What is mesothelioma?
Mesothelioma is a cancer of the cells that make up the lining around the
outside of the lungs and inside of the ribs (pleura), or around the abdominal
organs (peritoneum).
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The law limits the amount of
time after a patient incurs an injury to file suit.
The amount of time varies based on the theory
of liability and the state in which the patient files the suit.
If you or someone you love is suffering from
mesothelioma – or has died as a result of it –
contact us.
We can help you understand your rights and
options, and ensure that you have the opportunity to seek
compensation for your injuries. |
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What does asbestos have to do with mesothelioma?
The only known cause of mesothelioma in the United States is previous
exposure to asbestos fibers. Asbestos manufacturers knew about the hazards of
asbestos seventy years ago - but they kept this knowledge to themselves. The
first warnings given to workers exposed to asbestos were in the mid-1960s, and
they were terribly inadequate. Even today, workers are not always told they are
working around asbestos and are at risk for asbestos disease.
What can someone with mesothelioma do?
- Seek out the best and most up-to-date information.
- Seek out the best medical care.
- Early screening for mesothelioma diagnosis.
- Stay in close contact with your doctor.
- Consider whether or not you want to bring a lawsuit because of this
asbestos-related injury.
- Remember that resources are available to you through community and
medical support groups, asbestos victims' organizations, your place of
worship, as well as your family and friends.
How common is mesothelioma?
Although reported incidence rates have increased in the past 20 years,
mesothelioma is still a relatively rare cancer. About 2,000 new cases of
mesothelioma are diagnosed in the United States each year. Mesothelioma occurs
more often in men than in women and risk increases with age, but this disease
can appear in either men or women at any age.
What are the risk factors for mesothelioma?
Working with asbestos is the major risk factor for mesothelioma. A history of
asbestos exposure at work is reported in about 70 percent to 80 percent of all
cases. However, mesothelioma has been reported in some individuals without any
known exposure to asbestos.
Asbestos is the name of a group of minerals that occur naturally as masses of
strong, flexible fibers that can be separated into thin threads and woven.
Asbestos has been widely used in many industrial products, including cement,
brake linings, roof shingles, flooring products, textiles, and insulation. If
tiny asbestos particles float in the air, especially during the manufacturing
process, they may be inhaled or swallowed, and can cause serious health
problems. In addition to mesothelioma, exposure to asbestos increases the risk
of lung cancer, asbestosis (a noncancerous, chronic lung ailment), and other
cancers, such as those of the larynx and kidney.
Smoking does not appear to increase the risk of mesothelioma. However, the
combination of smoking and asbestos exposure significantly increases a person's
risk of developing cancer of the air passageways in the lung.
Who is at increased risk for developing mesothelioma?
Asbestos has been mined and used commercially since the late 1800s. Its use
greatly increased during World War II. Since the early 1940s, millions of
American workers have been exposed to asbestos dust. Initially, the risks
associated with asbestos exposure were not known. However, an increased risk of
developing mesothelioma was later found among shipyard workers, people who work
in asbestos mines and mills, producers of asbestos products, workers in the
heating and construction industries, and other tradespeople. Today, the U.S.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets limits for acceptable
levels of asbestos exposure in the workplace. People who work with asbestos wear
personal protective equipment to lower their risk of exposure.
The risk of asbestos-related disease increases with heavier exposure to
asbestos and longer exposure time. However, some individuals with only brief
exposures have developed mesothelioma. On the other hand, not all workers who
are heavily exposed develop asbestos-related diseases.
There is some evidence that family members and others living with asbestos
workers have an increased risk of developing mesothelioma, and possibly other
asbestos-related diseases. This risk may be the result of exposure to asbestos
dust brought home on the clothing and hair of asbestos workers. To reduce the
chance of exposing family members to asbestos fibers, asbestos workers are
usually required to shower and change their clothing before leaving the
workplace.
People considering clinical trials may be interested in the NCI booklet
Taking Part in Clinical Trials: What Cancer Patients Need To Know. This booklet
describes how research studies are carried out and explains their possible
benefits and risks. The booklet is available by calling the CIS, or from the NCI
Publications Locator Web site at
http://cancer.gov/publications on the Internet.
Mesothelioma Lawsuit is the best way to find information about
Mesothelioma resources.
