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 disease, 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 to learn how you could recover significant compensation.
Legally Reviewed By: Kevin LaMarca
Senior Attorney | Mesothelioma & Asbestos
- Page Last Updated:
- November 12, 2024
Legally Reviewed By: Kevin LaMarca
Senior Attorney | Mesothelioma & Asbestos
- Page Last Updated:
- November 12, 2024
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?
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
Mark LanierOur 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.
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.
Virginia Industries and Occupations with
Asbestos Exposure
Virginia’s location on the coast and its close proximity to our nation’s capital make it an important location for travel, manufacturing, seaports, and shipbuilding. It is a center of commerce with 10,120 miles of shoreline, according to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and more than 3,000 miles of railroads, according to the 2022 Virginia Statewide Railroad Plan.
Shipbuilding in Virginia
Virginia leads the nation in shipbuilding, with one in 90 jobs tied to that industry. Most of the shipyards are located along the James River, Elizabeth River, Hampton Roads area, and the Virginia peninsula.
Among the many shipyards in Virginia, the largest include Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth and Newport News Shipbuilding. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard builds ships for the United States Navy and is the nation’s oldest naval shipyard. It occupies 1,275 acres and is the largest shipyard on the East Coast. It employs approximately 12,000 military and civilian personnel.
Virginians are proud of their shipbuilding heritage because of the state’s important role in our nation’s defense and commerce. Unfortunately, workers in shipyards face some of the highest levels of asbestos exposure because asbestos is found in nearly every ship component due to its fire resistance, flexibility, and light weight.
Shipbuilders and ship repair personnel may have been exposed to asbestos while building, installing, or repairing the following components used throughout ships:
- Hull lining
- Pipe insulation
- Engine components
- Electrical wiring
- Boilers
- Adhesives
- Paint
- Gaskets
- Brakes
Virginia Railroads
Virginia is home to two Class I railroads totaling 2,841 miles and accounting for 93 percent of all of Virginia’s railroads, which include the following:
- CSX Transportation
- Norfolk Southern Railway
Virginia is also home to several Class II and III railroads, which are known as Shortlines. Asbestos exposure on railroads comes from multiple components inside train engines and on the tracks, including the following:
- Cement in railroad ties
- Engine insulation
- Gaskets
- Packings
- Turbines
- Brakes
- Thermal insulation
- Pipe insulation
- Wallboards
- Plaster
- Adhesives
- Paint and other coatings
Manufacturing in Virginia
During the early 1900s, factories began moving into Virginia rapidly, especially mills, textiles, clothing, and cigarette factories, as Virginians recovered from the Civil War. Most of these factories moved into large coastal and urban areas such as Richmond and Norfolk and in regions in Southwest Virginia.
The textile industry, in particular, was laden with asbestos. Textile and cloth factory workers may be exposed to asbestos in the factory machinery or through the textiles themselves. Workers were often required to handle raw asbestos and weave it into fabrics to make them fire-resistant. Workers would be exposed again when these fabrics were cut.
Textile factories often employed women. Although mesothelioma is often considered a men’s disease, women exposed to asbestos face similar risks of developing mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses as men.
During the early to mid-1900s, women and black Americans fought for equality in Virginia’s workplace. These employees were given jobs in the manual aspects of factory labor, while white males took the jobs that took advantage of improved technology.
However, asbestos exposure is an equal opportunity risk in manufacturing. Employees who worked directly with materials and those who handled machines all experienced alarming levels of asbestos exposure. Factory workers were exposed to asbestos through the following:
- Insulation
- Machine parts, such as gaskets and wiring
- Pipe coverings
- Asbestos paint
- Asbestos cement
- Raw asbestos fibers used to fortify products
What Other Occupations in Virginia Had Asbestos Exposure?
