The value of a case is as much determined by the area in which the case is filed, as it is by the injuries involved. A jury in New York City or San Francisco, for instance, might award the same injured person a great deal more money than a jury in a small town in Tennessee or Iowa.

Two different juries, even in the same county, may react very differently. To arrive at a fair settlement, one needs to look at the strength of the case and amount of fault, the local practice and precedents (e.g., one is often likely to get more in a big city than a rural area as indicated above, rich state rather than a poor state), the severity of the injury and how long it will continue, the expense of litigation, how clear the tie is between the defendant and the injury/symptoms, how bad the defendant is and who it is, how much insurance there is, the reputation and experience of the lawyer and how well he or she negotiates, and how desperate the injured is to settle the case. There is also the subjective element: the sympathy of the jury, demeanor, the appearance of the injured, juror perceptions, makeup of the jury, and so forth.

Putting a dollars and cents amount on your injury can be extremely difficult. There is no set formula. There is no “typical amount." Certainly, a person who incurs $200,000 in medical bills and ongoing coughing and heart problems because of asbestos has a better and more valuable case than another person who suffers $40,000 in medical bills but as yet has no respiratory failure. See our section on pain and suffering for more information.

A good attorney knows the law and the value of your asbestos claim.

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