Missouri Mesothelioma & Asbestos Lawyer
Missouri workers have experienced significant asbestos exposure in the aerospace, food processing, and chemical industries. Asbestos exposure also occurs outside the workplace through consumer goods and building components in residences and commercial buildings. If you have developed mesothelioma or another asbestos-related illness, the companies that exposed you to the toxic substance are to blame. A Missouri mesothelioma lawyer can help you hold them accountable.
Legally Reviewed By: Jonathan Armour
Senior Attorney, Mesothelioma & Asbestos Litigation
- Page Last Updated:
- August 19, 2024
Why Should You Choose a Missouri Mesothelioma Attorney at the Lanier Law Firm?
Our Featured Missouri Mesothelioma Lawyers
Our Missouri Mesothelioma Attorneys Can Help You Get the Compensation You Deserve
Companies in Missouri with a History of Exposing People to Asbestos
Occupations in Missouri with the Highest Risks of Asbestos Exposure
Non-Occupational Sources of Asbestos Exposure in Missouri
What to Do If You Have Been Exposed to Asbestos in Missouri
When Should I Contact a Missouri Mesothelioma Attorney?
Mesothelioma is a deadly illness that affects people decades after exposure to asbestos. Asbestos exposure most often occurs in the workplace, but the substance may also be present in the home, a public school, or a commercial structure. Asbestos exposure can also stem from using consumer goods, such as cosmetic products containing asbestos-contaminated talc.
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention reported 269 new mesothelioma cases in Missouri from 2016 to 2020 and 228 deaths from the disease during the same period. This is a death rate of approximately 4.2 per 100,000, which is significantly higher than the national mesothelioma death rate of one per 100,000.
Asbestos exposure can also lead to lung cancer and asbestosis—both devastating, fatal diseases. According to the Environmental Working Group, for every mesothelioma death, 3.2 to four people die of asbestos-related lung cancer.
If you have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related illness, an experienced Missouri mesothelioma lawyer at the Lanier Law Firm can help you recover substantial compensation from the companies that exposed you to asbestos.
Why Should You Choose a Missouri Mesothelioma Attorney at the Lanier Law Firm?
When you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related illness, you need an experienced, resourceful legal team unafraid to go to trial against large corporations that will spare no expense to avoid compensating their victims.
Our mesothelioma attorneys have over 250 years of combined experience standing up to asbestos companies and making them pay billions of dollars in compensation to our deserving clients.
Although the vast majority of our cases settle, the threat of going against our award-winning mesothelioma lawyers in court provides us with leverage to negotiate some of the highest settlements in the history of mesothelioma litigation. Our accomplishments have won the attention of the legal community and news media.
As a result, our Missouri mesothelioma attorneys have been recognized with such accolades as Best Lawyers in America, Most Feared Plaintiffs Law Firm, and Most Impressive Plaintiffs Verdict. Our record of results includes the following settlements and verdicts:
- $4.69 billion historic verdict in St. Louis on behalf of 22 women against Johnson & Johnson for asbestos-contaminated talc in baby powder
- More than $3 million for a Missouri mechanic and heavy equipment operator exposed to asbestos
- $4.5 million for a man exposed to asbestos through joint compound
- $2 million settlement for a former shipyard worker who contracted pleural mesothelioma
Unsolicited Client Feedback
Our clients are more than just case numbers to us. We care about each one and the difference a successful case resolution can make in their lives. We regularly receive unsolicited feedback from our clients, such as the following:
My father was treated with great dignity, honesty, and compassion. Because of his illness, we weren’t able to travel, but that was no problem because they came to us. Quickly. I have never been made to feel like a bother or nuisance when I call with questions. I am always treated with the same kindness and respect that my father received. Lanier Law Firm has gone above and beyond to research every company that had a hand in this horrible cancer! They are making sure that the ones who caused his illness and ultimately, his death, have had to pay for their crimes. There aren’t enough stars to rate this law firm!
–Kristy Brown
Thank you for the overwhelming support, empathy, professionalism, and compassion during the most difficult and heartbreaking time of our lives. We will forever be grateful to all of the staff at Lanier. Listening to me cry every time I called couldn’t have been easy, but you all always took the time to comfort me. Thank you for all you do!
–Stacy Larson
The Lanier Law firm has been such a blessing for our family. My mother passed away from mesothelioma. The many settlements my father received allowed him to live comfortably until he passed away at 95. The Lanier law firm was very professional and always answered our questions promptly. I am very grateful for all of their guidance.
–Nancy K.
Our Featured Missouri Mesothelioma Lawyers
Mark Lanier
Mark LanierMark Lanier is the founder of the Lanier Law Firm and one of the world’s most successful, experienced mesothelioma lawyers. He has won more than $20 billion in verdicts and settlements, and he is passionate about righting the wrongs committed against individuals by large corporations.
He is well-known for his ability to win over juries through his innovative use of technology and his unconventional style in the courtroom, which often includes the use of handmade props. In the legal community, he is a mentor, professor, and featured speaker.
He is regularly invited to share his legal opinions with major news networks and lecture at prestigious law schools such as Stanford Law, Harvard Law, and Pepperdine School of Law. The New York Times has referred to Mark Lanier as one of the top civil trial lawyers in the nation.