This web page takes the legwork out of finding great
Mesothelioma resources. We have compiled great links to
Mesothelioma
information and pages dedicated to
Asbestos Class Action Lawsuit here. . .
To your right you will find links to various
Mesothelioma related pages. There you will find great information about
Asbestos Class Action Lawsuit.
We've taken the time to check out each and every featured Mesothelioma website to make sure they are quality sites, with quality information.
Here you will find
some of the best resources on Asbestos Class Action Lawsuit ever compiled
and some incredible resources
for Mesothelioma.
In our "Featured Mesothelioma Article"
section, you'll find an article related to Mesothelioma.
We will be providing you with updated and new featured articles on a regular
basis.
Additional
Mesothelioma links
Alaska Mesothelioma Attorney
Asbestos Abatement
Asbestos Abatement And Removal Services
Asbestos Attorney Palm Twentynine
Asbestos By Caused Disease
Asbestos Cement Siding
Asbestos Concrete Pipe Corrosivity
Asbestos Danger
Asbestos Halliburton Settlement
Asbestos Jobs
Asbestos Law Removal
Asbestos Lawyer La Quinta
Asbestos Lawyer Palm Twentynine
Asbestos Lung Disease
Asbestos Management Plan
Asbestos Settlement Trust
Asbestos Shingles
Asbestos Survey
Asbestos Survey Uk
Asbestos Vermiculite
Asbestos Worker International
Attorney Agoura Hills Mesothelioma
Compensation Legal Mesothelioma - Internet Error
Diagnose Failure Lawsuit Mesothelioma
Law Firm Asbestos Woodland Hills 91364
Michigan Mesothelioma Lawsuit
New Jersey Asbestos Law
Pleural Mesothelioma Diagnosed
Texas Asbestos Law Firm
Washington Mesothelioma Lawyer
Mesothelioma
Who Is At Risk?
Overview The only known cause of mesothelioma is previous exposure to asbestos
fibers. Often times workers are not told they are working around asbestos, and
even single exposures to very low doses of fibers can produce serious long-term
consequences.
Asbestos diseases are said to follow the trail of exposure. That means that
wherever people have received asbestos exposure, regardless of their trade, age,
sex or race, they are at risk of cancer and other diseases.
Almost anyone who has inhaled asbestos dust is at risk. Even a worker's families
and friends can be at risk, because asbestos can often be carried on clothing.
Exposure to asbestos dust can occur at major construction job sites, in
shipyards, in industry, and during construction or renovation of commercial
buildings. See the list at right for certain occupations that are known to be
those where risk of exposure to asbestos is great, and the numbers of people in
such occupations contracting asbestos disease are high.
Please contact a mesothelioma attorney if you have any questions about
occupational risk, or if you'd like to explore your legal rights.
Early Signs of
Mesothelioma Aid Diagnosis
Recognizing early symptoms of
malignant mesothelioma may aid in diagnosis. Symptoms include difficulty in
breathing (dyspnea) and/or chest pains, fever, nausea or anemia; other signals
are hoarseness, difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), or coughing up blood (hemoptysis).
For many suffering from pleural mesothelioma, there may be pain in the chest or
lower back. Those people with peritoneal mesothelioma may experience an
expanding waist size or abdominal pain resulting from the growth of cancer cells
in the abdomen. Since many of these symptoms are also caused by less serious
illnesses, it can be difficult to recognize asbestos-related diseases in the
early stages. Due to this difficulty of early diagnosis of asbestos cancer and
mesothelioma, the best way to determine your health risk is to consult a doctor
for an initial examination, which may include a pulmonary function test (PFT)
and x-rays.
Mesothelioma -
Cancer of the Lung Lining - Part 3
Among men 55 years and older, a
possible reason for the current increase in diagnosed cases is due to asbestos
use in their work environment. Since the 1930's, asbestos has been used
primarily in factories, shipyards, and other industrial settings. It was not
until 1973 that work places began reducing asbestos exposure. The cases now
being seen have developed many years after a worker's first exposure to asbestos
back in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.
