Michael Schafle, Esq. logoMichael Schafle, Esq.
Licensed in Pennsylvania · Kingston, PA

Mesothelioma Lawyer Kingston

A mesothelioma lawyer in Kingston, PA handles asbestos injury claims on contingency, meaning the family pays nothing up front and the fee comes only from money recovered. Most Kingston cases trace back to decades-old exposure at the valley's old textile mills, railroad yards, power stations, and construction trades along the Susquehanna.

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Mesothelioma Lawyer in Kingston, PA
Licensed AttorneyPennsylvania Bar · #94298

What is a Mesothelioma Lawyer in Kingston, PA?

A mesothelioma lawyer in Kingston, PA is an attorney who represents Wyoming Valley residents diagnosed with mesothelioma or asbestos-related illness and files claims against the companies and asbestos trust funds responsible for the exposure.

Why Kingston clients choose Michael Schafle, Esq.

  • ✓A mesothelioma lawyer in Kingston works on contingency, so there is no hourly bill and no up-front cost, the fee is a percentage (commonly 33% to 40%) of any recovery, and nothing is owed if the case recovers nothing.
  • ✓Pennsylvania's statute of limitations gives a family two years to file a mesothelioma injury claim from the diagnosis date, and two years from the date of death for a wrongful-death claim (42 Pa. C.S. § 5524).
  • ✓Three separate paths can run at once: a lawsuit against solvent asbestos companies, claims against the asbestos bankruptcy trust funds (over $30 billion set aside nationally), and VA benefits for veterans exposed during service.
  • ✓Most mesothelioma claims settle out of court; a settlement is typically reached within several months to roughly a year, while a trial takes longer but can be pursued when an offer is too low.
Licensed in Pennsylvania · Bar #94298
Licensed Attorney
State Bar Member
Practice Areas

How a Mesothelioma Lawyer in Kingston helps

Focused representation for Kingston & Luzerne County, each matter handled with the same diligence, discretion, and preparation.

Living Mesothelioma Injury Claims attorney in Kingston, PA

Living Mesothelioma Injury Claims

For a Kingston resident recently diagnosed with pleural or peritoneal mesothelioma, a personal-injury claim is filed in their own name. Pennsylvania courts move these cases to the front of the line for plaintiffs who are seriously ill, so evidence and depositions are gathered quickly while the person can still tell their own work story in their own words. A living claim lets the diagnosed worker name the plants, products, and years directly, which is the strongest evidence a case can carry, and it is why the first step is usually a recorded account of where they worked rather than a stack of forms. Pleural mesothelioma, which forms in the lining of the lung, is the most common type; peritoneal mesothelioma forms in the abdominal lining and is also compensable.

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Wrongful-Death & Survival Claims attorney in Kingston, PA

Wrongful-Death & Survival Claims

When asbestos disease has already taken a family member, the surviving spouse, children, or estate can still file in Luzerne County. The two-year wrongful-death clock runs from the date of death, not the diagnosis, and a survival claim recovers for the pain, suffering, and lost earnings the person endured before passing. Two claims are filed together here: the wrongful-death claim compensates the surviving family for their loss, and the survival claim stands in the shoes of the person who died. Old pay stubs, union records, Social Security earnings statements, and medical files are used to rebuild a work history the person is no longer here to describe.

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Asbestos Lung Cancer & Asbestosis Claims attorney in Kingston, PA

Asbestos Lung Cancer & Asbestosis Claims

Mesothelioma is not the only compensable asbestos disease. Asbestos-related lung cancer and asbestosis also support claims, which matters for the valley's retired mill, railroad, and boiler workers who were told for years their breathing trouble was 'just the dust.' The link between prolonged asbestos exposure and lung disease is documented by federal health agencies, and a smoking history does not by itself bar a claim because asbestos and tobacco together multiply lung-cancer risk. A chest CT, a pathology report, and a documented exposure history are the three pieces that move one of these claims forward.

