Malignant mesothelioma, a form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos dust, takes decades before symptoms appear. It is often at an advanced stage when patients receive a diagnosis, and even though treatments for malignant mesothelioma have improved over the years, it still has a lower five-year survival rate than many other kinds of cancer. Getting justice after a mesothelioma diagnosis can feel like a race against the clock; even if you do not have much time left on Earth, you want to know that your family will have the money that you could have provided for them if you had escaped mesothelioma and lived.
Plaintiffs in mesothelioma lawsuits are on firm ground legally; there is little room for doubt about what your illness is and what caused it, and many patients before you with a similar medical history have prevailed in their claims. Despite this, defendants sometimes attempt to waste plaintiffs’ time and resources by taking them on a legal rollercoaster ride through the court system, asking judges to issue rulings on minor points before awarding damages to the plaintiff. To get a resolution to your mesothelioma claim with as few legal shenanigans as possible, contact a Houma mesothelioma lawyer.
Judge Does Not Fall for Avondale Shipyards’ Attempts to Be Evasive
Nolan LeBoeuf, Jr., worked at the Avondale Shipyards in the 1970s and 1980s, where he was exposed to asbestos dust at several work sites. Decades later, he was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma; several of his former coworkers had received the same diagnosis, as had many other former Avondale employees whose tenure and work locations did not overlap with LeBoeuf’s.
LeBoeuf filed his lawsuit in the district court in Louisiana, where he lives, but the defendant filed a motion to move the lawsuit to federal court, and the state court granted it and moved the lawsuit. Once the case was in federal court, the defendant argued for a ruling in its favor on the basis of government contractor immunity, because the projects where LeBoeuf had worked were contracts awarded to Avondale by the government.
The plaintiff then filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the defendant should have known that this argument had not worked, as the federal courts had rejected it in many previous cases with similar facts. The federal court issued a summary judgment in LeBoeuf’s favor, which means that the case can now proceed in Louisiana state court, which should have been the original venue for the case all along.
Being a plaintiff in a lawsuit while you are suffering from mesothelioma is exhausting. The last thing you need is defendants with deep pockets wasting your time with frivolous motions just because they can. Your best defense against this is a personal injury lawyer who has experience with mesothelioma cases.
Contact the Law Office of Patrick H. Yancey About Mesothelioma Cases
A personal injury lawyer can help you navigate the arduous process of filing a mesothelioma lawsuit. Contact the Law Office of Patrick H. Yancey in Houma, Louisiana, to set up a consultation about your case.
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