A.  Our attorney’s fee is generally a “contingent fee” of 33.33% of the net compensation that you receive. This means you do not pay an attorney’s fee unless we recover money for you. Our firm will advance the expenses – interest free – necessary to investigate and prosecute with your case. After we recover compensation for you, we deduct the expenses that were advanced.

A. Yes. Smoking by itself does not disqualify anyone from receiving compensation for mesothelioma, lung cancer, or asbestosis.

A. None. Compensation for asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma are free from federal and state income taxes.

A.  In most cases, no. Bankruptcy claims do not require testimony in court to prove your claim. Additionally, most lawsuits are settled out of court, and most asbestos victims are not required to testify in court. In many cases, we can pursue claims based upon information provided about your employment history and asbestos exposure in a sworn affidavit, along with medical records, military records, and employment records that we obtain for you. In some cases, depositions of asbestos victims, family members, and physicians occur out of court, prior to trial. Whether your case goes to trial cannot be predicted in advance. You must personally make that decision based on the unique facts of your case and the careful advice of your attorneys.

Although we are a local law firm, PWHD has a national reputation in asbestos litigation.

PWHD has over 45 years of experience in prosecuting asbestos claims in both state and federal court. Lawyers on our asbestos litigation team have been designated by their peers as Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America, Top Lawyers in Tidewater Virginia, and Leaders in the Law in Virginia.

PWHD has a long track record of multi-million-dollar jury verdicts for asbestos victims from the late 1970s to the present.

Because of our national reputation for successful representation of asbestos victims; PWHD, along with other leaders of the asbestos litigation, was appointed by the bankruptcy courts to organize and develop many of the asbestos trust funds that now provide compensation to asbestos victims all over the United States.

PWHD has also been appointed to the technical advisory committees of many of these asbestos bankruptcy trust funds to assure continuing fairness of these settlements for asbestos victims.

PWHD has changed the laws for asbestos victims with landmark decisions in the Supreme Court of Virginia.

PWHD has repeatedly initiated and succeeded in efforts to bring changes to the laws of Virginia to benefit asbestos victims.

For more than 45- years, PWHD has successfully settled thousands of asbestos claims for shipyard workers, Navy sailors, refinery workers, union workers, and their families.

At PWHD, asbestos claims are personal. Tidewater Virginia is our home, and our clients are our friends and neighbors.