The California Mesothelioma Lawyers - Asbestos Product Liability Attorneys Serving Southern California in San Diego Orange County Los Angeles Ventura and Santa Barbara. Northern California Mesothelioma Lawyers for the San Francisco Bay Area, Berkeley Oakland, Fresno Santa Clara County San Jose and Sacramento.

Call Toll Free or Submit the e-mail California Mesothelioma Lawyer Case Evaluation Request for a free attorney consultation with a highly qualified mesothelioma - asbestos product liability lawyer. Our mesothelioma attorneys serve Northern and Southern California in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area Orange County San Diego Santa Clara County San Jose Oakland and Sacramento. Submit the California Mesothelioma Contact Form and Mr. Henke will personal call you to discuss your case and offer his impressions and recommendations.

Mesothelioma and Asbestos Exposure - Free Attorney Case Evaluation by California Mesothelioma Lawyers.

Mesothelioma is a disease which occurs almost always as the result of exposure to asbestos. If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, it is almost certain that you were exposed to asbestos fibers either directly or indirectly. If you or a loved one was diagnosed with mesothelioma or if a loved one has passed away as the result of the disease it is very important that you seek a qualified mesothelioma lawyer to evaluate your case and to represent you in legal proceedings to obtain compensation for this catastrophic injury to yours or your loved one's health.

You are invited to contact us for a “Free Mesothelioma Lawyer Case Evaluation.” If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you are welcome and encouraged to contact our California mesothelioma lawyers even if you are not certain how you or your loved one may have been exposed to asbestos. Since mesothelioma is a disease that is almost 100 percent of the time the result of asbestos exposure, conscientious investigation by an experienced mesothelioma attorney should discover how it was that you were exposed to asbestos. Direct exposure to asbestos is most commonly the result of working in professions such as shipyard workers, pipe fitters, insulators, plasterers, electricians, bricklayers, carpenters, steel workers, mine workers, auto mechanics, the U.S. military, or at factories or in other industries or professions in which asbestos was used. Direct exposure might also have occurred as the result of asbestos in heating systems in work places, in homes, apartment buildings, and even in schools. Indirect exposure to asbestos can occur, for example, in family members of those who worked in these industries, who came into contact with asbestos fibers from clothing worn by the worker. One of the first tasks of the mesothelioma lawyer is to identify the probable sources of exposure to asbestos fibers. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you are welcome and encouraged to call for a free mesothelioma attorney case evaluation. Click here for a Free Mesothelioma Lawyer Case Evaluation and you will speak directly with an attorney experienced in trying asbestos lawsuits and specifically knowledgeable about mesothelioma litigation in particular.

Damages Recoverable in California Mesothelioma Lawsuits

Mesothelioma is a deadly disease in which the life expectancy from the date of diagnosis is less than 2 years, and these precious last months of life are commonly characterized by the sad physical and mental misery of this horrible cancer. The consequences for those diagnosed with the disease are indeed catastrophic. The family will often incur substantial medical expense, family members may be required to devote months or years of their lives to the care of their loved one. For families who lose their loved one to this disease, they suffer the tragic loss of his love for them, his affection, his comfort and society and protection, his emotional support and economic support.

The measure of damages for the victim of mesothelioma in California is the value of his injury, meaning the physical consequence of the disease, the loss of his natural life expectancy, his misery, his pain and suffering resulting from the disease, and the full panoply of other “general damages” he has and will suffer as the result of the disease. The victim of mesothelioma also is entitled under California law to recover “special damages” such as for past and future medical expenses and past and future earnings lost as the result of the disease.

Where it is the estate or the decedent's heirs who bring suit for the wrongful death of their loved one who succumbed to mesothelioma, they may recover for their loss of their loved one’s affection and love which they enjoyed and would have continued to enjoy in their lives if the life of their loved one had not be cut short, their loss of his comfort, his society, and his emotional support, and for their loss also of his economic support.

