Virginia Mesothelioma & Asbestos Lawyer

Virginia has a rich history of shipbuilding and manufacturing—industries that heavily used asbestos. Although these businesses knew for decades that asbestos exposure could cause lung cancer, asbestosis, and mesothelioma, they failed to warn workers. If you have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related illness, contact a Virginia mesothelioma lawyer at the Lanier Law Firm immediately to learn how you could recover significant compensation.

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Legally Reviewed By: Kevin LaMarca
Senior Attorney | Mesothelioma & Asbestos

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Why Should You Choose a Virginia Mesothelioma Attorney at the Lanier Law Firm?

Our Featured Virginia Mesothelioma Lawyers

How Much Is My Virginia Mesothelioma Case Worth?

When to Contact a Virginia Mesothelioma Attorney

Virginia Industries and Occupations with Asbestos Exposure

Which Virginia Companies Exposed Their Workers to Asbestos?

Mesothelioma Treatment in Virginia

How Can the Virginia Mesothelioma Lawyers at the Lanier Law Firm Help?

States We Serve

Mesothelioma is a devastating illness with an average life expectancy of less than a year. These tragic cases could have been prevented if the companies that mined, processed, and used asbestos had warned workers, provided workers with adequate protection while handling asbestos, or used alternative materials. Unfortunately, these companies routinely prioritized profits over worker safety.

As a result, thousands of Virginians have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, with 442 new cases and 350 deaths from 2016 to 2020 alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is in addition to the thousands of cases of asbestosis and lung cancer diagnosed during the same period.

The conduct of these businesses is inexcusable. If you have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related illness or your loved one has passed away from one of these devastating diseases, you may have grounds to file a mesothelioma claim. A Virginia mesothelioma attorney at the Lanier Law Firm can help.

Why Should You Choose a Virginia Mesothelioma Attorney at the Lanier Law Firm?

The Lanier Law Firm has been helping people diagnosed with mesothelioma and their families recover substantial compensation for more than 30 years, making us one of the world’s most experienced mesothelioma law firms. Through the passionate and skilled representation of our nationally recognized mesothelioma lawyers, we have helped clients recover more than $20 billion in compensation.

Our attorneys are among the top trial lawyers in the world, and it shows in the successful case results we consistently achieve for our clients, which include the following:

$4.5 million for a man exposed to asbestos through joint compound
$3.7 million for an 82-year-old man exposed to asbestos in the Navy
$2.3 million settlement for a former electrician who was exposed to asbestos while working in a Navy shipyard
$2 million settlement for a former shipyard worker who contracted pleural mesothelioma
$1.5 million settlement for the family of a dredge boat mechanic who died of mesothelioma

Every client is important to us, and we are committed to providing personalized attention, moral support, and passionate advocacy to each one. We are willing to travel any distance to our clients who often cannot come to us due to illness, and we maintain an open line of communication throughout each case.

The dedication of our talented and caring mesothelioma lawyers does not escape the notice of our clients, who regularly send us unsolicited feedback such as the following:

The Lanier Firm did a wonderful job of representing us in a successful resolution of our case. In particular, Kevin and Sam who kept us updated on a regular basis and were extremely pleasant to work with.

– Fran Bolton

My mother, my two sisters, and myself have benefitted, and continue to benefit, greatly from Lanier Law Firm’s tenacious quest to seek justice from negligent entities responsible for my father’s illness and untimely death from mesothelioma.

– Mike Mooney

I would like to thank The Lanier Law Firm for everything they have done for my family. Since my father’s first emails to them, to after his passing and the resolution of our issue, they were right there with us, caring, attentive, and super professional. I would not hesitate to recommend them!

– B. Cirelli

Our Featured Virginia Mesothelioma Lawyers

Mark Lanier

Our founder, Mark Lanier, is a world-renowned mesothelioma lawyer and is regarded as one of the world’s most talented and successful personal injury attorneys. This recognition has come from notable publications like the New York Times, the National Law Journal, Lawdragon, and the National Trial Lawyers’ Foundation.

