Massachusetts Mesothelioma Lawyer

Top-Rated Mesothelioma Lawyer in Massachusetts

Mesothelioma does not wait for paperwork to catch up. The exposure behind it may trace back 40 or 50 years to a shipyard, a mill, or a job site in Massachusetts that shut down long ago. The company that made the product responsible for it might not exist anymore either. You need someone who can piece that history back together and help you pursue compensation for your serious injury or the loss of your loved one’s life.

Wallace & Graham built a national asbestos litigation practice around that exact problem. As a mesothelioma lawyer team, we trace old exposure at sites like the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy and the Charlestown Navy Yard back to the manufacturers still liable for it, even the ones that filed bankruptcy decades ago. Tell us where you worked and what you were diagnosed with, and we will tell you what your legal options may be now.

*Past results do not guarantee future case outcomes

The Asbestos and Mesothelioma Cases We Take on for Massachusetts Families

Asbestos turns up in more places than most people expect. As Massachusetts asbestos lawyers, we build a case around the specific product, job site, and exposure history behind each diagnosis, not a generic claim form. Some of the cases we handle include:

• Pleural, peritoneal, and pericardial mesothelioma from on-the-job asbestos exposure
• Asbestosis and other asbestos related lung disease tied to insulation, gaskets, boiler lagging, or brake work.
• Wrongful death claims for families who lost a spouse or parent to an asbestos related disease.
• Navy veteran exposure claims connected to service at shipyards like Fore River in Quincy or the Charlestown Navy Yard.
• Secondhand and household exposure claims for spouses and children who washed a tradesperson’s work clothes for years.

Why Massachusetts’s Three Year Filing Window Catches Families Off Guard

Massachusetts generally gives you three years to file a mesothelioma claim, but that clock does not start on the day of exposure. Under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, § 2A, the three year window opens on the date of diagnosis, or the date you should reasonably have connected your illness to asbestos. That discovery rule exists because mesothelioma can take 20 to 50 years to surface. In some cases this is long after the mill, shipyard, or plant that caused it has shut its doors. However, a different deadline may apply to people who designed, built, or oversaw construction of an improvement to real property. Therefore, it’s essential to consult a lawyer.

If your family member has already died from an asbestos related disease, Massachusetts gives the family a separate three year window under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 229, § 2. That timeline usually begins running on the date of death. In some cases it may start later if the family did not know, or have reason to know, that asbestos caused their loved one’s death.

This reflects Massachusetts law as of September 2026. None of this has to fall on you to sort out on your own. You can schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with an experienced mesothelioma lawyer to discuss your rights, possible compensation, and next steps.

Why Fore River and Charlestown Still Matter to Massachusetts Asbestos Claims

Massachusetts built ships, insulated boilers, and ran textile mills for most of the twentieth century, and asbestos went into nearly all of it. The Fore River Shipyard in Quincy employed roughly 32,000 workers at its wartime peak in 1943, and the Charlestown Navy Yard employed more than 50,000 that same year. Pipe covering, boiler lagging, gaskets, and fireproofing at both yards were packed with asbestos, and workers carried the fibers home on their clothes for decades before anyone understood the risk.

Massachusetts asbestos cases, wherever the exposure happened in the state, are consolidated onto a single docket at the Middlesex County Superior Court in Woburn, so the legal issues common to these claims are handled by a judge who sees this kind of case regularly. If you worked at a shipyard, textile mill, power plant, or construction site anywhere in the Commonwealth, or you lived with someone who did, we can help trace that exposure to the companies that may be responsible for it.

What We Bring to a New Massachusetts Claim

Every asbestos case turns on its own exposure history, but the trial record behind it matters when a manufacturer decides whether to negotiate seriously or force a fight in court. In 2018, we secured the largest mesothelioma jury verdict in North Carolina history. Our client was the widow of a former tire-plant worker who died from mesothelioma after asbestos exposure at work. He worked at Firestone from 1975 to 1995, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in March 2016, and died in January 2017. The defendant in the case, Covil Corp., provided the pipe insulation to the tire plant. Covil Corp. went out of business in 1991, but we were still able to secure $32.7 million for our client.

Past results depend on the facts and defendants in each case, and they do not guarantee a particular outcome in a new Massachusetts claim.

What Happens After You Call Our Mesothelioma Lawyers

Being based in North Carolina does not slow down a Massachusetts claim. Here is how the work actually happens.

• We gather your work and military history first, mapping every site, employer, and product you were around, from a shipyard shift in Quincy to years of secondhand exposure at home.
• We identify which companies made or supplied the asbestos containing products at each site, including manufacturers that no longer operate under their original name.
• We file your personal injury or wrongful death claim and pursue any applicable asbestos bankruptcy trust fund claims at the same time so you don’t miss a potential source of compensation
• We connect you with a nationwide network of mesothelioma specialists so your legal case moves forward while you focus on treatment, not paperwork.
• We negotiate from the strength of a our firm that has already secured a $32.7 million mesothelioma verdict, and we take a case to trial when that is what it takes to pursue the compensation the facts support

What Massachusetts Families Ask Before Filing a Mesothelioma Claim

How much does it cost to hire a Massachusetts mesothelioma lawyer?

We work on contingency, so you pay nothing upfront and nothing at all unless we recover money for you. The initial case review is free. We discuss all of this with you at our first meeting so that there are no surprises later.

How long do I have to file a claim in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts generally gives you three years from the date of diagnosis or the date you should have reasonably suspected the diagnosis under the discovery rule in Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, § 2A. Wrongful death claims carry a separate three year window from the date of death.

What is the difference between an asbestos trust fund claim and a lawsuit?

A lawsuit targets companies still in business today, while a trust fund claim pays out from money set aside by companies that already went bankrupt. Some Massachusetts clients qualify for both, and we pursue each one at the same time.

Can I still file if the company that exposed me is out of business?

Yes, in some cases. Dozens of asbestos bankruptcy trusts exist specifically because the responsible companies folded, and we track which trusts apply to your work history and diagnosis.

Where will my Massachusetts case be handled?

Massachusetts asbestos cases are consolidated onto a single docket at the Middlesex County Superior Court in Woburn, regardless of the city or town where the exposure occurred.

My family member worked at the Fore River Shipyard or the Charlestown Navy Yard decades ago. Does that matter now?

It matters a great deal. Both yards used enormous amounts of asbestos insulation and gasket material well into the 1970s, and we have experience tracing exposure at sites like these back to the manufacturers responsible.

Can I file a claim for secondhand or household exposure?

Yes, in some cases. Spouses and children who washed a worker’s clothes or lived near a job site have developed mesothelioma from that exposure. Massachusetts law does not require you to have worked with asbestos directly to have a valid claim.

How long does a mesothelioma case typically take to resolve?

Timelines vary with how many defendants and trust funds are involved, but we move quickly given how mesothelioma progresses. Some trust fund claims resolve faster than a full lawsuit.

If your question is not here, that is exactly what the first call is for.

Start Tracing Your Massachusetts Exposure History Today

A mesothelioma diagnosis does not leave room to wait and see. If asbestos touched your life anywhere in Massachusetts, whether at a shipyard in Quincy, a mill in Lowell, or a job site that closed decades ago, we can start tracing that history today. Contact Wallace & Graham for a free case review, and we will give you a plain-language assessment of your legal options and help you understand which trust funds may apply to your history. You pay nothing unless we recover money for you.