Murray H. Miskin

Asbestos Mesothelioma Injury Claim Lawyer in Canada working to get compensation for Canadians with Mesothelioma or other asbestos related cancers and illnesses from US Asbestos Trusts.  We only charge a fee when we get compensation for our clients.

Attention Canadian Asbestos Victims and family members: Compensation for those who suffer and the families of those who have died in recent years from serious asbestos related cancer diseases from asbestos exposure is available to our clients in Canada.  Some Canadians are eligible for provincial Workers Compensation benefits and with some exceptions have a choice on whether to accept it or make a claim or retain a lawyer potentially for greater compensation.  It is more complicated for Federal employees.  It becomes even more complicated when a person has worked with asbestos exposure in more than one province or in other countries.  You have probably seen plenty of confusing Asbestos Cancer and Mesothelioma ads from lawyers in the US promising big compensation if you call their toll free numbers.  When you do call they often do not understand your situation or you may not even get through because many US toll free numbers can not be reached from Canada.  If you are in Canada, you do not need to hire a lawyer in the USA to make a claim. You can have a Canadian lawyer represent you to make a claim for compensation for asbestos related diseases and get the same compensation and probably more. A Canadian lawyer can investigate your situation and advise you on the complicated choices you may have to make including Workers Compensation. The US lawyers have very little information about Canadian Workers Compensation entitlement and about Canadian work sites known for asbestos and generally do not try as hard to get compensation for Canadian clients.  Some leading US law firms refer Canadian clients to our firm to handle the claim.  A Canadian lawyer who works on asbestos cases can do the investigation needed to get compensation from the most sources.  There are very few lawyers in Canada who are familiar with these claims and for our firm it is now the largest part of our work.  Unlike other Canadian firms we do not simply refer cases to American law firms in exchange for a referral fee.  We do the work.  As there are few lawyers in Canada doing this, we work on a national level with clients in the Territories and all Provinces.  We check carefully on each claim to find as many asbestos exposure sources as we can to maximize the available compensation. We cross reference claims from our own growing data base of Canadian asbestos hot spots.

Miskin Law Offices, based in Ontario, represents clients all across Canada in making claims to American asbestos trusts. This is not a lawsuit and you do not go to court to get compensation. They are essentially applications for compensation to Bankruptcy funds set up when almost all makers of asbestos products were put out of business by the many claims made against them based on serious harm caused by their products. Applications for our clients are made to many different asbestos trusts and our clients get compensation from multiple sources. We are familiar with Canadian law and workplaces. We understand how the Canadian system works and have many advantages in representing Canadian clients. We are familiar from case experience with Canadian asbestos use history and where known asbestos hazards exist.  Exposure to asbestos gives rise to a claim if the person exposed becomes ill from it even many years later. The asbestos trusts are all based in the United States and we sometimes work with American asbestos specialist lawyers to advance some of our cases with the contingency fee split between our firm and the US law firm.   Our clients do not pay more to have both Canadian and American  representation.  If the American lawyers we consult think they can not help you we do not just give up.  We investigate further. If at the end of our investigation of your claim we conclude that we can not help you there is no charge to you for our services or even expenses. We otherwise charge a percentage of your recovery which is called a contingency fee.  This fee is usually one third of the amount recovered.  For the Manville Trust the fee is by regulation set at 25% of the recovery.

It has been known for many years that asbestos is dangerous to the health of people exposed to it especially when fibers are inhaled and get into the lungs. it can stay in the lungs for many years without a person knowing it is there. There are serious long term consequences of exposure to asbestos.  Some of the most serious ones have only recently started to commonly appear.  Mesothelioma was once considered a rare condition but sadly it has now become very common. The diseases from asbestos include asbestosis, certain forms of lung cancer and the condition of mesothelioma.  Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining (known as the mesothelium) of the lungs or another organ. Mesothelioma can develop 30-50 years after even just a little exposure to asbestos.  Mesothelioma is appearing more commonly because it takes a long time to develop and it was not always diagnosed properly in the past. Mesothelioma can only be caused by asbestos and maximum compensation is available for this horrific and generally fatal disease.

The very serious diseases affect people who have worked with asbestos, had loose fibers in their workplace (sometimes from or after asbestos removal) and people who have been exposed by their family members who may have come home from a hard day of work with asbestos on their bodies or their clothes.  We have worked on tragic cases where children of parents exposed to asbestos have developed Mesothelioma and can be compensated.