In 2015, the American Association of Justice awarded Mark Lanier with a lifetime achievement award for his successful advocacy of individuals against large corporations, such as asbestos companies.

He is a featured lecturer at the nation’s top law schools, such as Harvard and Stanford, and regularly appears as a guest commentator on major news networks nationwide.

Mark Lanier is passionate about getting justice for mesothelioma sufferers and their families. This is one of the driving factors behind the Lanier Trial Academy, a platform through which he teaches other attorneys how to obtain similar successful results for their clients.

He has received the following review from an attorney who attended:

I attended the Lanier 6.0 Trial Academy in June 2022 and was blown away by the great information and trial techniques presented. I recently used these techniques to win a pro bono jury trial. I am a litigator with 33 years of experience, and my former team and I won several national awards for training. I attended Lanier 6.0 because I consider Mark Lanier to be the best trial lawyer in the country, bar none. Now I realize that he is also the best trial advocacy teacher as well.

– Martin Cunnff

Kevin LaMarca

Kevin LaMarca has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as a Top 40 Under 40 lawyer. He has extensive experience in federal and state courts, successfully representing clients injured by exposure to toxic substances, including asbestos. His successful case results include the following:

$2.256 million settlement for the family of a deceased papermill worker
$1.895 million for the family of a deceased woman exposed to asbestos through her husband’s work clothes
$1 million settlement for a woman exposed to asbestos in talcum powder

How Much Is My Virginia Mesothelioma Case Worth?

The Lanier Law Firm has won settlements as high as $7 million in cases involving a single plaintiff and verdicts in the hundreds of millions—even in the billions—in cases involving multiple plaintiffs. The value of your case will depend on the following factors:

The types of claims for which you are eligible
The number of companies responsible for your asbestos exposure
The available resources of the liable companies
Which asbestos-related illness you have developed
Your age at diagnosis
Your prognosis
The financial impact of your diagnosis
The pain and suffering caused by your diagnosis

Types of Mesothelioma Claims

It is not uncommon to have been exposed to asbestos through multiple sources. However, even if you were exposed to asbestos through a single occupation, you may be eligible to file more than one type of claim. The types of claims you may be able to file include the following:

A mesothelioma lawsuit
An asbestos trust fund claim
A workers’ compensation claim
A Federal Employers’ Liability Act claim
A VA claim

When you contact one of our experienced mesothelioma lawyers in Virginia, we will identify every type of claim you qualify for to maximize your compensation.

Mesothelioma Lawsuits

There are two types of mesothelioma lawsuits in Virginia:

a personal injury lawsuit – filed by a living person diagnosed with an asbestos-related illness
a wrongful death lawsuit – filed by a personal representative on behalf of the family after the injured person’s death

Both types of lawsuits allow you to pursue economic, non-economic, and punitive damages. Virginia law limits punitive damages to $350,000, but there are no limits on economic and non-economic damages in asbestos exposure lawsuits.

What Are Economic Damages?

Economic damages are compensation for the monetary losses you can prove resulted from your illness. If you have been diagnosed before retirement age, this includes past and future lost wages.

Economic damages also include your past, present, and future medical expenses stemming from your diagnosis, including the following:

Hospitalizations
Durable medical equipment
Assistive devices
Palliative care

Surgery
Personal care services
Home health services
Hospice care

If you provide domestic services at home, such as housekeeping or childcare, you can also pursue compensation for the value of these services.

If you are the family of someone who has died from mesothelioma, you may pursue the following economic damages in a wrongful death lawsuit, according to Virginia Code §8.01-52:

Your loved one’s lost income
Reasonable funeral expenses
Your loved one’s medical expenses
The value of services your loved one provided

What Are Non-Economic Damages?

