Nobody initiates a lawsuit unless they think they will obtain some money from it and an asbestos lawsuit is no different. In fact, because of the irrevocable harm done to you from wrongful asbestos exposure and the devastating consequences of developing an asbestos-caused illness like mesothelioma, the stakes in an asbestos lawsuit can be higher than most.
Standard of proof
Asbestos lawsuits are civil cases not criminal cases even though you may feel that what was done to you was criminal. In most civil cases, as described in a California courts website, the judge or jury has to make a decision about which side wins based on a standard called “preponderance of the evidence.” This means that, if the case is decided in your favor, your side of the story is more likely true than not. It does not mean that one side brought in more evidence than the other side. It means that one side’s evidence was more believable than the other’s.
In some cases, the standard for reaching a decision is “clear and convincing evidence.” This means that, for the decision to be made in your favor, you have to prove that your version of the facts is highly probably or reasonably certain, or “substantially more likely than not.”
How large a settlement or judgment can you expect to be awarded?
How much money you might be awarded in an asbestos lawsuit depends on many factors, such as the medical evidence that confirms your diagnosis, how seriously you have been injured, your actual and potential losses, the identification of the asbestos products that you were exposed to, the companies that made these products, and their financial resources. With all the variables, it is impossible to answer this question with specific amounts without knowing more about your potential claim, and you should be suspicious of any lawyer who tells you “how much” on your first meeting.
I can’t speak for other mesothelioma law firms but at Kazan Law, we do not take a case unless we believe the facts are strongly in your favor. Because of our strong track record, most of our cases get settled entirely out of court.
We keep our clients’ settlement amounts confidential to protect their privacy. Defendants who pay our clients prefer confidentiality because if word got out other plaintiff lawyers would try to get as much as we do and then the defendants would not have as much cash with which to pay our next client!
Verdicts are a matter of public record. In recent years, several of our clients have received significant verdict awards ranging from about $5 million to $27 million. For specific amounts on trial verdicts and appellate decisions you can refer to our website.
