My Dad Died of Mesothelioma [2025 Guide for Families]
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If you lost your father to a battle with mesothelioma, you and your family may be entitled to compensation for your emotional, financial, and relational losses. Nothing can replace your father. Pursuing justice on your father’s behalf can bring financial relief, so you can focus on what matters most to you right now.
In this guide, we walk you through your legal options if your dad died of mesothelioma. We discuss who is eligible to file a mesothelioma wrongful death claim, what evidence is needed to support your case, and how long you have to file. We also explore average mesothelioma settlements, how you might receive your payout, and how to choose an attorney to handle your asbestos-related wrongful death claim.
About the Death of a Father From Mesothelioma
Understanding Mesothelioma and How It Caused Your Dad’s Death
Legal Options After Your Father’s Death From Mesothelioma
Who Can File a Mesothelioma Lawsuit After My Dad’s Death?
What Evidence Do I Need to Build a Strong Mesothelioma Case for My Dad?
How Long Do I Have to File a Mesothelioma Lawsuit After My Dad Died?
Average Mesothelioma Wrongful Death Settlements for Families
How Families Receive Compensation After a Mesothelioma Settlement
Choosing the Right Mesothelioma Lawyer for Your Family
Understanding Mesothelioma and How It Caused Your Dad’s Death
Mesothelioma is a rare, aggressive cancer that is caused by asbestos exposure. Many fathers were exposed to asbestos in the workplace, particularly if they worked in industrial, automotive, construction, shipbuilding, or welding fields or served in the military.
Fathers may not have known that the products they were using or the environments they were in had asbestos. Or, if they did know, they were not told that asbestos could cause mesothelioma.
Asbestos fibers are highly friable, meaning they crumble easily when exposed to pressure. This means that people who worked with asbestos could easily breathe in or ingest the fibers. Other family members also face exposure risks from clothing and furniture from fibers that were carried home. Once the asbestos fibers are inside the body, they remain indefinitely. These asbestos fibers can cause mesothelioma and other asbestos-based illnesses later in life.
Dads may not develop mesothelioma for years or decades after they are exposed to asbestos. This is called a latency period, and it
So, it can be difficult for men and their surviving loved ones to know exactly where or when they were exposed to asbestos. Asbestos lawyers have special training to connect low-level asbestos exposure in the past to a present-day mesothelioma death or case.
Legal Options After Your Father’s Death From Mesothelioma
You have several legal options for pursuing compensation if your father died from mesothelioma. As a surviving child, you can pursue compensation from asbestos manufacturers, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and other entities.
Here are some of your legal options for pursuing funds if your father died of mesothelioma:
- Bringing a wrongful death lawsuit against the asbestos companies responsible for your father’s exposure
- Seeking an asbestos trust fund settlement if the at-fault asbestos company is bankrupt and created a trust fund
- Requesting VA benefits if your father was exposed to asbestos during his military service and later developed mesothelioma (
VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) ) - Submitting a workers’ compensation survivor claim if your father was exposed to asbestos while on-the-job
You may be able to seek multiple types of legal compensation at the same time. Compensation that may be available to you if your dad died from mesothelioma. You may be eligible for different types of compensation from different entities. Some of the compensation you could receive after your father’s death would help cover costs and losses like:
- Funeral and burial costs
- Reimbursement for medical expenses
- Reimbursement for lost wages
- Mental anguish
- Loss of support and companionship
A mesothelioma lawyer can help you discover and pursue your legal options for if your father died of complications from mesothelioma.
Who Can File a Mesothelioma Lawsuit After My Dad’s Death?
Children and close family members may qualify to file a mesothelioma lawsuit after a father’s death. This includes a surviving spouse who files a mesothelioma claim on behalf of their husband or anyone else who was an eligible dependent of the deceased. Each type of mesothelioma claim has its own rules about who can file for compensation after a father’s death. A mesothelioma attorney can help you determine if you can seek a financial settlement if you lost your dad to asbestos exposure.
What Evidence Do I Need to Build a Strong Mesothelioma Case for My Dad?
In order to file a strong mesothelioma claim, you and your family will need to gather information and documents relevant to your father’s diagnosis and asbestos exposure.
Evidence you need to build a strong mesothelioma case for your dad includes:
- Medical records
- Death certificate
- Work or military service history
- Statements from your dad’s family and coworkers
Building a strong mesothelioma claim after your dad dies takes skill, patience, and technical training. A mesothelioma lawyer can take on the legal matters so you and your family can focus on grieving your father’s death. They can also use their resources to trace even slight asbestos exposure from years ago and connect it to your dad’s eventual diagnosis and death.
How Long Do I Have to File a Mesothelioma Lawsuit After My Dad Died?
How much time you have to file a mesothelioma lawsuit depends on your family’s specific circumstances. Each state has a filing deadline, called a statute of limitations. The statute of limitations for filing a mesothelioma lawsuit after your dad dies depends on the applicable law.
That said, the deadline for filing a wrongful death lawsuit usually falls within a couple of years after your dad’s death. If you and your family miss the filing deadline, then you may lose out on compensation. However, an attorney can help you file your mesothelioma claim on time and see if an exception applies that gives you more time.
Average Mesothelioma Wrongful Death Settlements for Families
The average mesothelioma wrongful death settlement for families who lost a father can range from $1 million to $10 million or more. However, this is a broad estimate, and every payout is personalized to that individual family. Factors that affect how much a family might receive in benefits include the strength of their mesothelioma claim, whether the father had dependent children, and the applicable state law. An attorney can calculate what your settlement might be if your dad died of mesothelioma.
How Families Receive Compensation After a Mesothelioma Settlement
Families receive compensation after a mesothelioma settlement as a lump-sum or structured payout, depending on the type of claim they filed and the terms of the financial award. In a lump-sum settlement, the surviving family members would receive one payment for their mesothelioma claim.
However, other mesothelioma settlements may be paid out periodically, such as monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly intervals. Periodic payments allow surviving loved ones to manage the long-term financial impact of a father’s death from mesothelioma. An asbestos lawyer can advise you about what types of mesothelioma legal damages you may qualify for and how you would receive a payout.
Choosing the Right Mesothelioma Lawyer for Your Family
Here are the steps to choosing the right mesothelioma lawyer for your family:
- Make sure the lawyer handles wrongful death claims where a loved one dies from mesothelioma.
- Verify that the attorney has national reach so they can file your wrongful death mesothelioma claim in the proper court.
- Look for attorneys who will take your case on contingency so you and your family do not have to pay upfront to hire a mesothelioma attorney.
- Schedule a free case review to learn about your legal options for pursuing compensation after your dad dies of mesothelioma.
An experienced asbestos attorney has the tools to handle all aspects of your mesothelioma claim and to pursue several types of benefits at the same time. When you hire a mesothelioma attorney for your wrongful death claim, make sure you feel confident in their ability to represent your best interests.
Contact a Mesothelioma Lawyer Today
If your father passed away from mesothelioma, you may be entitled to compensation from a wrongful death claim from a trust fund, the VA, or a lawsuit. Filing a claim can feel overwhelming while you’re grieving. Our team can help you through each step.
Contact our compassionate team today by calling (585) 496-2648 to schedule a free, confidential consultation. We can help connect you to benefits to relieve the financial stress of your loss so you can focus on healing.