What Happens in an Asbestos Lawsuit?

An in-depth look at Baron & Budd’s long-term commitment to client care

When you receive a devastating diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma cancer or lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, there are many questions to ask. How will you determine the best options for treating your disease? How will you locate a medical specialist who understands the aggressive nature of such a rare and deadly asbestos cancer as mesothelioma? How will you pay for surgery and expensive medical care? Is it possible to receive compensation from the asbestos manufacturers that purposefully failed to warn the public about the dangers of using their products?

In addition to finding the right medical team to treat your disease, the law firm you choose to represent you against the asbestos companies whose products caused your illness must have the capability, the compassion, and the expertise to go up against the largest, toughest corporations in the nation. Here is a deep dive into the roots of Baron & Budd’s law practice and the inspiration that not only started it all but still drives the firm’s passion today.

A Legacy of Client Advocacy

Established in 1977, the national law firm of Baron & Budd was founded upon the principle that ordinary workers and everyday citizens deserve a powerful voice against prominent corporations whose limitless bank accounts and extensive legal resources had been routinely employed to crush the complaints of individuals harmed by their corporate malfeasance.

More than 40 years ago, the lawyers at Baron & Budd saw a critical need to stand up for those who toiled in refineries, mills, plants, and factories where asbestos was made or used. The firm’s founders realized that those who worked at industrial sites or spent their lives building homes and commercial buildings wouldn’t stand a chance against corporate giants that cared little when a worker became ill from exposure to the asbestos products they made or distributed.

Baron & Budd’s asbestos litigation lawyers pioneered mesothelioma lawsuits, representing some of the first mesothelioma victims in the nation, and our dedication to helping mesothelioma and asbestos lung cancer victims has not wavered since. Our team of dedicated asbestos lawyers works in every corner of the country, winning precedent-setting asbestos cases and making sure that each asbestos victim we represent is heard. Baron & Budd’s asbestos litigation lawyers have decades of experience and the substantial resources needed to fight negligent asbestos manufacturers and distributors – all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary.

Everyone Deserves a Voice

Despite going up against some of the country’s largest corporate conglomerates, the hallmark of Baron & Budd’s asbestos practice has always been, and will always be, the relationships it forms with its clients, everyday folks who toiled at careers spent servicing or working in factories, refineries, chemical plants and paper mills, or constructing homes and office buildings, where they breathed in toxic asbestos fibers without ever being warned of the deadly consequences. Early on, the firm’s attorneys made it their mission to stand up for these hardworking individuals and their families.

What Happens First

Once an individual (or the family of a deceased person) who has been diagnosed with asbestos lung cancer or mesothelioma has retained our firm to pursue an asbestos claim, our expert investigators spring into action. We meet with each client individually to determine how and where they were exposed to asbestos throughout their lifetime. We provide resources on our website about possible treatments and medical specialists around the country who specialize in mesothelioma cancer and other asbestos diseases.

The types of asbestos products a client was exposed to and what he or she recalls about the exposure helps determine which asbestos manufacturers and/or distributors are sued. If a client was exposed to a product whose manufacturer is now bankrupt, bankruptcy claims are filed.

Medical records are obtained and witnesses, usually a client’s coworkers, are contacted. Whether the location of a client’s exposure to asbestos was a factory, refinery, office building, steel mill, military base, maritime vessel or at home, our seasoned investigators track down the evidence needed to take a case confidently all the way to trial, if needed.

A Lawsuit of Your Own

Unlike some law firms, which bundle multiple asbestos victims into large class-action lawsuits, Baron & Budd believes that every client deserves to file his or her own claim against the manufacturers who put asbestos into their products without disclosing its hazards. Our attorneys feel strongly that the distributors who sold toxic asbestos products to businesses and builders with full knowledge of its deadliness need to hear from every citizen who has been harmed. That is why every asbestos claim we file is handled individually by our own lawyers from start to finish.

Your Powerful Words

Once an asbestos lawsuit is filed, a client may have a chance to give a deposition. This is an opportunity to recount, in your own words, how you were was exposed to asbestos and how your life, your family and your future have been affected by asbestos disease. Giving a deposition is especially important to preserve testimony in the event a patient is unable to testify in court. Our clients can rest assured that one of our experienced asbestos attorneys will be at your side at all times as you describe your asbestos exposure for the record.

Client meetings and a client’s deposition can all take place in the convenience of your own home, if desired, or in the conference room of a nearby hotel in your own town. Our compassionate lawyers understand that your health and well-being come first. We will work around your medical appointments, doctor visits and other healthcare needs.

Personal Attention

It really all comes down to trusting that the law firm you’ve hired to represent you in an asbestos claim has your best interests at heart. The mesothelioma lawyers at Baron & Budd have been representing asbestos victims for more than four decades. We do our very best for our clients because we care, passionately, about obtaining the best outcome for your case that we possibly can.

Here, for example, is the story of just one of our thousands of grateful clients: Ms. Shumaker’s father, Otho Shumaker, was a man of many trades. He worked as a millwright, pipefitter and insulator at the Dupont Rayon® manufacturing plant in Richmond, Virginia, for more than 35 years. As with so many other workers at industrial sites across the country, Mr. Shumaker’s work at the plant brought him into frequent contact with asbestos. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2001 and passed away a short time later. Mr. Shumaker’s daughter wrote to Baron & Budd to express her gratitude for helping her family.

“I’m not sure if there are words to express my family’s appreciation for all your firm has done for us. No amount of money can replace losing my Dad to Mesothelioma, but with the help of Baron and Budd and the generosity of my Mom, our lives have been improved beyond belief…Our experiences have been nothing but positive and very professionally handled. I can’t thank you enough for being so kind to my family and taking care of our every question or need. It really makes me feel good to know that my Mother, now 83, doesn’t have to worry about her future thanks to you.”

–Linda Shumaker of Richmond, Virginia

You should not hesitate to contact Baron & Budd if you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma or asbestos lung cancer. At Baron & Budd, our asbestos attorneys are ready to be of assistance in any way we can. Please call us at 855-280-7664 or contact us online to receive a free and completely confidential evaluation.