Asbestos was used in virtually every industry during the early to middle 1900s, and even office workers who did not perform manual labor could experience asbestos exposure just by being in a building constructed with asbestos components. The workers with the highest levels of asbestos exposure in Virginia include the following:
- Construction workers
- Insulators
- Roofers
- Drywall Workers
- Engineers
- Pipefitters
- Firefighters
- Plumbers
- Carpenters
- Electricians
- Demolition Workers
- Boiler workers
- Millwrights
- Welders
- Maintenance workers
- Shipyard workers
- Railroad workers
Firefighters who develop pleural mesothelioma, asbestosis, or lung cancer benefit from a presumption that the condition is work-related, according to Virginia Chapter 4 § 65.2-402.
Which Virginia Companies Exposed Their Workers to Asbestos?
The following companies in Virginia are known to have exposed their workers to asbestos:
- Abex in Winchester
- AC&S in Richmond
- Allied Chemical & Dye in Chesterfield, Hopewell, and Richmond
- Allied Signal in Chesterfield and Hopewell
- American Cyanamid in Piney River
- American Viscose in Roanoke, Fredericksburg, and Front Royal
- Amoco in Yorktown
- Anheuser Busch in Williamsburg
- BP Amoco in Yorktown
- British American Tobacco in Petersburg and Richmond
- Burlington Industries in Alta Vista, Brookneal, Clarksville, Hurt, and Glasgow
- Chesapeake Corporation in Richmond and West Point
- Clinchfield Coal in Clintwood, Dante, Fremount, and McClure
- Continental Can in Hopewell
- Dominion Energy in Alta Vista, Franklin, Hopewell
- Dow Chemical in Lee Hall
- Dupont in Richmond, Waynesboro, Martinsville, Bellwood, Alexandria, Ampthill, and Penniman
- Exxon in Newport News
- Firestone in Hopewell and Independence City
- FMC in Front Royal
- Ford Motor Company in Berkley
- Foster Wheeler in Newport News
- General Chemical in Pulaski and Front Royal
- General Electric Waynesboro and Clifton Forge
- Georgia Pacific in Big Island, Emporia, and Jarrett
- Goodyear in Danville
- Hercules in Radford, Hopewell, Snowden, Covington, Claremont, Roanoke, Franklin, and Pepper
- Honeywell in Hopewell, Chesterfield, and Petersburg
- International Paper in Franklin
- Johns Manville in Jarrett
- Lynchburg Foundry in Lynchburg
- Mead Corporation in Richmond and Lynchburg
- Merck in Elkton
- NASA in Hampton
- Newport News Shipbuilding in Norfolk
- Norfolk Southern Railway in Norfolk
- Norfolk Shipbuilding in Newport News
- Old Dominion Iron & Steel in Richmond
- Olin Mathieson in Saltville and Roanoke
- Philip Morris in Richmond
- Planters Nuts & Chocolate in Suffolk
- Twin Bridges Marriott in Arlington
- Union Carbide in Newport News
- Virginia Electric in Yorktown
- Westinghouse Arlington
- William & Mary (College) in Williamsburg
How Can the Virginia Mesothelioma Lawyers at the Lanier Law Firm Help?
If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, a legal battle may seem overwhelming. However, you need and deserve substantial compensation to manage your illness and experience a sense of justice. When you hire the Lanier Law Firm, we will take the stress out of the legal process by handling all the details for you.
Our compassionate and skilled Virginia mesothelioma lawyers will leverage the vast resources of our law firm to provide you with the following at no upfront cost to you:
- A thorough investigation of your case to identify all your sources of asbestos exposure
- Timely filing of your mesothelioma claims
- Relentless, strategic settlement negotiations
- Effective and persuasive representation in court in the event a trial becomes necessary
Our law firm owns one of the world’s most extensive databases of asbestos products. Even if you are unaware of where you were exposed to asbestos, we can help you identify the products and the culprits to get the justice you deserve.
We also possess thousands of internal documents from the culpable companies from our extensive investigations in these cases. This is important because asbestos companies often fight hard to avoid paying compensation. This evidence makes it much more difficult for them to resist settling and gives us an edge should your case go to trial.
If you or your loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, don’t leave your well-deserved compensation on the table. Contact us today for a free consultation.
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