When a defendant offers a settlement, and you and your attorney feel the amount is substantially less than the jury award you are counsel is seeking, you will need to make a decision as to whether or not you want to press forward or accept the offer. If you are a malignant mesothelioma victim (as opposed to asbestosis or other non-malignant disease) and have a strong case, your attorney may advise you to hold out for a judgment because, mesothelioma lawyers have three decades of precedent and case law available to them with which to support their arguments.
Nonetheless, the final decision is yours alone. Your lawyer can only advise you; s/he cannot make these choices for you unless you are incapacitated and have given him/her the power-of-attorney to do so.
Typically, when a lawyer takes as complex a case on contingency as mesothelioma cases tend to be, s/he will be entitled 40% of the jury award in addition to compensation for legal expenses such as court and filing fees, payments to expert witnesses and more. On the other hand, when both parties agree to an out-of-court settlement, many court-related expenses can be avoided.
In addition, you will be spared the time and stress of litigation at a time when you need all your resources to fight the disease.
If you choose to accept an out-of-court settlement, you should be aware that the terms of such a settlement may include stipulations. The defendant may disavow any liability, and may insist that you not speak about the case to the media. In addition, you will likely be forfeiting your right to take any further action against that particular defendant.
If your purpose is to help expose corporate wrongdoing and hold them accountable, you should fight on to end. If on the other hand, it's more important to you to recover your losses and go home to spend your final days with family and making final arrangements in peace, mesothelioma legal settlements may often be the easiest solution.
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