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Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33394
- $50 Million Recovered
- Serves Clients Nationwide
- Rated in the Top 10 Asbestos and Mesothelioma Trial Lawyers
Qualified mesothelioma lawyers from a top asbestos law firm can help patients in Florida file a claim for compensation. Weitz & Luxenberg and Simmons Hanly Conroy are two of many mesothelioma law firms that have recovered billions on behalf of thousands of clients.
Written by Joe Lahav, Esquire | Legally Reviewed By Samuel Meirowitz | Edited By Walter Pacheco | Last Update: July 3, 2024
Florida ranks second in the nation behind California for mesothelioma and asbestosis deaths. However, Florida’s laws and regulations on asbestos exposure tend to favor defendants more often than is the case in California.
Florida has deadlines, called statutes of limitations, for filing personal injury and wrongful death claims. Experienced attorneys have the expertise to interpret how a Florida statute of limitations may apply in your case.
It is important for families facing a mesothelioma diagnosis to consult with a mesothelioma attorney as soon as possible. They can help you file a mesothelioma claim to get compensation in the form of settlements, verdicts or trust fund payouts.
Get help finding an attorney who knows the process and can get you and your family the compensation you deserve.
Get Help NowFlorida has no naturally occurring deposits of asbestos, but large amounts of raw asbestos ore were shipped to the state and countless contaminated products were used in construction and other industries.
Industries with particularly high risks of asbestos exposure include:
Mesothelioma lawyers have helped Floridians get compensation for occupational asbestos exposure and secondary exposure.
Florida residents diagnosed with mesothelioma will want to consider a mesothelioma law firm that practices nationwide because these firms have comprehensive knowledge and reach that local law firms can’t match.
Nationwide firms have the experience and resources required to take on large asbestos manufacturers that acted negligently in exposing you or a loved one to asbestos. For example, in 2022, Weitz & Luxenburg secured $43 million for a mesothelioma patient after a jury found Algoma Hardwoods, Inc. responsible for asbestos exposure.
Even though nationwide asbestos law firms do not have office locations in Florida, their lawyers will come to you to conduct interviews and depositions.
That’s one of the benefits of going with a nationwide asbestos law firm. They will travel to your home at no cost to you. They also provide the best chance of winning an asbestos case with a significant payout.
While Florida’s asbestos case history is not as robust as some other states, Florida juries have awarded multimillion-dollar verdicts to plaintiffs with mesothelioma.
While these are examples of jury verdicts, most mesothelioma lawsuits are settled out of court. Nationwide mesothelioma law firms regularly secure mesothelioma settlements worth more than a million dollars.
Experienced law firms also regularly secure six-figure payouts from asbestos trust funds.
Johnson & Johnson offered Washington, D.C. and 42 U.S. states, including Florida, a settlement following an investigation against the pharmaceutical company. The states accuse J&J of falsely marketing its talc-based products to consumers claiming they were safe.
In June 2024, Johnson & Johnson offered to pay $700 million to settle those accusations. If the deal is given approval, the settlement will resolve claims J&J misled consumers of its talc-based baby powder and other talc products.
Johnson & Johnson denies violating the law and admits no wrongdoing. The company is facing more than 60,000 lawsuits that claim its talc-based products were contaminated with asbestos, leading to cases of ovarian cancer and mesothelioma.
A mix of federal and state laws govern Florida asbestos claims. Florida’s asbestos statutes are found in the Florida Administrative Code.
Federal laws, such as the Clean Air Act, provide a layer of regulation in addition to the state’s asbestos laws. In 1982, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection started its Asbestos Removal Program to protect the public from asbestos released during renovation and demolition of contaminated buildings.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection oversees the state’s Asbestos Removal Program. It requires notification to the department before asbestos is removed from certain facilities. Notification of asbestos removal must be submitted at least 10 days prior to the project start date.
