I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento mesothelioma lawyer. I know how difficult it can be to learn that you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma. While I understand that you may not want to focus your energy on a lawsuit, I want to emphasize that you deserve to be compensated if asbestos exposure led to your diagnosis. I have been helping mesothelioma patients in Sacramento for years to seek compensation as a result of this aggressive and incurable disease. I believe that mesothelioma patients should have a dedicated advocate on their side to argue for their rights to compensation at each stage of the process. By filing a personal injury lawsuit in California, I can help you to obtain the compensation you deserve.

As The Mesothelioma Center explains, there are sites throughout California in which workers have been exposed on a routine basis to asbestos. This is unacceptable. Workers should be able to do their jobs without worrying about exposure to harmful substances that ultimately can lead to life-threatening forms of cancer. I can speak with you today about your situation and can discuss options for getting started on your case.

If you are thinking about filing a mesothelioma claim, one of the most important things to know is that there is a statute of limitations on these types of lawsuits. This means that there is a relatively small time window in which you must file your lawsuit if you want to be eligible to receive compensation.

Mesothelioma can take a very long time to develop. Indeed, it can take anywhere from 20 to 50 years for mesothelioma to develop after being exposed to asbestos fibers. Typically, statutes of limitations require that plaintiffs file lawsuits within a relatively short period of time (usually one to three years) after sustaining an injury. Yet given the way that mesothelioma develops after such a long period of time, California has a specific statute of limitations that applies to asbestos cases.

What is the statute of limitations in California? Under Cal. Code of Civil Procedure Section 340.2, for a plaintiff to file a lawsuit related to asbestos exposure, including mesothelioma, must occur either:

• Within one year after the plaintiff suffered the disability; or
• Within one year after the date the plaintiff either knew, or through exercise of reasonable diligence should have known, that such disability was caused or contributed to by such exposure.

The statute defines a disability as “the loss of time from work as a result of such exposure which precludes the performance of the employee’s regular occupation.” Contact an attorney to see if you can file.

In the event that someone you love already died as a result of developing mesothelioma, you may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit. 

Typically, mesothelioma claims will fall under one of two different types of personal injury lawsuits:

• Products liability law; or
• Premises liability
  

What is the difference between the two, and how should you file your lawsuit? Products liability law allows a plaintiff to file a claim against a wide variety of parties connected to a defective product. As such, a products liability lawsuit would allege that a product that contained asbestos—which caused your exposure, and ultimately your mesothelioma diagnosis—was defective and unsafe for use. As I mentioned, a number of different parties may be liable in a products liability lawsuit, such as the product designer, the product manufacturer, and even the retailer of the product.

How about a premises liability lawsuit? This type of personal injury claim alleges that the owner of the premises where the asbestos exposure occurred is liable for your injuries. Under premises liability law, a property owner has a duty to maintain his or her premises in a manner that is safe for use—by anyone living on the property, as well as by anyone doing temporary or long-term work at the location. If you were exposed to asbestos in heavy quantities at a particular location, you may be able to file a premises liability lawsuit.

As a mesothelioma lawyer in Sacramento, I am here to help with your case. I’m Ed Smith. Call me today at 916.921.6400, friendly advice. We’re the mesothelioma lawyers your family can count on.

If you want to learn more about me as an attorney, and what past clients have thought about my work, make sure to read my reviews on: Yelp, Avvo, and Google – and meet my friendly staff by clicking on this link.

I belong to the Million Dollar Forum, which means I’ve won multiple cases worth more than a million dollars.

See the results I have obtained on my Past Verdicts and Settlements page.

I’ve been practicing personal injury law exclusively since 1982, and have fought aggressively on behalf of all of my clients. Don’t hesitate to call my office anytime for free, friendly advice at 916.921.6400.