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Asbestos Trust Fund Claims attorney in Kingston, PA

Asbestos Trust Fund Claims

Dozens of asbestos manufacturers filed for bankruptcy and were ordered to set aside trust funds, over $30 billion nationally, to pay future victims. A trust-fund claim is a paperwork-driven filing that identifies which products a Kingston worker handled and submits to each responsible trust, often paying while any lawsuit is still pending. Each trust publishes its own payment schedule and its own matrix of qualifying evidence, so a single worker's history can support claims against several trusts at once. Because these trusts pay on documentation rather than a courtroom fight, this path tends to produce the first money a family sees.

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Mesothelioma Lawsuits Against Solvent Companies attorney in Kingston, PA

Mesothelioma Lawsuits Against Solvent Companies

When a company responsible for the exposure is still operating, a civil lawsuit is filed against it directly. These cases name the makers of the insulation, gaskets, joint compound, and brake products a worker used and seek a settlement or verdict reflecting the full harm done. A single Kingston case can name a dozen or more defendants, since a boiler room or a mill floor exposed a worker to many different asbestos products at once. Most of these suits resolve by settlement, but the option to take a low offer to trial is what gives a settlement its weight.

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Veterans' Mesothelioma VA Benefits attorney in Kingston, PA

Veterans' Mesothelioma VA Benefits

Veterans who served aboard ships, in engine rooms, or in base construction were exposed to heavy asbestos and may qualify for VA disability compensation and health care. A VA claim is handled separately from the lawsuit, so a Kingston veteran can collect VA benefits and still recover from the asbestos companies. Navy veterans carry an outsized share of mesothelioma cases nationally because shipboard insulation was packed with asbestos, and a service-connected mesothelioma diagnosis commonly supports a 100% disability rating. The VA path and the civil claim draw from different pots of money, so pursuing one never reduces the other.

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Secondary (Take-Home) Exposure Claims attorney in Kingston, PA

Secondary (Take-Home) Exposure Claims

Spouses and children who washed asbestos-dusted work clothes brought home from a mill or plant can develop mesothelioma decades later without ever setting foot on a jobsite. These secondary-exposure claims are recognized under Pennsylvania law and are often filed by a surviving wife or adult child who grew up in a Kingston house where a father's coveralls were shaken out over the laundry sink. The evidence in a take-home case connects the diagnosed person to the worker who carried the dust home, and then connects that worker's job to the specific asbestos products involved.

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Credentials

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Bar Admission

Admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania · Bar No. 94298. Pennsylvania (January 12, 2005)

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JD

Temple University Beasley School of Law · 2004

The essentials

What Kingston couples should know about a prenup

  • A mesothelioma lawyer in Kingston works on contingency, so there is no hourly bill and no up-front cost, the fee is a percentage (commonly 33% to 40%) of any recovery, and nothing is owed if the case recovers nothing.
  • Pennsylvania's statute of limitations gives a family two years to file a mesothelioma injury claim from the diagnosis date, and two years from the date of death for a wrongful-death claim (42 Pa. C.S. § 5524).
  • Three separate paths can run at once: a lawsuit against solvent asbestos companies, claims against the asbestos bankruptcy trust funds (over $30 billion set aside nationally), and VA benefits for veterans exposed during service.
  • Most mesothelioma claims settle out of court; a settlement is typically reached within several months to roughly a year, while a trial takes longer but can be pursued when an offer is too low.
  • A diagnosed person does not need to travel, case review for a Kingston or Kingston Twp. family can be done by phone, by home visit, or by photo, with documents gathered on the family's schedule.
The Michael Schafle, Esq. standard

What working with us is like

01

A free, confidential consultation

Tell us what happened. You'll get a straight answer about your options in Kingston, no cost, no obligation, and nothing leaves this office.

02

You work directly with your attorney

Not a call center, not a hand-off to a paralegal. The Kingston attorney who takes your case is the one who handles it.

03

No fee unless we win

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.