Mark Lanier has received the most prestigious awards and recognitions offered to members of the legal profession, including the following:
- Legal 500 Hall of Fame
- America’s Top 100 Attorneys
- Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers
- National Trial Lawyers Trial Lawyer of the Year
- Leading Lawyers in Plaintiffs’ Dispute Resolution
- 50 Most Influential Lawyers in the U.S. by the National Trial Lawyers Foundation
- Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Association of Justice
Jonathan Armour
Jonathan ArmourJonathan Armour has been rated a Top 40 Under 40 lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers Foundation. He began clerking for the Lanier Law Firm as an undergraduate and continued to do so yearly throughout law school. The Lanier Law Firm made him a permanent member of the team in 2007 after he graduated due to his strong work ethic and communication skills.
He is a member of the Christian Trial Lawyers Association and the American Association for Justice. He is known for his exceptional litigation skills and is a trained mediator, which makes him especially effective in settlement negotiations.
Our Missouri Mesothelioma Attorneys Can Help You Get the Compensation You Deserve
If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you have almost certainly been exposed to asbestos during the past several decades. The companies that exposed you to asbestos could have prevented your illness by disclosing to the public the research it kept hidden from as early as the 1930s.
Instead, these companies sacrificed workers’ health to protect their profits and accrue wealth. Today, they use that wealth to resist compensating the workers whose health they sacrificed to gain it.
Prevailing against these companies requires a determined law firm not intimidated by their vast resources or expensive lawyers—a law firm willing to go to whatever lengths are necessary to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve. This is what we do at the Lanier Law Firm.
Mesothelioma Lawsuits
In a mesothelioma lawsuit, you may be able to recover the following types of damages:
- Economic damages – compensation for monetary losses
- Non-economic damages – compensation for pain and suffering
- Punitive damages – damages awarded to punish a defendant
Economic damages include medical expenses, lost wages, and the value of services you can no longer perform for yourself, such as personal care or housekeeping. These damages include projected future losses.
Punitive damages in Missouri are only awarded when you can prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant intentionally harmed you without just cause or acted with a blatant disregard for your safety. We have consistently proven in mesothelioma cases that the conduct of asbestos companies meets this standard.
There is no limit to the damages you can recover in Missouri. Punitive damages were limited in the past, but the state Supreme Court ruled these limits unconstitutional.
The Effect of Death on Missouri Mesothelioma Lawsuits
Tragically, mesothelioma patients often have a short life expectancy. As a result, some patients never file a lawsuit for fear that it will not resolve before they pass away. However, Missouri law recognizes that the tragic death of a plaintiff should not stand in the way of justice.
As a result, a personal representative, often a family member, may continue the case after death and pursue the same damages the deceased could have recovered had they lived. This is known as a survival claim.
In addition, a personal representative may file a wrongful death lawsuit to recover compensation for the losses of the family stemming from a mesothelioma death. In a Missouri wrongful death action, the following economic and non-economic damages are available:
- Funeral expenses
- Loss of your loved one’s income
- The reasonable value of services provided by your lost loved one
- Loss of consortium by the spouse
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of comfort
- Loss of instruction, training, guidance, and counsel
- Loss of support
While a family may recover the pain and suffering of the deceased in a survival claim, the pain, suffering, and grief of the family are not recoverable in Missouri. However, punitive damages are available without limitation in wrongful death cases.
Asbestos Trust Funds
After the health effects of asbestos exposure became widely known in the late 1970s, thousands of injured workers began to sue the asbestos companies. Damages in a single mesothelioma lawsuit can be substantial, even in the millions. As a result, some asbestos companies became overwhelmed by their liabilities and filed for bankruptcy.
The Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Code requires bankrupt asbestos companies to establish asbestos trust funds to benefit people who developed asbestos-related illnesses after their companies exposed them to asbestos.
An asbestos trust fund claim is filed directly with the fund rather than through the court system. This provides a pathway to receiving compensation that is often faster than in a lawsuit. Our clients often qualify to file one or more asbestos trust fund claims in addition to a mesothelioma lawsuit.
The following asbestos companies in Missouri have filed for bankruptcy and established asbestos trust funds:
- Eagle-Picher
- Pittsburgh Corning Corporation
- W.R. Grace
VA Claims
If you are a United States military veteran with a mesothelioma diagnosis, you may have been exposed to asbestos in the service. While you cannot sue the military, you may be eligible to receive benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs. These benefits may include the following:
- Disability compensation – a tax-free monthly benefit for disabled veterans
- Free medical care with no deductibles
- A VA pension
Survivor benefits are available for the family of veterans who passed away from a service-connected illness, such as mesothelioma.
You can file a VA claim online, by mail, or in person at the St. Louis Regional Office.
Veterans exposed to asbestos while serving our country may also be able to sue the companies that supplied asbestos to the military.
Workers’ Compensation Claims
If you were exposed to asbestos in the workplace, you may qualify for a workers’ compensation claim. Most employers in Missouri must provide workers’ compensation, a no-fault insurance system that provides certain economic damages for a workplace injury or occupational illness.
Missouri workers’ compensation laws require that you report your diagnosis to the employer within 30 days. Workers’ compensation provides partial wage replacement if you were still working when you were diagnosed. Free medical care is also available, even if you have already retired.
Medical Care
When you receive workers’ compensation benefits, state law gives employers the right to choose your doctor. Medical benefits include reimbursement for mileage up to 250 miles from home. If you live outside the state, the employer can select a treatment provider within 100 miles of your residence.
Survivors’ Benefits
If you are a family member of a worker who has passed away from an asbestos-related illness, you may be entitled to receive survivors’ benefits through workers’ compensation. These benefits include up to $5,000 for burial costs and the same weekly payments the worker would have received had they lived.