Information about complying with the state’s asbestos regulations is found in DEP’s Asbestos Letters, Determinations and Clarifications.
A Florida mesothelioma attorney has the experience to interpret how these laws affect your case. An experienced attorney can secure the highest level of compensation for your individual case in Florida. They have the experience and power to stand up to the companies that caused you or your loved one to develop mesothelioma.
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Florida courts have implemented procedures and legal norms to manage asbestos litigation within the state. A mesothelioma attorney can determine how these rules may apply to your case.
The laws governing asbestos lawsuits in Florida are relatively standard and consistent with most other states. A few laws deviate from the norm, such as Florida’s stance on punitive damages.
Most states place no limits on punitive damages, which aim to deter a defendant from repeating similar offenses in the future and discourage others from doing the same. Florida law prohibits punitive damages in asbestos lawsuits entirely.
In 2000, Florida was home to 4% of the nation’s new asbestos cases. Five years later, the state began to limit these claims and enacted legislation to manage asbestos lawsuits.
As with asbestos litigation reforms passed in Texas, Ohio and Georgia, Florida’s law was adopted to reduce the number of pending asbestos cases and limit any new filings to only those made by the most seriously ill plaintiffs.
The law, known as the Asbestos and Silica Compensation Fairness Act of 2005, set up a higher threshold for plaintiffs to cross when filing a claim by requiring better evidence — including that of asbestos exposure — at the time the lawsuit is filed.
When Florida enacted the Asbestos and Silica Compensation Fairness Act, the focus shifted to the seller’s conduct in asbestos cases. The law provides that a defendant that sells, but does not manufacture, asbestos is only liable if the plaintiff can prove the following:
Before the 2005 law, Florida imposed strict liability for injuries that defective products caused. Anyone in the chain of distribution of a defective product was liable for resulting injuries regardless of fault. In other words, the product’s defect determined liability, not the seller’s conduct.
Florida also limits the liability of a company (the successor) that merges or consolidates with another company that has asbestos-related liabilities (the predecessor). Any potential liability is capped at the fair market value of the predecessor’s total gross assets at the time of the merger or consolidation.
Claimants with nonmalignant asbestos claims — such as asbestosis or pleural thickening — may only file lawsuits in Florida if they provide evidence of a physical impairment caused by asbestos exposure.
In Florida, a claimant with a nonmalignant asbestos-related condition, such as asbestosis, has a limited period of time in which to file a lawsuit. But the same person is not automatically barred from bringing a separate claim if he or she develops an asbestos-related cancer later.
There are separate statutes of limitations for different diseases. Defendants cannot require nonmalignant asbestos claimants to release any future claims of asbestos-related cancers as a condition of settlement.
Every state sets its own laws regarding when and how a claimant can file a claim with an asbestos trust fund. Florida is one of the states that allows setoffs.
If a claimant has acquired compensation from a trust fund, any defendants they sue may deduct the amount of trust compensation from the court award. An experienced Florida mesothelioma lawyer can offer the best guidance on how the state’s trust fund laws may apply to your case.
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Lahav, J. (2024, July 3). Florida Mesothelioma Lawyers. Asbestos.com. Retrieved August 23, 2024, from https://www.asbestos.com/mesothelioma-lawyer/florida/
Lahav, Joe. "Florida Mesothelioma Lawyers." Asbestos.com, 3 Jul 2024, https://www.asbestos.com/mesothelioma-lawyer/florida/.
Lahav, Joe. "Florida Mesothelioma Lawyers." Asbestos.com. Last modified July 3, 2024. https://www.asbestos.com/mesothelioma-lawyer/florida/.
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A mesothelioma lawyer who specializes in asbestos litigation reviewed the content on this page to ensure it is legally accurate.
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Samuel Meirowitz represents plaintiffs across the United States in mesothelioma and asbestos legal cases. He is a partner at the Manhattan-based Meirowitz & Wasserberg law firm.
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