Know your options

Choosing a Mesothelioma Lawyer in Kingston

If a loved one is living and recently diagnosed, a personal-injury mesothelioma claim is filed in their name and moves on an expedited track because Pennsylvania courts prioritize dying plaintiffs; if the person has already passed, a wrongful-death and survival claim is filed by the estate and surviving family instead. If the company responsible is still in business, a direct lawsuit against that company fits best; if that company went bankrupt, which is true of dozens of old asbestos manufacturers, a trust-fund claim fits instead, and both can be pursued together. If the exposure happened during Navy, Army, or Air Force service, a VA benefits claim runs alongside the lawsuit rather than instead of it, because VA money and lawsuit money come from different sources.

If the person diagnosed never worked an industrial job but a parent or spouse did, a take-home exposure claim fits, because asbestos carried into a Kingston home on work clothes is a recognized cause under Pennsylvania law. The trade-off is simple: a trust-fund claim pays faster and more predictably but usually less per claim, while a lawsuit against a solvent defendant can pay more but takes longer and carries trial risk, most Kingston families pursue every path that applies so no source of recovery is left on the table. gov/types/mesothelioma">on mesothelioma’s long latency is that the disease surfaces decades after exposure, so the practical work of any claim is reconstructing a work history that is 20 to 50 years old.

Fees

Mesothelioma Lawyer cost in Kingston

No confusing rate sheets. Your first conversation is always free.

Free Consultation

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.

No Win, No Fee

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.

Free, confidential consultation

Let's talk about your case.

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 Kingston attorney.

(570) 300-8744
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Who we serve

Areas we serve in Kingston & Luzerne County

Michael Schafle, Esq. attorneys in Kingston, PA

The Wyoming Valley was asbestos country long before the word was on a warning label, the textile mills, the Lehigh Valley rail yards, the coal breakers, and the power plants along the Susquehanna all ran on insulation, gaskets, and lagging packed with it. Families in Dorranceton, Pringle, and Goodleigh often had a father who worked a trade where asbestos dust was simply part of the shift, and a mother who shook it out of his clothes in a Kingston kitchen. Because these diseases surface 20 to 50 years after exposure, the people filing now are retirees near Kirby Park, Nesbitt Memorial Park, and the neighborhoods off the Market Street Bridge whose work records predate the modern cleanup laws, which is exactly the history a claim has to reconstruct.

pdf">how asbestos fibers settle in the lungs and stay there, which is why a man who swept a mill floor in the 1960s can be diagnosed in his seventies in a Fort Durkee rowhouse. Luzerne County civil cases are filed at the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre, a short trip across the river from Kingston, though for a seriously ill plaintiff almost everything can be handled without them leaving home. Kingston Twp.

communities like Trucksville, Shavertown, Carverton, and Chase carry the same industrial roots, and the work-history questions that matter are the ones a local lawyer can ask before a family finishes explaining, which plant, which years, which trade, and whether a union kept records, details that turn a vague memory into a documented claim.

