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If you or a loved one were diagnosed with mesothelioma, you undoubtedly have serious questions about the disease, its causes, and possible medical treatments to help live a longer, happier life. Often times, one of the most pressing questions for mesothelioma victims is, “How did I get mesothelioma?” or “Where did my mesothelioma come from?”

While cancer diagnoses are best made by trained, experienced oncologists and pathologists, the causal link between exposure to asbestos and developing mesothelioma has been known for many decades. Mesothelioma is often referred to the signature disease of asbestos exposure. In other words, mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer and when a diagnosis is made, asbestos exposure is investigated as the cause.

Asbestos is a mineral once popular in many industrial and commercial products, particularly as an insulation due to its heat-resistant properties. Applications of the dangerous mineral included auto parts, flooring, siding, and military settings, which created the possibility that millions of Americans could have been exposed.

The two sides in a class action asbestos exposure lawsuit recently agreed to an $80 million settlement just days before the trial was scheduled to commence. The settlement sets a record for the largest medical monitoring fund ever created in the state of Missouri and could provide services to up to 7,500 individuals who may have been exposed to asbestos.

The case stems from renovations on the Jackson County Courthouse between 1983 and 1985 when potentially thousands of individuals were exposed to asbestos during the project. One of the lead plaintiffs, a Jackson County Courthouse worker, claims the floor she worked on was almost completely covered in asbestos by workers who tracked the deadly mineral around when the failed to follow any sort of safety protocols.

While the defendant U.S. Engineering claims no one was harmed by the renovations almost 30 years ago, at least one death has been linked to asbestos exposure at the site. In 2011, the family of an administrative worker at the courthouse recovered $10.4 million in a settlement with the county and U.S. Engineering after the victim passed away from mesothelioma.

A Los Angeles jury recently made headlines after awarding $18 million to a plaintiff claiming asbestos-laced talcum powder was to blame for his mesothelioma. The 68-year-old former Los Angeles political figure claims he developed mesothelioma from coming in contact with talcum powder at his father’s barbershop where he would visit and spent time working as a child, stemming all the way back to the 1940s.

The defendant, Whittaker Clark & Daniels, was just one of many parties the plaintiff intended to hold responsible for his health issues. The plaintiff claims he was exposed to asbestos-laced talc in common hygiene products like Old Spice, Clubman, Kings Men, and Mennen Shave Talc.

The 12-person jury ultimately found Whittaker Clark & Daniels 30% at fault for the plaintiff’s mesothelioma. The verdict is also significant because the jury awarded the victim $3 million more than named in the suit and could have been much more had the trial proceeded to the punitive damages award stage.

While the disease is rare, many are familiar with mesothelioma and its causal relationship to exposure to asbestos, a once common additive to many industrial and commercial products during the mid-20th century. However, many do not realize that mesothelioma is not the only debilitating condition associated with exposure to toxic asbestos.

According to research analyzed by reporters, the case study of one small Montana town highlights just how high the risks of asbestos exposure can be, even if it does not result in developing mesothelioma. The study analyzed the health of the 7,300 residents of Libby, Montana in the years following the closure of a nearby vermiculite mine.

The mine operated for decades until its closure in 1990. The vermiculite mined contained asbestos and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared it a an Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site in 2002. It became one of the largest environmental cleanups in U.S. history.

Asbestos-related conditions like mesothelioma do not usually manifest themselves right away. Most of the time, it can take years before the signs and symptoms of serious illnesses alert asbestos exposure victims to the harm they have suffered. With such a long passage of time between asbestos exposure and developing mesothelioma, victims may be unsure of the legal timeframes they have to file claims and seek compensation.

One recent case highlights exactly why victims and their families need to take immediate action when someone they love is diagnosed with mesothelioma or another serious asbestos-related condition. While times can be trying after a mesothelioma diagnosis, victims are strongly advised to contact an experienced, nationwide mesothelioma lawyer about their case as soon as possible.

The victim in this case was an 84-year-old Washington man who worked at a paper pulp factory for many years after his discharge from the Navy. The victim passed away in 2010 due to complications from the mesothelioma he developed from asbestos exposure while at the pulp and paper mill.

