ASBESTOS EXPOSURE STILL A DANGER TO WORKERS

January 12, 2011 by

Did you know that despite the direct connection between asbestos exposure lung diseases, the use of asbestos has not been banned in the U.S.?  Did you know that many people are still diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases, including the truly fatal one, mesothelioma, a cancer that grows in the outer lining of the lungs?

What this means is that lawsuits related to asbestos exposure are still ongoing.  What started the trend toward  mass tort litigation in the late 60s and 70s is still a viable claim against some of the same companies that were sued all those years ago. This is because the latency period, the time it takes for the exposure to result in injury, takes more than 25 to 30 years. I have litigated cases on behalf of the sons of car mechanics and shipyard workers who hugged their fathers when they came home from working with asbestos products.  The dust from their clothes contained asbestos fibers which are easily breathed in.  These fibers embed themselves in the lungs and over time cause cellular changes in the respiratory cells of the lungs as well as the mesothelial cells that make up the paper-thin sac lining (or pleura) that holds the lungs in place.  Mesothelioma, a malignant cancer of the mesothelial cell lining is almost always fatal.  It is also closely associated with asbestos exposure.
Symptoms of Mesothelioma
Pleural effusion ( fluid between the lung and the chest wall), chest wall pain, shortness of breath, anemia and fatigue, cough, blood in the sputum (fluid) coughed up (hemoptysis).

Exposure Risks

The following is a list of jobs where there is a risk of asbestos exposure:

  • Auto Mechanics
  • Pipefitters and Plumbers
  • Construction
  • Power plants and Industrial settings whose buildings were constructed using asbestos-containing materials
  • Mining-talc and vermiculite
  • Railroad Workers
  • Textile industry
  • Insulating Shipyard/Ship Building
  • Asbestos Abatement Work

If you or someone you love has contracted an asbestos-related illness then contact me to discuss your legal options.

Filed under Asbestos