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Questions

Mesothelioma Lawyer in Kingston, answered

How long does a Kingston, PA family have to file a mesothelioma claim?
A Kingston family has two years to file. Under Pennsylvania law (42 Pa. C.S. § 5524), an injury claim runs two years from the mesothelioma diagnosis date, and a wrongful-death claim runs two years from the date of death. Because this window is short and courts in Luzerne County fast-track seriously ill plaintiffs, starting the paperwork soon after diagnosis protects the fullest set of options. The Pennsylvania statute of limitations is strict, and a missed deadline can end a claim before it starts.
What does a mesothelioma lawyer cost for a family in Kingston?
Nothing up front. A mesothelioma lawyer in Kingston works on contingency, so the family pays no hourly rate and no retainer, the fee (commonly 33% to 40%) comes only out of money actually recovered, and if the case recovers nothing, nothing is owed. Case expenses such as filing fees and record requests are advanced by the firm and reimbursed only from a recovery. Case review carries no charge and no obligation.
Can a Kingston family still file if the person already passed away from mesothelioma?
Yes. When a loved one has already died from asbestos disease, the surviving spouse, children, or estate can file a wrongful-death and survival claim in Luzerne County. The two-year clock for that claim starts at the date of death rather than the original diagnosis, and old work and medical records are used to reconstruct where the exposure happened. Social Security earnings statements and union membership records are often the key documents when the worker is no longer here to tell their own story.
Does a Kingston Twp. veteran lose VA benefits by suing asbestos companies?
No. VA disability benefits and a mesothelioma lawsuit come from different sources, so a veteran in Trucksville, Shavertown, or Carverton can collect VA compensation and still recover from the companies that made the asbestos products. The two claims are handled separately and run at the same time. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes asbestos exposure during service as a basis for disability compensation, and a service-connected mesothelioma diagnosis often supports a 100% rating.
Does the diagnosed person have to travel or come into an office in Kingston?
No travel is required. Case review for a Kingston or Kingston Twp. family can be done by phone, by a visit to the home, or by sending photos of records, with documents gathered on the family's own schedule. The aim is to keep the person diagnosed at home and let the legal work happen in the background, call (570) 300-8744 to start, or text a photo of the diagnosis or work history for a quick read.
What records help start a Kingston mesothelioma case?
The pathology report confirming mesothelioma and any record of where the person worked are the two that help most. Useful documents include the diagnosing doctor's report, an employment or union history, Social Security earnings statements, military discharge papers for a veteran, and any memory of the plants, mills, or trades involved. A rough list is enough to begin, missing records can be requested on the family's behalf once the review is underway.
How are the asbestos companies in a Kingston worker's history identified?
They are identified from the jobs the worker held and the products those jobs used. A boiler tender, a pipe fitter, a mill worker, and a railroad laborer each handled a known set of asbestos products, insulation, gaskets, lagging, joint compound, and brake linings, and the makers of those products are matched to the years and sites a Kingston worker reported. Many of those makers went bankrupt and now pay through trust funds, while others are still in business and can be sued directly.
How long does a mesothelioma claim take to resolve for a Kingston family?
Most resolve by settlement within several months to roughly a year. Trust-fund claims often pay first because they run on documentation rather than a trial, while a lawsuit against a company still in business can take longer and may run to trial if an offer is too low. Pennsylvania courts expedite cases for seriously ill plaintiffs, which shortens the timeline when a diagnosed person is still living.
Can a Kingston family file if the diagnosed person smoked?
Yes. A smoking history does not by itself bar an asbestos claim, because asbestos and tobacco together multiply the risk of lung disease rather than cancel each other out. The question in the case is whether documented asbestos exposure contributed to the diagnosis, and for mesothelioma specifically, asbestos is the recognized cause. The occupational asbestos record for a worker's trade is what the claim is built on.
What is a take-home asbestos exposure claim in Kingston?
A take-home claim is filed when someone developed mesothelioma from asbestos carried into the home on a worker's clothes rather than from their own job. A wife who laundered a husband's dust-covered coveralls or a child who hugged a father coming off a mill shift can be exposed for years. Pennsylvania law recognizes these secondary-exposure cases, and they are often filed by a surviving spouse or adult child in a Kingston or Kingston Twp. household.
Who files a mesothelioma claim for a Kingston family, and when should they call?
A surviving spouse, an adult child, or the estate can start the claim when the diagnosed person is unable to, and a living patient can file in their own name. Because Pennsylvania's two-year deadline is firm and courts move faster for seriously ill plaintiffs, contacting a lawyer soon after a diagnosis protects the most options. Call (570) 300-8744, or text a photo of the diagnosis or work history for a quick read.

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mesothelioma lawyer guides

How much does a mesothelioma lawyer cost in Kingston, PA? →Do mesothelioma lawyers serving Kingston work on a contingency fee? →Case Review Options for Mesothelioma Claims in Kingston, PA →What to bring to a mesothelioma consultation →