Where Our Mesothelioma Lawyers Work

ELSM is a national Mesothelioma and Asbestos law firm dedicated exclusively to representing victims in mesothelioma lawsuits.

With experience you can trust, we have served clients in every state across the United States. Having over four decades of asbestos law experience, we have represented in excess of four thousand victims of mesothelioma in their cases against the asbestos industry.

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We are currently licensed to practice in: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington, D.C. and have developed close working relationships with reputable mesothelioma attorneys throughout the United States. Click on a state below to get information about filing a mesothelioma lawsuit in your state.

States Where Our Mesothelioma Clients Reside

Choose a state below to learn more about the issues specific to filing mesothelioma lawsuits in each state:

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois

• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana

• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island

• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

Where is the Best Place to File Your Mesothelioma Claim?

A common misconception is that a mesothelioma lawsuit must be filed in the state where the mesothelioma victim currently lives or last lived. As a result, they often seek out only local attorneys, but this can be a mistake. In reality, some states have more favorable jurisdictions for filing an asbestos lawsuit.

Other jurisdiction options for filing mesothelioma claims may include:

• States where the victim worked
• States where the responsible asbestos companies were headquartered

It is important to hire a law firm that will assess all asbestos exposures, culpable companies, work histories and past residencies to find the best jurisdiction for your case and can then file the case in that jurisdiction.

Why Jurisdiction Matters in Asbestos Lawsuits

Each state has its own set of laws pertaining to personal injury and asbestos claims. Some of these laws can significantly limit compensation from a mesothelioma lawsuit. Some examples include:

• Statutes of Limitations: Most states require a lawsuit to be filed within a certain time after a mesothelioma diagnosis.
• Statute of Repose: Some states require a lawsuit concerning product liability to be filed within a certain amount of time following exposure to the dangerous product; 10 years in some states. This is a problem because mesothelioma typically develops 20–30 years after asbestos exposure.
• Bad Case Law: Several states recognize the so-called “bare metal defense” and has allowed product manufacturers whose products did not contain asbestos, but required asbestos insulation or refractory material to function correctly, to escape liability.

If your state has a statute of repose, you may lose the ability to file — even if you were just recently diagnosed. In such cases, filing in another jurisdiction could make all the difference.

A number of states have traditionally favorable jurisdictions for asbestos plaintiffs for a variety of reasons. Some examples of those states include:

• New York: New York City has a special docket known as New York City Asbestos Litigation (NYCAL) devoted entirely to asbestos lawsuits. In April and October of each year, NYCAL has “In Extremis Clusters” that are designed to get the cases of living mesothelioma victims filed and resolved quickly, so that they have money available to them for treatment and quality of life.
• Connecticut: Since 2023, there have been three record-high mesothelioma verdicts won in Bridgeport by mesothelioma plaintiffs. The verdicts ranged from $15 million to $22.5 million. There is an increased risk for defendants to hold out until trial in mesothelioma cases filed in CT.
• Pennsylvania: Unlike most other states, Pennsylvania has a unique workers compensation statute that allows asbestos victims to sue their past employers for compensatory and punitive damages if the employer was negligent in exposing their workers to asbestos on-the-job. Compensation from employers in these cases is uncapped, unlike traditional workers compensation claims in most states, which have a weekly cap based on earnings. This allows for another avenue for significant compensation beyond asbestos manufacturers.
• Illinois: Illinois is home to Madison County, St. Clair County, and Cook County. These three counties are among the top jurisdictions for mesothelioma filings in the country. Madison County and St. Clair County alone accounted for nearly half of all filings in the United States in 2024. With so many cases being filed there, the judges have tremendous experience with asbestos litigation. As a result, cases move very efficiently through the courts ensuring that victims receive compensation quickly.
• Florida: Florida has designated asbestos divisions in several of its courts, allowing for efficient and specialized adjudication of asbestos cases in the state. Florida has a large population of retirees who experienced asbestos exposure in other states. If exposure was in a state that is not advantageous in which to file a mesothelioma lawsuit, a victim with Florida residence will have the option to file in Florida court in most cases.
• New Jersey: New Jersey is home to a great number of industrial sites where workers were exposed to asbestos including shipyards, refineries and manufacturing plants. New Jersey is also home to Johnson & Johnson. Mesothelioma victims filing their cases in New Jersey benefit from the state’s fee scale which limits attorneys’ fees to 33 1/3% on the first $750,000 recovered, 30% on the next $750,000, 25% on the next $750,000, and 20% on any amount exceeding $2.25 million.
• Massachusetts: Massachusetts has a long industrial history with widespread asbestos use in shipyards, power plants, construction, and manufacturing. Courts in Massachusetts are experienced with asbestos litigation and have well-established procedures for handling complex toxic tort cases. Massachusetts courts often offer a favorable discovery and evidentiary framework for plaintiffs and, in some instances, may allow punitive damages for mesothelioma victims.
• California: California has a preference statute for living mesothelioma victims (CCP Sec 36) that requires the court grant a trial date no later than 120 days from the hearing date of the motion. It has plaintiff-friendly law on strict liability, negligence and punitive damages. With these factors, the verdicts and settlements for mesothelioma lawsuits in California are generally some of the highest in the country and can be recovered in the shortest amount of time.
• Missouri: St. Louis is annually a top 10 jurisdiction for mesothelioma lawsuit filings in the United States. Missouri is favorable to plaintiffs in personal injury cases and is home to some of the largest product liability plaintiffs’ verdicts in the country including a $2.12 billion award to 22 women who developed ovarian cancer from Johnson & Johnson talc use. Missouri also has a lengthy 5-year statute of limitations for personal injury cases.
• Rhode Island: Rhode Island has a dedicated asbestos docket with a judge who has been overseeing it for more than 25 years providing great ease in handling cases there. The docket does not have a large backlog of cases so mesothelioma cases get individualized attention in Rhode Island. The state also has a special rule for asbestos-related disease statute of limitations which can potentially greatly extend the deadline to file a case there.