If a loved one has developed one of these conditions in Canada or the USA and is seriously ill or has died due to asbestos exposure it can be proven with medical records and compensation will follow.  Doctors should be able to confirm causation by asbestos when the diagnosis is made. A biopsy is most effective. Compensation is available for Canadians from a number of U.S. trusts set up for that purpose.  This compensation is only open to people who legally live in or are citizens of Canada and the United States. To maximize compensation we need to investigate each case and know the source or sources of exposure to asbestos to determine which manufacturers were involved and where claims may be placed. If a person is suffering from Mesothelioma we move quickly to get necessary information and documentation including affidavits to be sworn to maximize compensation. If a person has died from asbestos illness a number of years ago the available claims are limited by the delay in proceeding. Some of the asbestos trusts have longer time limits so it is worth checking if there is a positive diagnosis even if the death was long ago.

We do not handle claims related to removal of asbestos from homes or other properties nor do we sue employers for asbestos exposure or illness. We also do not take on cases involving fear of possible asbestos illness. We only handle cases involving people who have serious asbestos illness. Having “asbestos on the lungs” or pleural plaques may entitle a person to very small compensation but more importantly it means they are at risk for serious disease and should be monitored by their doctors regularly. We are not accepting pleural plaque claims due to the very limited amount of compensation.

We work hard to determine the source of asbestos exposure to maximize the available compensation funds. If we can prove a particular company’s products were used we can get compensation from the applicable trust (again it is not a lawsuit and you do not go to court).  Many people have no idea where they were exposed or do know but know little about the specific asbestos products.  There has to be significant illness diagnosed, not just fear of future illness to make a successful claim. Cases are handled with contingency fee agreements which include a one third fee.  That means you pay nothing until and unless money is received for your claims.  Settlements are in US dollars, which vary in value when converted to Canadian dollars. Now the US dollar is worth 10% more than the Canadian dollar.  We include the sales tax on legal fees in our share of the one third contingency fee so you will not pay any additional PST, GST or HST on a settlement.  Settlement amounts are also tax free for income tax purposes.

Often we can get clients compensation from more than one trust fund. We make sure to try all relevant asbestos trusts to maximize compensation.  Eligibility for multiple trust compensation is dependent on the source of the asbestos exposure. The more details you have on the source of asbestos and specific asbestos products and dates of exposure the more sources of compensation there are.  We are seeing some large cheques come in for our clients and faster processing of claims. If you are not eligible for Worker’s Compensation we can get you compensation so long as we can prove asbestos to be the cause of an illness or if there is a confirmed Mesothelioma diagnosis.  With confirmed Mesothelioma, that is not a problem.  The right to bring a claim may be taken away by receipt of or application for Workers Compensation Benefits so do let us know details of any WCB, Work Safe or WSIB claims made when you first contact us. DO NOT APPLY FOR WORKERS COMPENSATION FOR MESOTHELIOMA UNTIL YOU HAVE HAD LEGAL ADVICE FROM A LAWYER WHO UNDERSTANDS THE PROCESS AND IS INDEPENDENT OF THE WORKERS COMPENSATION BOARD OR ITS LAWYERS.  The Boards have brought U.S. claims for a number of Canadians through American law firms and where that is done we can not bring a claim. Sometimes we need consent from the Workers Compensation Board or from the employer who in some situations pays the benefits, before we can proceed. Compensation Boards keep all of the money that they recover from U.S. claims as reimbursement for what they paid to the injured worker and only pay the worker or their family the excess amount if there is any. Workers Compensation pays a contingency fee to the lawyers they use and also charges its own administrative fee from money it recovers. There is rarely if ever money that they will pay to the worker or the worker’s family from the asbestos trusts.  We are consulting with the Compensation Boards in different provinces to ensure that our clients actually receive maximum compensation from all sources. In some Provinces Workers’ Compensation Boards have allowed us to proceed directly for clients with claims to the asbestos funds where the Boards have rights to make those claims. Persons entitled to benefits from Alberta Workers Compensation do not have any right to make a separate claim for compensation. In Ontario we are claiming on behalf of families of victims and on behalf of School Boards with respect to illness from asbestos exposure in schools.

Murray Miskin has been a lawyer in Ontario practicing personal injury law for over 33 years and has worked on national and international injury claims.  Our experience gives us an edge in representing Canadians on asbestos claims. Murray Miskin has been familiar with asbestos and asbestos products since childhood as his father Nat Miskin was a Toronto plumber who worked with asbestos.  Murray’s oldest brother who also worked as a plumber developed an asbestos related cancer and is recovering from surgery.  Murray’s first work with Canadian asbestos injury claims was in 1979 at the Phelan, O’Brien law firm in Toronto as soon as he finished law school where he assisted Senior Counsel Brendan O’Brien with Canadian asbestos mine related litigation. We are settling many asbestos claims  now and getting compensation for our clients.  These are not lawsuits in court but are applications to compensation funds done with paper work and no personal appearances by clients. We will treat you and your family with compassion and respect and get you results without added stress or work on your part. If you have documentation of the medical condition and information on the source of asbestos exposure (especially type of asbestos product) that helps us get results more quickly