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Rightside Legal’s unique approach to asbestos claims

Rightside Legal lawyers have succeeded in hundreds of asbestos claims.

People diagnosed with an asbestos disease almost always have a strong and straightforward legal claim.  Because of that, Rightside Legal takes a unique approach to charging in asbestos claims.  We will take only the defendant’s contribution to legal costs and will not charge you from your compensation sum.  This results in a benefit to you of tens of thousands of dollars.  We do that because of the position that people with an asbestos disease are in, because of our long history with asbestos illness and because your claim is likely to be straightforward.

If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with an asbestos disease, consult an experienced lawyer quickly.  Ask your lawyer about their experience and whether they have won asbestos trials.  Also ask your lawyer how they intend to charge you.

Rightside Legal lawyers have won asbestos trials in Victoria and Western Australia, and have resolved hundreds more asbestos claims without having to go to trial. It is almost always a speedy, efficient process.

We guarantee a strong, personal approach with minimum disruption to you and your family.

I am unwell and need to focus on other things. Should I still speak to a lawyer?

If you have an asbestos related illness (like mesothelioma, asbestosis or asbestos-caused lung cancer) then you probably have a good legal case for compensation. This is true even if you are elderly, or are not quite sure how or when you were exposed to asbestos, and if you have other health challenges. We can give you free advice about your individual circumstances.

I’ve been exposed to asbestos. Can I bring a case?

If you have an asbestos related illness (like mesothelioma, asbestosis or asbestos-caused lung cancer) then you probably have a good legal case for compensation. This is true even if you are elderly, or are not quite sure how or when you were exposed to asbestos, and if you have other health challenges. We can give you free advice about your individual circumstances.

Question about asbestos?

Answer about asbestos

PARTNER

Michael Magazanik

ASBESTOS EXPERT

NEED TO EDIT TO BE MORE SPECIFIC TO ASBESTOS

At the core of what I do at Rightside is my belief that abuse survivors deserve and need a strong advocate. Asking abusive institutions to do the right thing is usually a waste of time – they have to be dragged kicking and screaming towards justice.

They have to be made to face up to their failures. My whole focus is on doing that, while shielding our clients from the legal fight and ensuring they receive the maximum compensation.

This Rightside approach has changed the way sexual abuse survivors are compensated. Abusive institutions know they have to pay our clients proper compensation – or face a trial. That’s our key point of difference – we do not take a gently gently or non-adversarial approach to winning compensation for our clients.
I co-founded Rightside in 2016 because after 11 years with Slater & Gordon in Perth and Melbourne, I wanted to offer my clients a personal, cost-effective, smaller firm approach.

I’m proud of the impact Rightside has had – over the last 10 years, we’ve assisted many men and women to obtain proper compensation for the abuse they suffered as children, while also winning a string of trials, and changing the law for the better. We’ve won in the District Court (WA), the County Court (Vic), the Supreme Court (Vic), the Court of Appeal (Vic and WA) and the High Court. Our decisions have benefitted the clients of other firms too. I’m proud that we’ve won more court decisions for abuse survivors than all other Victorian firms combined.

In addition to abuse work, our lawyers have represented hundreds of asbestos victims, including winning trial verdicts in Western Australia and Victoria.And in 2015, I wrote a book, Silent Shock, about the global thalidomide tragedy. That followed over three years working for Australian thalidomide survivors, ending in a $100 million settlement.

Before starting as a lawyer I was a journalist with The Age and ABC Television.

Why Rightside?

 

Our Track Record

Rightside Legal lawyers have resolved hundreds of asbestos claims. We have also run claims to trial and to successful verdict in Western Australia and Victoria. Many lawyers claim to be experienced in asbestos matters, but ask any lawyer you consider engaging when they last ran an asbestos claim all the way to a successful trial verdict, and what they got for their client. Most asbestos lawyers haven’t run trials because they settle their claims without going to trial. In most cases, a settlement is appropriate, but your lawyer has to have the experience and skill to run your matter to a successful and appropriate verdict if necessary. Ask them about their trial experience.

Rightside lawyers Michael Magazanik and Grace Wilson have represented successful plaintiffs in asbestos trials in Western Australia (against James Hardie and the Ford Motor Company) and in Victoria against an asbestos manufacturer, Wunderlich.  In the Victorian case, Michael and Grace’s client was the family of a man who developed asbestosis after playing in asbestos waste as a boy in the 1950s at the back of the Wunderlich asbestos factory in Sunshine, Melbourne.

In your claim, Rightside Legal will work with you to thoroughly prepare your case. We’ll gather evidence from experts, witnesses, and historical documents. With the right lawyer, asbestos claims move quickly. But in the wrong hands, claims can drag on causing unnecessary stress during what’s already a very stressful period for asbestos victims and their families.

The Asbestos Industry In Australia

Asbestos is a mineral fibre which was widely used in Australia until relatively recently.

Asbestos was found almost everywhere up until the 1980s: in building products, insulation, car brakes, carpet underlay, cinema curtains and in lots of other unlikely places. The lawyers at Rightside Legal have acted in claims where asbestos exposure occurred in all sorts of circumstances: through play on a miniature railway as a child; through renovations in schools, homes and workplaces; through casual summer jobs; through living and working near notorious sites such as the Wittenoom blue asbestos mine.

We know the history of the asbestos industry in Australia and will help you work out how you were exposed if you’re not sure.

No Win. No Fee.

Capped Pricing.

At Rightside we don’t have a string of expensive offices, we don’t have dozens of partners and we don’t have expensive marketing campaigns to fund. What we do is prepare your claim properly and fight hard for 100% of what your claim is worth.

We understand that injured or ill people looking for a lawyer are often anxious and uncertain about the whole legal process. We’ll do our best to eliminate the uncertainties. We work on a No Win No Fee basis – that means we fund the litigation, and you only pay when we succeed. Taking this a step further, we also cap our fees to give our clients greater certainty.

Rightside Legal Melbourne

Level 10, 469 La Trobe Street
Melbourne VIC 3000

Rightside Legal Perth
1/58 Walcott Street
Mt Lawley WA 6050

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