Both the “damages” recoverable in a mesothelioma lawsuit on behalf of the victim of the disease, during his lifetime, and the damages recoverable by his family, following his death, are very substantial, and it is common that juries will award multimillion dollar verdicts against those responsible for his exposure to asbestos. (To comply with legal ethics rules it is necessary to inform you that the recovery in any particular case will differ according to its facts.)

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you are welcome and encouraged to contact us for a free “California Mesothelioma Lawyer Case Evaluation.” You will speak with a qualified and knowledgeable California mesothelioma attorney who will be pleased to consider the facts of your case, help in identifying the potential sources of your asbestos exposure, and discuss with you the subject of damages which you would be entitled to recover. There is absolutely no cost or obligation for a California Mesothelioma Lawyer Case Evaluation.

Mesothelioma Liability - From the California Asbestos Lawyers Perspective

Asbestos related mesothelioma is a disease which should never have resulted in what is now literally an epidemic taking the lives of 3,000 Americans each year. The only known cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos, so this is clearly an industrial disease. The abundant evidence of the catastrophic health consequences of asbestos exposure was well known to industries using asbestos for decades, and yet these employers continued to use asbestos in the workplace despite the knowledge that their employees would pay the price. The employers did not warn the employees, and they used inadequate measures, if any, to protect them from asbestos exposure. Asbestos was also used widely as heating insulation for homes, apartment buildings, commercial buildings and schools, without regard to the health consequences of those who would be exposed to these deadly fibers. Asbestos lawsuits serve the very important purpose of compensating the victims of this highly irresponsible industrial conduct, and serve the purpose also to set an example for future generations that industries must protect their employees from industrial hazards, and protect their consumers from the adverse health effects of their products, such as the innocent children exposed to asbestos in our schools.

Mesothelioma - What is it?

Mesothelioma is a a type of cancer affecting mesothelial cells. The mesothelium is the outer lining surrounding the major organs such as the heart, stomach and lungs. The abnormal cancer cells develop because of asbestos dust and fibers inhaled and lodged in the lungs. The most common variant of the disease is “plural mesothelioma,” which is the variant affecting the lining of the lungs. Between 2,500 and 3,000 Americans will develop plural mesothelioma each year. The symptoms of plural mesothelioma result principally from plural effusion, the build up of fluid between the lung lining and chest cavity. The symptoms of plural mesothelioma include difficulty breathing and swallowing, coughing, shortness of breath, and sometimes fever and weight loss, coughing up blood and rasping The second most common variant of the disease is peritoneal mesothelioma, affecting the membrane surrounding the abdomen; the cancer can also be found in the stomach and other abdominal organs. Between 100 and 500 Americans will be diagnosed with this peritoneal mesothelioma each year. The symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, weight loss, pain or swelling of the abdomen and bowel obstruction, chest pain, fever and clotting abnormalities. Finally, the most rare type of the disease is pericardial mesothelioma affecting the heart and surrounding tissue. Symptoms include palpitations, breathing difficulties and coughing.

Since the symptoms of each of these variants of mesothelioma are “nonspecific” to the disease, meaning that they could be associated with many different types of diseases and illnesses other than mesothelioma, it is common that physicians will initially misdiagnose patients as suffering from more common illness, such as flu. It is important to be diagnosed correctly so that appropriate treatment can be provided early in the disease rather than later. Anyone who knows that he was exposed to asbestos in the past should advise his physician of this fact so that the physician can consider the possibility of asbestos related disease, including mesothelioma, in his differential diagnosis and then do the appropriate testing to rule it in or out.

Mesothelioma is diagnosed by use of a variety of tests, scans and biopsies. Commonly a CT scan or MRI will be ordered to detect findings consistent with mesothelioma. Then biopsies may be ordered of the fluid and suspect tissue. A pathologist examines the material obtained for malignant cells. If cancerous cells are detected, then further scans and invasive procedures may be ordered to determine the location and extent of spread of the disease so that a treatment plan can be recommended.

