Southeastern Kentucky is coal country — the deep mines of Harlan, Knox, and Letcher counties on the Cumberland Plateau, and the tipples, preparation plants, and power operations that served them. Coal mining and processing are dust-heavy, high-heat trades that reportedly relied on asbestos-containing insulation and materials, and the coalfield’s workers were reportedly exposed for full careers.
Kentucky gives just one year — among the shortest deadlines in the country — from a mesothelioma or asbestos-cancer diagnosis to file a personal-injury claim (KRS 413.140), with the clock running from diagnosis under the discovery rule. A wrongful-death claim must be brought within one year of death, and the estate’s personal representative has one year from appointment to file. Because Kentucky’s window is so short, an immediate case review matters more here than almost anywhere. Cases are filed in the county Circuit Court of proper venue; Kentucky has no statewide asbestos MDL.