If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma anywhere in Pennsylvania, you need someone who knows this state’s mills, refineries, and courts — and who has spent an entire career holding asbestos companies accountable. I’ve been doing this work since 1988.
I’m Lee W. Davis. I began working in asbestos litigation as a paralegal in 1988, was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1996, Michigan in 1997, and West Virginia in 2002. I spent 25 years at one of the nation’s leading asbestos litigation firms — headquartered in Pittsburgh — where I became a partner before opening my own practice in 2013. Nearly four decades of my working life have gone into one thing: tracing how Pennsylvania workers were exposed to asbestos and recovering compensation for them and their families.
When you call, you talk to me — not an intake screener, not a case manager at a national firm that will refer your case out. And if you can’t travel, I’ll come to your home.
Call (412) 781-0525 for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.
Why Pennsylvania Has So Many Mesothelioma Cases
Pennsylvania’s industrial history is asbestos history. Steel was made with asbestos at every stage — furnace insulation, boilers, piping, gaskets, protective clothing. Refineries, chemical plants, power stations, shipyards, and railroads used it by the ton. From the 1940s through the early 1980s, hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania workers breathed asbestos dust on the job, and many carried it home on their clothes to their families.
Mesothelioma typically appears 20 to 50 years after exposure. That’s why Pennsylvania still sees a steady stream of new diagnoses today, decades after the mills and plants closed. A diagnosis in 2026 usually traces back to work done in the 1960s, ’70s, or ’80s — and reconstructing that history is exactly what I do.
Where Pennsylvania Workers Were Exposed
My asbestos cases have centered on western Pennsylvania’s industrial corridor, including:
- Pittsburgh-area steel: U.S. Steel Edgar Thomson Works (Braddock), Homestead Works, Irvin Works, Clairton Coke Works, and Jones & Laughlin Steel — covered in depth on my Pittsburgh mesothelioma lawyer page
- Western PA mills and plants: Sharon Steel, Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel’s Monessen operations, Alcoa’s New Kensington aluminum works, and glass plants throughout the region
- Chemical plants, refineries, and power plants across western Pennsylvania
- Schools and public buildings built before 1980
Asbestos exposure happened statewide — and I’m licensed throughout Pennsylvania — but this region is where my case experience runs deepest.
If your job site isn’t listed, that means nothing about your case. Work histories are reconstructed through union records, employment records, co-worker testimony, and the exposure record built across decades of Pennsylvania asbestos litigation. You don’t need to remember product names. That’s my job.
Browse the full directory: Asbestos Job Sites in Pennsylvania
Filing a Pennsylvania Mesothelioma Lawsuit
Here is how the process actually works, start to finish:
1. Free consultation. We talk — by phone, at my office, or at your home. I gather your work history, medical records, and names of co-workers who can corroborate exposure. No charge, no obligation.
2. Investigation. I reconstruct your exposure history: which products, which job sites, which companies. Pennsylvania’s asbestos litigation record is deep, and I’ve worked in it since 1988 — I know where to look.
3. Filing. Depending on the evidence, your case may involve lawsuits against solvent companies, claims against asbestos bankruptcy trust funds, or both — most of my clients have claims in both categories. The cases I handle are filed in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, which maintains a dedicated asbestos docket and sits at the heart of Pennsylvania’s asbestos litigation, or in the appropriate federal court. And because western Pennsylvania workers’ careers often crossed state lines, many of my clients also have claims in West Virginia or Michigan — where I’m licensed and have practiced for decades.
4. Resolution. Most mesothelioma cases settle without trial, and trust claims often begin paying before litigation concludes. Many Pennsylvania cases resolve within 12–18 months of filing. If a defendant won’t be reasonable, I try cases.
How long do I have to file in Pennsylvania?
Generally two years from diagnosis — or, for families, two years from the date of death. Asbestos trust funds have their own separate deadlines. The earlier we start, the more sources of compensation stay open.
What does a mesothelioma claim cost?
Nothing up front, ever. I handle these cases on a contingent fee — I am paid only if you recover. Consultations are free, and you owe nothing if there’s no recovery.
What is a Pennsylvania mesothelioma claim worth?
It depends on your exposure history, diagnosis, age, earnings, and the companies responsible. Compensation can include medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and wrongful death and survival damages — plus asbestos trust claims as a separate, additional source of recovery. I’ll give you an honest assessment of your specific case, not an inflated promise. No two cases are alike; past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
Take-Home Exposure: Cases for Spouses and Children
Some of the hardest cases I handle involve people who never worked around asbestos at all. Wives who laundered work clothes for decades. Children who grew up in houses where asbestos dust came home every night on boots and jackets. Pennsylvania law recognizes these claims, and I’ve pursued them throughout my career. Read more about take-home asbestos cases.
Wrongful Death Claims for Pennsylvania Families
If your husband, wife, or parent died of mesothelioma, Pennsylvania law allows the family to pursue wrongful death and survival claims — even if no lawsuit was filed while your loved one was alive. I’ve guided many families through this process with as little burden on the family as possible; most of the work falls on me, not you. More on mesothelioma wrongful death claims.
Why Pennsylvania Families Choose Lee W. Davis
Thirty-eight years in asbestos litigation. I began as a paralegal in asbestos litigation in 1988 and have spent my entire legal career in this field — the job sites, the products, the defendants, the medicine.
Big-firm training, one-lawyer attention. I spent 25 years at one of the nation’s leading asbestos litigation firms and became a partner there. In 2013 I opened my own practice, because families facing mesothelioma deserve the lawyer, not a case number.
Deep roots where Pennsylvania’s asbestos cases live. Western Pennsylvania is where the mills were, where the exposure happened, and where the Allegheny County asbestos docket handles the resulting cases. That’s my home ground — I’ve worked it since 1988.
Direct attorney contact. You get my number. You speak with me. Home visits are never a problem.
Licensed where your case is. Pennsylvania (1996), Michigan (1997), West Virginia (2002) — because Pennsylvania workers’ careers crossed state lines, and their cases often do too.
Recognized by peers. Member, National Trial Lawyers Top 100.
Talk to Me Before You Decide Anything
You will see a lot of mesothelioma advertising. Before you sign with anyone, call me and get a straight answer about what your case is worth pursuing and where it should be filed. The call is free, the advice is honest, and there’s no pressure.
Law Offices of Lee W. Davis, Esquire, PLLC
5239 Butler Street #201, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
(412) 781-0525 | info@leewdavis.com
Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Home visits available.