Non-economic damages are compensation for your subjective, harder-to-quantify losses. These types of damages are also known as pain and suffering and may include the following:

Physical pain
Mental anguish
Loss of bodily functions

Loss of society
Loss of consortium by a spouse

If your family member has passed away, Virginia Code §8.01-52 allows you to pursue the following non-economic damages:

Grief and sorrow stemming from the death
Loss of companionship

Loss of comfort
Loss of guidance

When Are Punitive Damages Available?

Virginia Code § 8.01-52 restricts punitive damages to cases in which you can prove the defendant engaged in willful and wanton conduct that displayed a conscious and reckless disregard for the safety of others.

Punitive damages are not always available. However, many companies that mined and supplied asbestos, as well as many direct employers, were aware of the harm of asbestos and deliberately concealed this information without protecting workers. At the court’s discretion, this is often sufficient to qualify for punitive damages.

Asbestos Trust Fund Claims

During the late 1970s, the public became increasingly aware of the dangers of asbestos exposure, and by the 1980s, lawsuits began to abound, resulting in many companies becoming insolvent due to their asbestos liabilities.

These companies sought bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11. Fortunately, Section 524(g) of the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Code requires such companies to establish trust funds to benefit asbestos-exposure victims. Approximately $30 billion remains available in the asbestos trust funds.

While these funds generally do not pay as much as lawsuits, they do provide a faster way of obtaining compensation. You can generally pursue economic and non-economic damages through an asbestos trust fund claim.

The following Virginia companies have filed for bankruptcy and established asbestos trust funds:

AC&S
Hercules Chemical Company, Inc.

Federal Employers’ Liability Act Claims

The Federal Employers’ Liability Act, known as FELA, allows railroad employees to file claims for asbestos-related illnesses against railroads that engaged in interstate commerce.

In a FELA claim, you only have to prove that the railroad was negligent to prevail. You can recover economic and non-economic damages through a FELA claim. Death benefits are also available if your family member died of an asbestos-related illness from railroad work for a carrier engaging in interstate commerce.

Workers’ Compensation Claims

Workers’ compensation in Virginia provides no-cost medical treatment and weekly payments equal to two-thirds of your weekly wage preceding an illness or injury that occurred on the job. These benefits are also available to survivors if the worker passes away from occupational asbestos exposure.

Unlike most other states, you can receive weekly workers’ compensation benefits even if you were already retired or otherwise not employed at the time of your diagnosis. In this instance, your weekly compensation will be calculated based on the average weekly wage of a person in a similar job in the same locality and on the same date as your most recent employment.

If you worked for a local railroad that did not transport goods or people out-of-state, known as an intrastate capacity, you may qualify for a workers’ compensation claim through the railroad. If you worked for a railroad engaging in interstate commerce, you would file a FELA claim instead.

If you qualify for workers’ compensation, you generally cannot file a lawsuit against your employer. However, you may still be able to file a lawsuit against the companies that provided asbestos to the employer.

VA Claims

If you are a veteran who was exposed to asbestos in the military, you may be eligible to receive free medical care and monthly disability payments through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Death benefits are also available.

You can file a VA claim online or in person by visiting the VA Regional Benefit Office in Roanoke. If you need assistance, the Virginia Department of Veterans Services can also help you file your VA claim.

When to Contact a Virginia Mesothelioma Attorney

It is important to contact an experienced mesothelioma attorney in Virginia as soon as possible after your diagnosis. Like other states, Virginia has a firm deadline for filing a mesothelioma lawsuit. This is known as the statute of limitations.

“Generally, a person has two years from the date he or she is diagnosed with an asbestos-related condition to file a lawsuit,” according to our mesothelioma lawyer Kevin LaMarca. “A person may also bring a lawsuit for wrongful death if the lawsuit is filed within two years from the date someone passes from an asbestos-related disease.”

A significant amount of investigation and preparation must be completed before your case can be filed. The sooner you contact an attorney, the better our opportunity to build the strongest case possible and identify all the companies responsible for your asbestos exposure.