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Asbestos exposure timeline builder

Add every job, product, and location where asbestos exposure occurred. The tool builds a chronological record your attorney can use to identify defendants and build your case.

Add as many entries as you need Free - no signup Printable output Last updated:
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Legal information only. This tool helps you organize exposure information for your attorney. It doesn't constitute legal advice. See our full disclaimer.

Add an exposure entry

Add one entry per job, workplace, product, or location. You can add as many as you need.

Approximate is fine
Leave blank if ongoing or unknown

Your exposure timeline

0 entries

Your timeline is empty. Add your first exposure entry above.

Attorneys typically need employer names, dates, locations, and job titles to identify asbestos defendants.

Share your timeline with an attorney

A mesothelioma attorney will review your exposure history and contact you within 24 hours. No fee unless you win.

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Why an exposure timeline matters

Mesothelioma cases live or die on exposure history. Your attorney needs to know every place you worked, every product you handled, and every environment where asbestos could have been present. That information is how they identify defendants - the manufacturers, employers, and contractors who put you in contact with asbestos.

Most people were exposed at multiple sites over many years. A shipyard worker in the 1960s might have been exposed to asbestos pipe insulation, boiler gaskets, brake linings, and ceiling tiles all on the same job. Each of those products came from a different manufacturer, and each manufacturer may have a bankruptcy trust fund.

What to include

Add an entry for every job where asbestos may have been present. Common occupations with documented high exposure include shipyard workers, plumbers, pipefitters, electricians, construction workers, auto mechanics, boiler operators, and insulation installers. See the military asbestos screener if your exposure involved military service.

Also add entries for significant product exposures - asbestos-containing brake pads, gaskets, floor tiles, or pipe insulation used during home renovation. And include secondary exposures if a family member regularly brought asbestos dust home on their clothing.

How attorneys use this information

Attorneys cross-reference your exposure history against databases of known asbestos-containing products, manufacturers, and worksites. From an employer name and a date range, they can often identify 5 to 15 defendants and the specific bankruptcy trust funds those companies established.

The more detail you provide, the stronger the case. Approximate dates are fine - courts understand that workers don't remember exact hire dates from 40 years ago. A decade and a location is often enough to start.

Related tools

Use the mesothelioma case evaluator to get a case viability score, the asbestos trust fund claim estimator to estimate compensation from bankruptcy funds, and the mesothelioma settlement calculator for a settlement range estimate.

Frequently asked questions

Approximate dates are fine and expected. Very few workers remember their exact start and end dates from jobs 30 or 40 years ago. Give your best estimate and note that it's approximate. Your attorney's investigators will cross-reference employment records, union records, and Social Security earnings history to fill in gaps.
Yes. Include any workplace, product, or situation where asbestos may have been present, even if you're not certain. Your attorney will help sort out which exposures are legally significant. It's better to over-document than to leave out a potential defendant. Use the notes field to indicate when you're uncertain.
Yes. Courts have recognized secondary exposure - also called take-home or household exposure - as a basis for mesothelioma claims. This applies to family members who regularly laundered the clothing of an asbestos worker or lived in the same home. The liability falls on the employer or manufacturer who exposed the primary worker. Secondary exposure cases are more complex but have resulted in significant settlements and verdicts.
Many asbestos manufacturers and employers went bankrupt specifically because of the volume of mesothelioma claims against them. When they went bankrupt, courts required them to set up asbestos trust funds to compensate future claimants. More than 60 of these trusts exist today with billions of dollars available. Your employer going out of business doesn't end your ability to recover. See the asbestos trust fund claim estimator.
Go as far back as you can remember. Mesothelioma has a latency period of 20 to 50 years, so exposures from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s are often the most relevant. The peak era of asbestos use in the United States was roughly 1940 to 1979. Exposures during that period frequently link to the highest-value claims.

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