A mesothelioma lawyer Wilkes-Barre residents rely on handles asbestos-exposure claims for local workers, their families, and estates, from the first diagnosis through settlement or verdict. Michael Schafle, Esq.
A mesothelioma lawyer in Wilkes-Barre is an attorney who represents patients and families exposed to asbestos, pursuing compensation through trust-fund claims, personal injury lawsuits, and wrongful death actions filed in Luzerne County and Pennsylvania courts.
Focused representation for Wilkes-Barre & Luzerne County, each matter handled with the same diligence, discretion, and preparation.
Representation for pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma patients diagnosed after asbestos exposure. The claim ties a diagnosis to specific job sites and products, then pursues both trust funds and lawsuits. Filing must begin within 2 years of the diagnosis date under Pennsylvania law.
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Filings against the 60-plus asbestos bankruptcy trusts holding roughly $30 billion set aside for victims. Each trust pays a scheduled value based on disease type and exposure proof. Multiple trust claims can be filed for one worker who used products from several manufacturers.
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Civil suits against solvent companies still liable for asbestos products, filed in the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas or Pennsylvania asbestos dockets. These seek medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Jury awards can exceed fixed trust payouts but take longer to resolve.
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Claims brought by the estate and surviving family when a loved one dies from mesothelioma or asbestos-related lung cancer. Pennsylvania allows both a wrongful death action for the family and a survival action for the decedent's own losses, filed within 2 years of the date of death.
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Compensation cases for asbestos-caused lung cancer and asbestosis, which qualify for trust funds and lawsuits alongside mesothelioma. Diagnosis, smoking history, and exposure records determine eligibility and scheduled value. These non-mesothelioma claims often go overlooked without a case review.
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Guidance for Navy, shipyard, and other veterans exposed to asbestos in service, coordinating VA disability benefits with trust-fund and lawsuit recoveries. Veterans can pursue civilian claims without suing the military. VA benefits and legal compensation are separate and can both apply.
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Claims for spouses and children exposed to asbestos carried home on a worker's clothing, hair, or tools. Take-home exposure has produced mesothelioma decades later in family members who never worked with asbestos. These cases require linking the household member to a specific worker's job site.
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Admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania · Bar No. 94298. Pennsylvania (January 12, 2005)
Verify →Temple University Beasley School of Law · 2004
Tell us what happened. You'll get a straight answer about your options in Wilkes-Barre, no cost, no obligation, and nothing leaves this office.
Not a call center, not a hand-off to a paralegal. The Wilkes-Barre attorney who takes your case is the one who handles it.
On contingency matters you pay nothing up front, our fee comes out of the recovery only if we win. If we don't, you owe us nothing.
The right claim depends on where the exposure happened and which companies still exist. If the manufacturer that made the asbestos product has gone bankrupt, the claim goes to that company's asbestos trust fund, which pays a fixed percentage of a scheduled value and usually resolves in months rather than years. If the responsible company is still solvent, a personal injury lawsuit in the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas can seek a larger, jury-decided award, but takes longer and carries litigation risk.
If the patient has already passed, the estate files a wrongful death and survival action instead, which combines the family's losses with the decedent's own claim. The trade-off is speed and certainty from a trust fund versus a potentially higher but slower recovery from a lawsuit, and most Wilkes-Barre cases pursue both at once because a single worker was usually exposed to many products.
No confusing rate sheets. Your first conversation is always free.
Every case starts with a free, confidential consultation. No cost and no obligation, just a clear answer about where you stand and what your options are.
On contingency matters you pay nothing up front. Our fee comes out of the recovery only if we win your case, if we don't, you owe us nothing.
Tell us what happened and we'll get back to you quickly, usually the same day. Everything you share is confidential, and there's no cost to speak with a Wilkes-Barre attorney.
(570) 663-6949
Wilkes-Barre sits in the heart of the anthracite coal region, and asbestos followed the industry that built it: powerhouses, breakers, railroads, textile mills, and the older brick blocks around Public Square and the Iron Triangle all used asbestos insulation, gaskets, and pipe wrap well into the 1980s. Workers who commuted from Parsons, Miners Mills, and Rolling Mill Hill to plants and construction sites, and tradesmen who renovated schools near Wilkes University and King's College, faced routine exposure that can surface as mesothelioma 20 to 50 years later. Claims for these residents are typically filed at the Luzerne County Courthouse or in Pennsylvania's consolidated asbestos program, and exposure records from long-closed local employers remain traceable through union rosters, product lists, and coworker testimony.
Free, confidential consultations for Wilkes-Barre & the surrounding area.
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Michael Schafle, Esq.