Treatment Available for Mesothelioma

Medical modalities for the treatment of patients with mesothelioma include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and palliative therapy. Current treatments available for mesothelioma do not have a high success rate, but the earlier that the disease is diagnosed the better the chances that therapy will be successful. There are also investigational trials testing the efficacy of new medical therapies including trials sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. It is the hope that as the result of this research that more effective treatments will be discovered to halt the progress of the disease and provide for the patient’s enhanced life expectancy and quality of life.

What is Asbestos and How Do Asbestos Dust and Fibers Cause Mesothelioma?

Asbestos is a mineral. It exists as a natural mineral in the geological environment. Historically it was considered useful for a number of purposes, including as insulation. Mesothelioma is caused by breathing in or ingesting asbestos dust and fibers which then lodge and cause scarring at the location of the mesothelium; abnormal cells then develop leading to this deadly cancer, mesothelioma. There is characteristically a very long “latency period,” as long as 50 years, between exposure to asbestos and the onset of symptoms and diagnosis of the disease. Those diagnosed today would likely have been exposed to asbestos dust or fibers from the 1950s through the 1980s when industries commonly used asbestos and did little if anything to protect their workers.

If You or A Loved One Has Been Diagnosed With Mesothelioma, or has Passed Away As the Result of the Disease, Contact Our California Mesothelioma Lawyers for a Free Attorney Consultation.

The diagnosis of mesothelioma almost certainly implies that the patient was exposed, directly or indirectly, to asbestos fibers between 20 and 50 years ago. Since mesothelioma rarely occurs in the absence of asbestos exposure, conscientious investigation will almost always discover the likely source of the exposure. Our California mesothelioma lawyers stand ready first to speak with you and provide you our candid attorney case evaluation. We also will be pleased to consider with you the investigation essential to identify the likely source of your exposure and then to document it. Our California mesothelioma attorney case evaluations are confidential, they are free of charge and free of any and all obligation. Simply fill out the "California Mesothelioma Attorney Case Evaluation Form" and you will be contacted by one of our qualified California mesothelioma lawyers.

California Mesothelioma Lawyers - Trial Attorney Qualifications and Experience

If you contact the Henke Law Office for a California mesothelioma case evaluation you will speak directly with attorney Raymond Henke. Mr. Henke is "AV" rated by Martindale and Hubbell, the highest lawyer and law firm rankings awarded by the most highly respected lawyer rating directory in the United States. "A" meaning high to preeminent in "legal ability"; "V" meaning "very high" in general ethical standards. According to Martindale Hubbell: "AV Peer Review Rating — shows that a lawyer has reached the height of professional excellence. He or she has usually practiced law for many years, and is recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity." California mesothelioma attorney Henke is a former Governor of the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association, elected to the position by the several thousand trial lawyer membership of the Association. He was also nominated by the Board of the Association as "Trial Lawyer of the Year." As a trial lawyer, attorney Henke has tried the most complex of litigation, from asbestos litigation to the most complex of pharmaceutical product liability cases, and has obtained many multimillion dollar settlements and jury verdicts. Attorney Henke is a member of the "Million Dollar Advocates Forum" commonly described as "the most selective and prestigious trial lawyer organization in the United States."

You are welcome to call attorney Henke toll free from anywhere in California, or submit the form e-mail "California Mesothelioma Lawyer Case Evaluation Questionnaire." Attorney Henke is a California asbestos product liability lawyer, and will consider mesothelioma cases arising in Los Angeles or the San Francisco Bay Area. In Southern California Attorney Henke will consider asbestos cases from San Diego and San Bernardino Orange County Los Angeles and Ventura. In Northern California Attorney Henke will consider mesothelioma cases from the San Francisco Bay Area, including Berkeley Oakland Santa Clara County and San Jose, from Fresno up to Sacramento. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, call or submit the California Mesothelioma Lawyer Case Evaluation Form now and speak personally to attorney Henke.

If You Were Diagnosed With Mesothelioma, What Should You Look for In a California Asbestos Product Liability Lawyer?