Here are some
Additional
Mesothelioma Resources
-
Asbestos Class Action Lawsuit - Hotline 800.291.0963 - Mesothelioma Help ... Asbestos Class Action Lawsuit - Asbestos Lawsuit. Did you know? ... |
1986) (granting certification of a class action involving asbestos) ... Dukes v. Wal-Mart (the largest class-action lawsuit to date) Public Interest Litigation. ... |
Class Action Lawsuits: provides help and information for filing class actions cases. ... Asbestos Mesothelioma. Silicosis. Benzene Exposure ... |
Lawsuits against the asbestos industry are anything but new. ... about asbestos related class action lawsuits, simply click class action update. ... |
... class-action settlement for workers who suffer from asbestos-related ... The class-action lawsuit named 20 manufacturers of asbestos-containing products ... |
Today's News Related To
Mesothelioma
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Featured
Mesothelioma Articles |
What is
asbestos?
Why is asbestos still a problem?
Asbestos is still a problem
because a great deal of it has been used in the United States and elsewhere,
because many asbestos-containing products remain in buildings, ships, industrial
facilities and other environments where the fibers can become airborne, and
because of the serious human health hazards of inhaling asbestos fibers. Many
Americans believe that use of asbestos in products was banned years ago. The
fact is that asbestos-containing products are still being imported and sold in
this country, continuing to endanger people who may come in contact with such
products. A majority of these products are imported from Canada and Mexico, two
countries where asbestos is still used; further, not all imported
asbestos-containing products are clearly labeled with proper content
information. (Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2003,
and "Asbestos Strategies")
In an August 2003 report, the EPA's Office of Inspector General reiterates that
asbestos is still a product very much around us: a survey in the mid-1980s found
that, on average, 20% of all buildings in the United States contain asbestos.
Further, this latest report confirms that asbestos containing material is still
allowed in pipeline wrap, asbestos-cement corrugated sheet, asbestos-cement flat
sheet, roofing felt, millboard, vinyl-asbestos floor tile, asbestos-cement
shingle, and roof coatings. (Rept. #2003-P-00012).
A 2004 report by the Environmental Working Group provides a timely evalution of
the asbestos-related disease epidemic in America - a "public health tragedy
caused by asbestos." This report documents the history of asbestos use and
provides analysis and statistics to inform the political debate currently being
waged to resolve the problem.
Mesothelioma -
Asbestos Court Bid By Dying Woman - Part 1
A DYING woman is set to take her
case to court for exposure to asbestos during her school days.
Law firm Slater and Gordon is handling the case for the woman, who now lives in
Melbourne. Solicitor Andrew Higgins, who specializes in asbestos cases, says the
woman is an example of how innocently people can be exposed to the deadly
substance. Last month Slater and Gordon advertised in Tasmanian newspapers for
anyone who had been at Devonport High between 1964 and 1968. "We are looking for
people who can assist with our inquiries about that time," Mr. Higgins said.
He said the claim was the woman was exposed to asbestos as a student, which had
led to her contracting Mesothelioma as an adult. "The insidious thing about
asbestos is you can be working in mines or mills or just be a school student,
and you can get an asbestos-related disease," he said. "This is an example of
how innocently people can be exposed because there is no safe level of
exposure." The law firm's investigations centre on the time an assembly hall at
Devonport High was destroyed by fire and subsequent rebuilding.
The case is expected to be before the courts in Tasmania soon because of the
woman's limited life expectancy. Mr. Higgins said there was always a precedent
value in such cases but individuals had to be able to prove their claims. "Just
because there is one case doesn't mean others will follow," he said.
The law firm has been involved in a number of cases in Tasmania, both in Hobart
and the North-West, including people exposed in heavy industry in the area.
Pleural mesothelioma
Current medical science does not
know exactly how and why, at a cellular level, asbestos fibers cause mesothelial
cells to become abnormal (malignant or cancerous.) Thus it is not known whether
only one fiber causes the tumor or whether it takes many fibers. It seems that
asbestos fibers in the pleura can start a tumor as well as promote its growth;
the tumor does not depend on any other processes for its development.
There is as yet no known cure for malignant mesothelioma. The prognosis depends
on various factors, including the size and stage of the tumor, the extent of the
tumor, the cell type, and whether or not the tumor responds to treatment. The
Firm has represented many clients who lived for five to ten years after
diagnosis, most of them in good health for a majority of those years. Some
mesothelioma victims succumb within a few months; the average survival time is
about a year.
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