In addition to coping with a serious illness, mesothelioma victims and their families must deal with the financial reality of medical bills and other expenses. We encourage our mesothelioma clients to concentrate on their health and their families while we assist them in obtaining financial compensation.

We handle all mesothelioma cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that our fee will be a percentage of the recovery we obtain for you. We will cover the up front costs of investigating your case. We will pay doctors to write reports and cover all out-of-pocket costs related to your case. Those costs will be taken from your recovery at the time of settlement. In the unlikely event of no recovery, you will have no direct liability for these costs.

For many clients, we are able to obtain quick settlements from at least some of the companies that exposed them to asbestos. Other defendants do not settle until the case is at the trial stage.

While your legal case is in progress, we can help you and your family investigate other sources of financial assistance. If your exposure to asbestos exposure was job-related, we will work with lawyers who can help you recover medical expenses and lost wages from sources such as workers. compensation, the Longshoreman and Harbor Workers. Act, the Jones Act, and Social Security disability. If your exposure to asbestos was not job-related, we can assist you with obtaining assistance from Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income.

Many patients do not experience symptoms of malignant Mesothelioma in its early stages. But as the cancer spreads, certain symptoms will become more noticeable:

* Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma, the most common form of mesothelioma cancer, are usually shortness of breath, chronic cough, chest pain, fever, loss of appetite, weight loss, and difficulty sleeping.

* Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma (abdominal Mesothelioma cancer) may include abdominal pain and swelling, nausea, loss of appetite, weakness, and weight loss.

* Symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma typically do not appear until the cancer has progressed to more serious stages, and may include chest pain, chronic cough, heart palpitations, and shortness of breath.

If you are experiencing the above symptoms, it is imperative that you contact a doctor as soon as possible.

Diagnosis of the disease is usually made by a pathological review of tissue taken from the tumor. A series of immunohistochemical stains is used by a pathologist to distinguish between mesothelioma and other types of malignant cancer.

The only known cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos. If you have been diagnosed with any form of the disease, you should call our mesothelioma attorneys for legal advice. We will fly to your home within a few days. We will immediately begin working on your behalf to obtain compensation for you and your family.

If diagnosed with mesothelioma, a person does have an asbestos-related lawsuit. Asbestos is the only known cause of mesothelioma. If diagnosed with mesothelioma, the disease was caused by exposure to asbestos.

If a person has been diagnosed with lung cancer and worked around asbestos, it is highly likely that you have an asbestos-related lawsuit.

The individual diagnosed with the disease and his or her spouse has a case against the asbestos companies. If you are an heir of someone who died of an asbestos-related disease, you too can bring an asbestos-related legal case.

The companies that manufactured, distributed, and/or owned the buildings or ships that carried the asbestos may all be at fault.

The courts have granted protection against individual suits to some of the companies that produced and/or distributed asbestos products. In these situations, you would be subject to the procedures that the courts have developed. Otherwise, your mesothelioma case would be filed as an individual claim. Our firm will represent you in either capacity.

If your lawsuit is accepted by our firm, we represent you on a contingency fee basis. You will only pay for the costs we incur if there are sufficient funds available from your settlement. If there is no settlement, you pay nothing.

All you need to do is contact our firm. Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason specializes in getting justice for people have been diagnosed with mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. We are well-versed in the special rules that most courts have developed for these types of lawsuits.

Our attorneys will help provide the information that the asbestos companies you are suing will request. They will also help you prepare for your oral deposition and be there to defend you when it occurs.

The time will vary depending on the state. In California, if you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma the courts will advance your trial date. It may be set as soon as 4 to 6 months after the filing of your claim.

The time of settlement is completely dependent on which asbestos companies you are suing. Some may settle without a trial while others will wait until after the trial has begun to settle.

Our mission is to offer prompt, individual, and undivided attention to each of our clients. Our firm does not accept a large number of cases, allowing us to concentrate on the cases that we do accept.

We are experienced at negotiating the settlements you deserve and we are prepared to go to trial when it is necessary.

For your convenience, our attorneys will travel to where you live. And we will take on your case for no extra charge if it is filed in a state other than California.