Joye Law Firm has recovered millions in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits for its clients – including numerous lawsuits which resulted in multi-million dollar verdicts or settlements. With nearly 250 years of combined litigation experience, our attorneys can help you get the compensation you deserve – all while treating you with respect, compassion and care.
If you’ve developed mesothelioma, asbestosis or another asbestos-related injury, let our experience work for you. Call Joye Law Firm at (888) 324-3100 or fill out a free online consultation form and talk to a personal injury lawyer in Clinton, Charleston or Myrtle Beach today.
Mesothelioma Lawsuits
Mesothelioma injury lawsuits can be filed as either personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits. A personal injury lawsuit is filed by the individual who has been injured; a wrongful death lawsuit is filed by the family of the individual who has died. In a civil lawsuit for damages, legal responsibility for asbestos-related injuries is generally determined under product liability law, which holds manufacturers, sellers and distributors responsible for their failure to provide a well-designed product that is reasonably safe when used as intended.
Product liability lawsuits regarding asbestos use or exposure can be based on three legal theories – negligence, breach of warranty and strict liability – or a combination of all three. At Joye Law Firm, our team of product liability lawyers can explain these concepts, summarized briefly below, in more detail and determine which might apply to your situation.
- Negligence. There are four parts to a negligence claim – duty, breach, causation and damages. Asbestos manufacturers, suppliers and distributors may have had a duty (based on a legal standard) to warn anyone who used or may have been exposed to asbestos of its possible dangers. In most cases, those warnings were not provided, so that duty may very well have been breached. If a determination can be made that a plaintiff’s injuries, and resulting damages, were ultimately caused by that asbestos use or exposure, then liability is present.
- Breach of Warranty. Warranties can be express or implied. Express warranties exist when a claim is made about a product, the buyer relies on that claim and then the claim turns out to be false. If an asbestos manufacturer, supplier – or anyone involved in the distribution chain – made a claim that using asbestos was safe, they may be held liable for injuries that resulted from that usage.
Implied warranties generally accompany the sale and use of a product pursuant to state commercial code statutes. It is implied that a product will be safe and fit for its intended purpose. Asbestos was sold as an insulation product. It was used for that purpose and should have been safe; therefore, its safety was implied – simply by its sale.
- Strict Liability. Under strict liability, a plaintiff need not prove that a defendant acted negligently in order to recover damages. The mere fact that a product was unreasonably dangerous and sold by a retail manufacturer or seller may be enough, in itself, to establish that a defendant may have breached its duty.