You Have the Right to Ask About Your Prospective California Asbestos product liability Attorney's Qualifications. And Should Do So.

All good California asbestos product liability lawyers should see the logic of your wanting to assure that you will be properly represented in your mesothelioma case, and should be willing and happy to answer any questions you have about their qualifications.

Below a number of specific questions are provided that you should ask in determining which California asbestos lawyer is best for you.

Attorney Henke will also provide his specific, straightforward answers each of the questions, describing his standing in the California trial lawyer community, some of his accomplishments as a California trial lawyer, his national recognition as a trial lawyer, and his track record, including in asbestos litigation.

Qualification Questions To Ask Any California Mesothelioma Lawyer and Asbestos Product Liability Lawyers Whom You Would Consider To Represent You;And Attorney Henke's Answers

QUESTION:
Is the California mesothelioma asbestos product liability lawyer rated by Martindale and Hubbell? And if so, what is his "Legal Ability" rating and "General Ethical Standards" rating?

ANSWER:
Attorney Henke's answer is that he has the very highest Martindale & Hubbell rating, "AV." "A" the "legal ability" [from Very High to Preeminent]; and "V" [Very High], the very highest "General Ethical Standards" rating. It is a rating that Henke has received for all of the past decade of his career.

QUESTION:
Has the California mesothelioma and asbestos lawyer served as lead prosecuting counsel in asbestos litigation and other highly complex litigation such as medical and pharmaceutical product liability litigation?

ANSWER:
Attorney Henke has served as lead trial in numerous asbestos and complex medical and pharmaceutical product liability cases; and has obtained numerous substantial settlements and jury verdicts, including multimillion dollar settlements and multimillion dollar jury verdicts.

Disclaimer Required By California Law. The results obtained in those cases were dependent upon the facts of the cases, and the results will differ in other cases based on different facts.

Henke is a member of the "Million Dollar Advocates Forum" described as the most exclusive and prestigious of trial lawyer organizations in the United States.

QUESTION:
Have the California mesothelioma lawyers been recognized by their peers as established, superior trial attorneys?

ANSWER:
Attorney Henke was first an invited, and then elected, and then reelected again and again Governor of the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association, the fifth largest trial lawyers association in the United States.

Attorney Henke was also nominated by the LATLA Board for the most highly coveted "Trial Lawyer of the Year" Award, specifically for his successful prosecution of a complex pharmaceutical product liability case involving an FDA unapproved AIDS drug, foreshortening the lives of his 5 clients.

Attorney Henke served for years in the prestigious position of the Editor-in-Chief of LATLA's legal journal, "THE ADVOCATE."

QUESTION:
Have the California mesothelioma lawyers obtained positive recognition in and outside the legal profession?

ANSWER:
Attorney Henke has a national reputation as an effective, successful and determined California trial attorney as reflected in scores of newspaper articles about his trial work. Attorney Henke's cases have been chronicled in legitimate national and California legal periodicals, such as the National Law Journal and California Lawyer; legitimate national newspapers, from the front page of the New York Times to the front page of the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle & Examiner, as well as on legitimate national and international news television, e.g., Tom Brokaw's Evening News, CNN. Attorney Henke has also testified before Congress at the invitation of the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the United States House of Representatives on his California trial work in several cases, including his use of claims for punitive damages to set examples of manufacturers who consciously disregarded the safety, health and rights their consumers.

QUESTION:
Can the California asbestos product liability lawyer verify that he is an effective legal advocate, by citation to important published appellate victories he has achieved, including in complex product liability cases? The California mesothelioma lawyer's appellate success matters because it is a measure of the attorney's vitally important ability to argue and persuade on legal issues. It is an ability that is not just essential on appeals. It is an ability essential to the California mesothelioma attorney's effectiveness in meeting all the challenges presented at every stage of complex asbestos litigation, e.g., in pretrial motions, which can seriously affect settlement posture as well as the respective parties' important advantages or disadvantages at the asbestos product liability trial. Your California mesothelioma attorney's willingness to ask the appellate court to immediately reverse a bad pretrial decision that guts the asbestos case may also be essential to achieve the quickest and best result. Your California mesothelioma lawyer's legal advocacy is also a talent essential during the asbestos product liability trial, as the trial lawyer must be able effectively to argue legal issues, e.g., the inadmissibility of the prejudicial medical or character evidence, and perhaps most critically in asbestos litigation, the permissibility of expert opinion testimony. Then, if you "hit big" at trial, the defendant is almost certain to appeal your favorable verdict, and you may then require superior legal advocacy to hold on to your victory.