Partners We Work with and Trust

ELSM has served mesothelioma victims for over 40 years. While handling over 1700 mesothelioma cases within our own office and over 3300 others by co-counseling with carefully selected partner firms around the country, we have unique knowledge regarding which firms have a history of success given particular case profiles, employers, asbestos exposure histories and jurisdictions.

We pride ourselves on the results we have achieved for our clients over the years but also know there are cases in which partnering with another top firm have garnered even better results for our clients. When we do elect to involve a co-counsel partner on a case in order to utilize their particular expertise, our clients enjoy the benefit of having two top, proven firms working on their behalf with no additional cost. We take great pride in making sure we have the strongest possible team assembled to work on your case.

All of our co-counsel firms have consistently proven to exceed the following criteria we look for when choosing a mesothelioma lawyer for co-counsel on a case:

• A focus on asbestos litigation and extensive history of specifically serving clients suffering from mesothelioma
• Great communication with timely correspondence between firms to best serve our mutual clients
• A proven track record of the highest case values in the jurisdictions which they practice
• A commitment to getting cases underway and getting money to our clients as quickly as possible
• A history of consistent client satisfaction

Dean Omar Branham & Shirley represents people around the country against companies who have repeatedly risked the lives and health of others. DOBS has produced tremendous results for our mutual clients including a $77,000,000 verdict. Additionally DOBS and ELSM have worked together to secure over $10,000,000 each in settlements for 15 of our clients. DOBS has quickly become one of our most trusted and successful partnerships.

Since 2002, ELSM has co-counseled with The Gori Law Firm on hundreds of mesothelioma cases and they have handled hundreds of other mesothelioma cases on behalf of the people of Madison County, Illinois where they are headquartered and on behalf of clients throughout the United States through their six other offices located from coast to coast. The Gori Law Firm has recovered more than $2.5 billion on behalf of their clients. In 2016 alone, they obtained more than $250 million in settlements. While co-counseling with The Gori Law Firm, over 130 of our mutual clients have received over $1,000,000 in compensation.

Our relationship with the Simmons firm spans over 20 years. The Simmons firm has an outstanding track record and has recovered over $5 billion in verdicts and settlements for thousands of families throughout the country. They have abundant knowledge of products and job sites throughout the Midwest. We have worked jointly with them on hundreds of cases, four of which have resulted in settlements in excess of $5,000,000. The Simmons firm has to its credit one of the largest verdicts for a single plaintiff in asbestos history.

With 10 offices across Pennsylvania, the Halpern Law Firm has over 35 years of experiencing specializing in mesothelioma cases and fighting for victims of asbestos-related disease. We have teamed up with Dave Halpern on several Pennsylvania cases; two of our mutual clients recently settled their mesothelioma cases for over $4 million each.

The Ferraro Law Firm has become one of our most trusted partners for mesothelioma clients with residency or past asbestos exposure in Florida. Headquartered in Miami, the Ferraro Law Firm has helped mesothelioma victims recover hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation.

Vogelzang Law is headquartered in Chicago, IL. In 2024, a joint Vogelzang/DOBS trial team won a $45,000,000 verdict in Chicago. We have cocounseled with them on midwestern cases that can be filed in Cook County to leverage their success in that venue for the benefit of our clients.

Buffalo based Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford has deep roots in the State of New York. Since 1996, we have jointly represented 70 residents and workers of upstate New York suffering from mesothelioma. Utilizing their knowledge of employers and jobsites in the area has allowed us to earn over $1 million on behalf of over one third of our joint clients.

Shader & Associates is a boutique national law firm with over $1 billion recovered in verdicts and settlements on behalf of mesothelioma victims. We have cocounseled with Shrader & Associates on mesothelioma cases in jurisdictions across the country.