Since there is no real gauge for measuring the damage that a case of mesothelioma can cause a patient or his family, the amount given as mesothelioma settlements today, differs vastly from one case to another, and also from one state to another, depending upon their legislations and amendments.
However, the main factor that determines the settlement money, apart from the damage that mesothelioma has caused a patient, is the state, region and the political atmosphere under which the mesothelioma settlement has reached. During the 80s and 90s, when a lot of lawsuits were being filed and the damaged caused by mesothelioma gauged, the political climate in most of the U.S. was immensely favourable to patients.
However, the overall political climate seems to have undergone a slight change. An example can be given of a reform bill in Texas, which makes neutral medical tests for asbestos related diseases compulsory and another in the state of Georgia, where the onus is on the plaintiff to provide all possible evidence to show that the problem was indeed caused by asbestos.
These were reform bills signed in the mid
90s, after there was a lot of controversy over mesothelioma lawsuits being misused by both lawyers and patients for exaggerated claims. There, however, is no problem when it comes to genuine cases of mesothelioma.
The settlement amount also varies. In the south, it is believed that most mesothelioma settlements cross a figure of one million. However, there can be no generalisations made on the settlement money, since each settlement is dependent on the merits of the case itself and do not lend to generalisations.
The settlements can range from a few thousands of dollars to millions of dollars. There is no average amount for a mesothelioma settlement. There have even been cases of mass settlements, where people allegedly ended up getting just a few dollars individually. The final decision depends totally on the legitimacy of the accusations of negligence in the part of the defendant and the damage caused to the plaintiff. Since courts have a tradition of referring to previous settlements, the settlement could also depend, to an extent, on the results of other such settlements and trial decision in the rest of the country.