ANSWER:
Attorney Henke has had extraordinary published and verifiable appellate victories. As one example, in a pharmaceutical class action case, on behalf of a single aggrieved client attorney Henke obtained the reversal of a $120,000,000.00 Ohio Federal District Court approved settlement purporting to bind 1000 injured claimants joined in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and all others injured by the pharmaceutical product nationwide. On his petition for writ of mandate to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, attorney Henke also obtained the reversal of the Ohio Federal District Court's certification of a national mandatory class action. Attorney Henke's argument, accepted by the Court of Appeals as requiring both decisions was that attorney Henke's client was denied his right to the representation of the California attorney of his choice and control over his individual California litigation. The appellate decision effected an important and enduring change in the federal law severely restricting the availability of mandatory, as opposed to voluntary class actions in mass product liability litigation.

As another example, when a California trial judge applied newly enacted tort reform legislation to deprive Attorney Henke's 5 clients of their punitive damage claims, Henke obtained a stay of the trial and filed in the California Court of Appeals an "extraordinary writ" seeking an immediate reversal of the California trial court's order. The California Court of Appeals granted the writ of mandamus, ordering the California trial judge to reverse its order and permit attorney Henke's clients to pursue their punitive damage claims. It also rendered an important published appellate opinion reinterpreting the repressive California tort reform legislation to deprive it of most of its negative force and effect.

The California mesothelioma lawyer's recognition by Martindale Hubbell, his recognition by his peers, his local and national reputation, his complex product liability trial successes and his appellate successes in complex product liability litigation are all matters which you should want to inquire about in selecting the right California asbestos product liability lawyer for your mesothelioma case.

Attorney Henke and his California Law Office Are Your Mesothelioma Lawyers for all of Southern, Central and Northern California. The Henke Law Office Will Represent Those Diagnosed with Mesothelioma or Families Whose Loved Ones Have Died As The Result of Mesothelioma in All California Courts From San Diego to Los Angeles and Orange County; and as Your Mesothelioma Attorneys of Choice, From San Bernardino to Ventura and Santa Barbara. In Central and Northern California from Fresno to the San Francisco Bay Area, Berkeley Oakland Santa Clara and San Jose up to Sacramento.

For a free California mesothelioma lawyer consultation, call attorney Henke toll free (877) 377-3233 and you will speak to Mr. Henke directly. It is his private, direct office line. Or submit the "California Mesothelioma Lawyers Contact Form" and you will receive attorney Henke's personal response within 24 hours. Mr. Henke will provide you his evaluation of your mesothelioma case, inquire about the possible sources of your asbestos exposure, consider with you what investigation might be appropriate to identify those responsible and document your case; and he will be pleased to discuss with you also the elements of your damages defining your prospects for recovery in your case. As California mesothelioma lawyers the Henke Law Office serves all of California in every county in the state, from Los Angeles and Orange County to Marin County and San Juaquin, Kern County Ventura. Imperial County Kings County, and the Inland Empire. As California pharmaceutical product liability attorneys we will consider representing mesothelioma claimants in Southern California from San Diego to Los Angeles up to Ventura County and Santa Barbara. The California mesothelioma attorneys will also prosecute asbestos cases in Northern California, all the San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose Santa Clara Palo Alto Berkeley and Oakland up to Sacramento as well as in Fresno all of Central California. Henke is licensed to practice in all the Courts of the State of California and will be pleased to consider the mesothelioma cases in any County in the state.