An Arizona Appeals Court ruled that parties are not liable for the harm their asbestos products cause to others in secondhand or “take-home” asbestos exposure. The case centered around a decedent whose surviving heirs claim the victim passed away due to secondhand exposure of asbestos brought home by the victim’s father. The mesothelioma victim’s father worked for Arizona-based Reynolds Metals Co. in Maricopa County during the 1950’s and was frequently exposed to asbestos fibers on work clothes, inside automobiles, and general surroundings.

Attorneys for the plaintiff argued that defendant owed a duty to refrain from creating dangerous or otherwise hazardous conditions on its property, which could cause harm to others off site. Courts in other states have found that plaintiffs were harmed because their parent worked in proximity to asbestos and the defendants owed them a duty not to place them at risk.

The plaintiff argued citing other state courts that property owners owe “a general duty to refrain from engaging in affirmative acts that a reasonable person should recognize as involving an unreasonable risk of causing an invasion of an interest of another, or acts which involve an unreasonable risk of harm to another.”

A group of plaintiffs recently filed a federal lawsuit against an asbestos litigation trust set up by their former employer to recover millions in unpaid claims they allege the administrators are squandering. In addition to this suit, the asbestos litigation trust set up to disperse compensation to victims also faces hundreds of other claims over allegations that workers at a Texas-based plant were exposed to asbestos for decades.

The case began in 2000 when the defendants, Tyler Pipe and Swan Transportation, lost a pair of multimillion dollar asbestos exposure lawsuits which ultimately bankrupted the companies. As is common with these types of cases, bankruptcy courts required the defendants to set up a trust fund for these and other victims exposed to dangerous industrial conditions while working at the plant.

Victims Still Waiting for Asbestos Exposure Compensation

September 26 recently marked National Mesothelioma Awareness Day. The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation created the occasion to bring nationwide awareness of the issues facing mesothelioma patients and their families. Additionally, the event is a terrific way for mesothelioma cancer charities across the country to fundraise for important research that one day may find a cure for the disease.

National Mesothelioma Awareness day is recognized by the House of Representatives and the Senate as well as many state and local governments. Furthermore, events related to the day have raised over one million dollars to benefit various causes related to research and support for victims.

The day is extremely important for the 2,000 to 3,000 victims diagnosed every year with mesothelioma and their families. While the aggressive disease is relatively unknown by most people throughout the country, those who struggle with mesothelioma know all too well the toll it takes on ordinary folks.

Asbestos has been used in industrial and commercial applications since the middle of the 19th Century up until around the 1970s. While it took many years, asbestos products manufacturers finally came to terms with the dangers their products posed to the public and ceased production, but not until many innocent people were hurt.

Fortunately, many victims were able to file mesothelioma cancer lawsuits against various asbestos companies for their debilitating medical conditions and the compensation they needed for medical treatment. However, it is not always necessary to file a formal lawsuit against an asbestos company to recover for damages. Instead, some companies created asbestos bankruptcy trust funds to dispense compensation.

Often times, companies reorganize through bankruptcy proceedings, which can also absolve them of liability for the harm their products have done. However, before courts allow companies to reorganize they sometimes require them to set aside large sums of money to pay out claims to victims, and the asbestos industry was no exception.

The events of September 11, 2001 shook our country to its very core and tested the resiliency of the nation as a whole. In addition to the 3,000 lives lost in the terrorist attacks which downed airplanes in Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and New York, many more passed away from the clean-up effort in downtown Manhattan because they were exposed to toxic particles in the debris.

What many people do not realize is that the World Trade Centers were built with 20 stories of asbestos which spread through the air as the Twin Towers came crashing down. To date, over 200 people were killed and half a million made sick by inhaling some of the 2,000 tons of asbestos that went airborne.

The amount of asbestos released in the collapse was enough to fill the equivalent of 182 school buses and made the air 112,000 times more contaminated with asbestos than the federal legal limit for buildings. Sources further estimate there has been an almost 20% increase in first responders who developed cancer as a result of the rescue and cleanup efforts.