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An asbestosis or a mesothelioma Workers’ Compensation claim, I’m gonna include both at the same time, have two different portions of it. And they are as follows. And I hate to talk like a lawyer because I’m more human being than I am a lawyer. But you have two sets of the claim. You have – the first is if the individual is still alive, they have a right to get their medical bills reimbursed, which is very important because often times if it’s being run through their health insurance, there’s limits on how much your health insurance pays over the course of an individual’s lifetime. So if we can get Workers’ Compensation to pay that, that gets reimbursed, and that goes back towards people’s health insurance. And obviously, health insurance is so important these days and age – this day and age.
So the medical is brought into play, as is the Permanent Partial Disability, which if an individual has — with a long asbestos or mesothelioma claim, if they have what’s called a pulmonary function test for the lungs, that is the gold standard as to what the rating is. And that is payable to them as their Permanent Partial Disability. If they have to leave work as a result of this, they also have a right to bring up a claim for wage loss. Now, the unfortunate second part of this claim is if they pass away as a result of either of these diseases or an occupational disease, then they have other rights. And it’s obviously not their rights, but some of them cross over from what I just discussed.
The first is the medical bills and the medical providers still want to be paid back because they’ve paid for something that’s work related that they shouldn’t have paid for. The second thing is that Permanent Partial Disability, if it’s – and this is the legal phrase under the statute. If it’s ascertainable or if it can be known before they pass away, that survives the individual and goes to the estate. If there is a dependent spouse or dependent children, even if they’re adults, they also have a right to certain benefits for years, for a number of years. Many of the older men who have this have told me, “It’s almost like a life insurance policy I have through the Workers’ Compensation system.” And they’re correct on that. That’s kind of how I look at it now too.
And the other part is they do also pay for funeral expenses, depending on the date of injury, up to $15,000.00. Some people will even pass away where there’s no direct dependence, but it’s just the estate. And the estate also has a right, if somebody can represent the estate, to a certain amount of money.
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Minneapolis workers’ compensation attorney, Dean Salita, discusses what you are entitled to if you file a successful asbestosis workers’ compensation claim.