While the process is indeed very easy to navigate with the assistance of a specialized team, it is crucial to know that the time you have to file an asbestos claim is limited. You are entitled to pursue a compensation claim only within 3 years from the moment your loved one was diagnosed with lung cancer, after which you no longer qualify for compensation. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to contact us as soon as possible and we will promptly help you.

Our legal process in a lung cancer case

A high percentage of our asbestos claims involve people who suffer from lung cancer caused by asbestos in the workplace or military.

We help former industrial workers and veterans

Our clients are individuals who developed serious diseases such as lung cancer after undergoing heavy asbestos exposure in the workplace, or while serving in the military. Search below your occupation to see if it implied a high risk of asbestos exposure before the 1980s in the U.S.

Frequently Asked Questions