Asbestos Diseases Take Decades To Appear
Mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases often do not show symptoms until twenty, thirty, or even fifty years after the original exposure happened. This long latency period creates a real problem for ordinary statutes of limitations, which typically start counting from the date of an injury rather than decades later when a diagnosis finally arrives, long after the workplace or product responsible for the exposure may have changed hands or shut down entirely.
Indiana’s Deadline Runs From Diagnosis, Not Exposure
Under Indiana Code Section 34-20-3-2, an asbestos-related product liability action must generally be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrues, and Indiana treats that accrual date as the date of diagnosis rather than the date of the original exposure. An Indiana mesothelioma lawyer sees this distinction matter enormously, since someone exposed to asbestos decades ago on a job site can still bring a timely claim once a doctor actually identifies the disease and confirms its cause.
A Recent Ruling Removed An Older Barrier
For years, a separate ten-year statute of repose threatened to bar claims entirely once a decade had passed since exposure, regardless of when symptoms appeared. The Indiana Supreme Court addressed this directly in Myers v. Crouse-Hinds Division of Cooper Industries, ruling that applying this repose period to mesothelioma claims was unconstitutional, since the disease’s decades-long latency period made the ten-year bar fundamentally unworkable for these specific cases and left many victims with no remedy at all.
Indiana Recognizes A Two Disease Rule
A person who develops one asbestos-related condition and later develops a second, more serious one, such as mesothelioma following an earlier asbestosis diagnosis, is not limited to whatever claim they may have filed for the first disease, since Indiana treats each diagnosis as its own legal event.
- Each distinct asbestos-related disease is treated as its own separate injury
- A new two-year filing window opens upon diagnosis of each new disease
- Prior settlements for an earlier disease generally do not bar a later claim
- This rule reflects how differently these diseases can progress over time and appear
Comparative Fault Still Applies To These Claims
Indiana follows a modified comparative fault rule, meaning a person found 51 percent or more responsible for their own asbestos exposure cannot recover damages at all. In most workplace exposure cases this rarely becomes the central issue, since the exposure typically resulted from conditions the employer or a product manufacturer controlled rather than any choice made by the worker at the time.
What Kind Of Evidence Supports A Mesothelioma Claim
Building a strong claim generally requires documenting where and how exposure occurred, which can mean decades-old employment records, coworker testimony, and product identification evidence showing which specific companies manufactured or supplied the asbestos-containing materials involved. Working with medical professionals and industrial hygiene consultants often helps establish this history clearly, since a treating physician’s own notes can sometimes be the first document connecting a specific diagnosis to a specific workplace or product used decades earlier.
Trust Fund Claims May Also Be Available
Beyond a personal injury lawsuit, many individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma may also have claims against one or more asbestos bankruptcy trust funds established specifically to compensate victims exposed to products made by companies that later filed for bankruptcy. An Indiana mesothelioma lawyer can help identify which trusts may apply based on a person’s specific work and exposure history, since dozens of these trusts exist with their own separate filing requirements.
Talk Through Your Diagnosis And Your Options
Ward & Ward Personal Injury Lawyers has represented Indiana families dealing with mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diagnoses, and understands how much documentation these cases require to build properly. Reach out so we can go through your exposure history and figure out what options are available given how recently your diagnosis occurred and how much time may remain on the filing deadline.
