Kentucky Navy Veterans Mesothelioma Lawyer

Navy Veterans Mesothelioma Attorney in Kentucky

A Kentucky Navy veteran’s mesothelioma lawyer assesses whether service onboard a ship included work with products that were once commonly made with asbestos. Boats constructed for most of the twentieth century had insulation made of asbestos in the engine compartments, pipes, and machinery. Sailors who did maintenance, engineering, or repair work sometimes had to labor near these materials as part of their normal duties on Navy ships.

Hire a Navy Veteran’s Mesothelioma Lawyer

At Wallace & Graham, P.A., our Kentucky mesothelioma lawyers help veterans and their families explore potential connections between asbestos exposure and their time in the Navy. This often includes investigating ship assignments, service records, and historical equipment records to help determine how asbestos products were used on military ships.

Wallace & Graham’s asbestos and toxic exposure work is conducted nationwide, and the firm has close to 40 years of collective experience handling mesothelioma claims, including those that involve occupational and military exposures. We are well-equipped to handle claims for clients facing irreversible bodily damage due to mesothelioma.

Navy Veterans Living in Kentucky

Kentucky is home to a large veteran population, including thousands who previously served in the United States Navy. Over 370,000 veterans reside in Kentucky. During service, many veterans spent time working on naval ships that were constructed when asbestos insulation was often placed in engine rooms, boilers, and piping.

Every year, occupational asbestos exposure is linked to more than 200,000 deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Incidence of Mesothelioma in Veterans

Mesothelioma occurs in the thin tissue that lines internal organs, primarily the lungs. About 80% of cases are pleural mesothelioma, meaning the cancer develops in the lining of the lungs. Mesothelioma symptoms may take 15 to 45 years after exposure to develop. The CDC’s U.S. Cancer Statistics reports that 2,669 malignant mesothelioma cases were diagnosed in the U.S. in 2022.

Legal Claim Filing Deadlines

When Kentucky veterans of the Navy are diagnosed with mesothelioma, one of the first questions they might have is when they need to file their claim. According to Kentucky law, specifically KRS § 413.140, most personal injury claims have a one-year statute of limitations from the date the injury is found.

In asbestos cases, the courts almost always use a discovery rule because the exposure might have happened many years before the disease was discovered. This means that the time limit to file a claim usually starts when the disease is diagnosed or when the disease could reasonably be discovered to be related to asbestos exposure.

Contact a Kentucky Navy Veteran’s Mesothelioma Lawyer

Naval service often required sailors to work in the ship’s mechanical spaces. In those environments, insulation, piping systems, and boilers played a key role in the operation of ships. In some cases, the equipment was manufactured with asbestos.

Materials have been commonly used in ship construction for several decades. Service records and ship assignments can help us determine where that exposure may have taken place. Schedule a consultation to hire a Navy veteran’s mesothelioma lawyer today.