As any other lawsuit process, an asbestos lawsuit consists of a few stages. Such processes help victims of asbestos exposure to receive compensation for their health problems and moral damage caused by this harmful mineral. Traditionally an asbestos law suit is filed by a person who experiences a specific health problem or the relative of this person. Specific health problems include various conditions developed as a result of contact with asbestos.
If you think that filing a suit is the beginning of the process, you are not exactly right. The first stage of the process that often defines the result is preparation. First of all, a demandant needs to explore all his legal rights regarding the matter of the case and collect all required documents for building the evidence for his claim. The package of documents is rather big, including medical health reports, test results, documents about employment history. This process should be managed by an attorney who is clearly aware what documents are required and what will be useful for the case.
Also on this stage the lawyer selects the court and let you sign a contract for his services that defines the terms and conditions of your collaboration with him. The next step is filing an asbestos law suit. All required papers are prepared by the attorney and passed to the court. The defendant that is usually a company-employer or the one responsible for asbestos exposure receives a copy of claim, and here the negotiations between the parties start. A defendant can respond to a demandant, but usually the accused party ignores any chances for negotiations. In judicial practice such negotiations are considered as a sign of admitted guilt. Usually a response of defendant is an attempt to dismiss the case.
The court can either approve such request or deny it. In the second variant both parties begin to collect evidence of their rightness. Witnesses and any other people who have the information that can be important and useful in the case are attracted. Both parties make investigation, analyzing all records for medical condition of the demandant and the involvement of the defendant into it. An attorney prepares his client for various questions in the court, builds his strategy for satisfying the client’s interests in the court.
After this the time for settlement comes. The parties have right to agree their interests not going to the court by reaching an agreement. If they gain success in negotiation and find a solution that meets the views of both, demandant and defendant, and if the judge confirms this agreement by his sign, the case will be resolved prior to trial. The process of asbestos law suit finishes on this stage. Otherwise the case goes to trial. The jury considers statements of both attorneys, listens to witnesses and both parties’ evidence. After the case is listened, a jury takes some time for deliberation and making ad judgment.
The jury’s verdict may possibly not satisfy the requirements of one of the parties. If a demandant or a defendant wants to put the verdict in issue, the case goes for reconsideration to te appeals court. If the court decides that there was a mistake in case meaning that there was something wrong with following the law, while the facts represented in the court are all correct, the case may go to lower institution for reconsidering. Each appeal must have a strict reason, and the appeal court may either to reject the appeal or to approve it. This is the final stage of asbestos law suit that defines the result.
As a rule the parties cannot come into agreement in terms of the amount of compensation, and not the fact of guilt. However, each case is highly individual and requires unique approach from the attorney.