Asbestos & Mesothelioma Law Blog

After a mesothelioma diagnosis, mesothelioma patients and their family members often have many questions about the contractions and treatment of the cancer. One of the most common questions is whether or not mesothelioma is a preventable disease or if there was something in the family history that caused it to develop.

One of the most important things mesothelioma patients and their families should know is that the disease is extremely rare and most commonly associated with exposure to asbestos, a flaky white mineral commonly used in insulation and other industrial applications. Companies have known for decades about the causal link between asbestos exposure and risk of developing the deadly cancer.

Despite knowing asbestos posed serious health risks to workers, many companies chose to continue using the material due to its heat resistant properties and low cost, just another example of business putting profits before people. Had companies acted in good faith on the knowledge they had for years about the dangers of asbestos, potentially thousands of lives could have been extended.

The former Environmental Health and Safety Officer for Paterson, New Jersey schools recently hit her employer with a lawsuitclaiming the defendant fired her as a retaliatory act for exposing the district’s illegal removal of asbestos from a school classroom. Since 2008, the plaintiff’s role with the school district had been to ensure the health and safety of around 23,000 students and 5,400 staff members, but she was apparently not allowed to perform her job for the sake of cutting costs.

According to her lawsuit, the plaintiff alleges she faced a hostile work environment after taking issue with the school district’s removal, storage, and disposal of asbestos and mold from several sites. Most notably, the school district allegedly hired contractors without the proper licenses to remove and dispose of the dangerous asbestos.

School Allegedly Failed to Follow State Asbestos Removal Laws

Mesothelioma is an aggressive form of cancer, usually affecting the lungs and abdomen, caused by exposure to asbestos, a flaky white insulation material once common in industrial applications as well as consumer products. One of the worst aspects of the condition is the long passage of time between exposure and the onset of symptoms that victims may recognize as a serious medical condition.

Often times, asbestos exposure victims are not diagnosed until they are older and the disease is at an advanced stage, giving patients fewer treatment options to improve their health and wellbeing. Due to the passage of time and the complex nature of litigating an asbestos mesothelioma cancer lawsuit, many plaintiffs ultimately succumb to their condition before their claim is resolved.

Situations like these leave surviving family members worried about whether they will receive the compensation necessary to make up for the loss of service provided by their deceased loved one. Fortunately, the law does allow surviving family members to continue lawsuits on behalf of their family members and hold wrongdoers accountable for their careless actions.

Mesothelioma is an aggressive, deadly cancer caused by inhaling asbestos fibers that leaves victims with few treatment options the further the disease progresses from the lungs and abdomen. While doctors can use aggressive treatments like surgery if the disease is caught in its early stages, mesothelioma will eventually metastasize into delicate areas of the body unsuitable for surgical removal.

However, doctors and researchers around the world have committed themselves to finding better treatment options for late-stage cancer patients to help extend patient life expectancy and improve quality of life. Recently, cancer researchers meeting in Amsterdam for the annual World Lung Cancer Conference submitted a report of a promising new immunotherapy drug, nivolumab (also known as Opdivo).

According to a statement released by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, the drug showed tremendous promise in treating patients battling malignant pleural mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma is a form of the disease affecting a thin lining of tissue around the lungs, one of the most common types of the deadly cancer victims can experience.

A mesothelioma cancer diagnosis can be devastating news and seemingly come out of nowhere to turn our world upside down. Because mesothelioma takes decades to manifest itself, victims often receive their diagnosis during retirement, but many become affected during their prime income earning years, as well.

Whatever the case, mesothelioma rears its head at the worst time and seriously affects the economic and health outlook for victims and their families. Lost wages, medical treatment, and the grind of fighting the disease all eventually take their toll on victims, leaving them wondering how they will cope with it all.

Fortunately, the law gives these affected parties legal recourse to hold wrongdoers accountable for their negligent actions and file mesothelioma cancer lawsuits to recover for economic damages and pain and suffering. Depending on the circumstances of the case, surviving family members may also pursue claims for loss of emotional, economic, and domestic support should their loved one pass on before the case is resolved.

If you are diagnosed with mesothelioma, your doctor will describe the state of your condition using one of four stages. Each stage represents the extent to which the tumor has metastasised, which is the spread from its original growth point. Identifying the cancer’s stage is an important aspect of the diagnosis and can ultimately determine treatment options moving forward.

Depending on the patient’s health and stage of the cancer, doctors may recommend more aggressive treatment options like surgery to try and remove the tumors present. When the cancer is operable, doctors consider the tumors resectable and may help extend the life expectancy of the patient.

Stage I Mesothelioma

Ray Albright, a former Tennessee state legislator, recently revealed his mesothelioma diagnosis almost four decades after exposure to asbestos while working as a boilermaker in a Chattanooga factory to support his family. Sadly, doctors informed him that he only has a few months to live. He and his wife had planned to continue their lives together for decades to come as they raised a family, worked hard, and served the citizens of Tennessee.

According to reports, the victim took a job at Combustion Engineering back in 1953 where he worked for almost two-decades using a bandsaw to cut steel tops for boilers. The victim described the toxic atmosphere he worked in, noting the dust from the job made the air so thick that visibility was extremely limited.

Unfortunately for the victim, he and others at the plant unknowingly breathed in toxic asbestos, an industrial insulation commonly used in various industries because of its heat resistant properties. The former state legislator believes his employer and others knew about the dangers asbestos exposure could pose but did nothing to warn him and others.

As we observe Lung Cancer Awareness Month, it is important to understand the various causes of lung cancers and work hard to promote awareness about how and why these types of diseases occur, how to avoid them, and what our treatment options are. Fortunately, support communities across the country are coming together for just this very purpose.

Asbestos exposure can increase your risk for lung cancer. While not exclusive to the lungs, mesothelioma tumors often affect a thin lining around these organs, known as the mesothelial tissue. When affecting the lining around the lungs, this type of cancer is known as pleural mesothelioma and occurs in about two-thirds of mesothelioma patients.

Lowering Your Risk for Lung Cancer

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.