Manufacturers of asbestos products have known for decades that their effect was harmful and many cases, deadly. Unfortunately, these companies concealed rather than disclosed what they knew about their products. While corporations have been shielded by criminal prosecution, they can still be held liable under civil law.
This article covers the basics of asbestosis poisoning and the lawyers that represent them.
Asbestos Poisoning Is Deadly
Mesothelioma is a deadly form of cancer. Nearly 3,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year. Asbestos production was finally banned in the United States in early 1990. However, there are still people exposed to asbestos decades later and who are still at risk.
Why Was Asbestos Created?
Yet the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United, which legally gives the corporation the same legal status as people, allows all caps on corporate political campaign spending.
This decision further promotes corporate interests by ensuring the individuals that control these corporations are rarely, if ever, criminally responsible for their actions.
Many consumer rights advocates have proved that many asbestos manufacturers knew of its dangers but concealed this information from the government and the general public.
Notwithstanding, under current law, you still have the right to pursue and recover damages from asbestos manufacturers and their distributors. Juries have awarded millions of dollars to individual victims of Mesothelioma and their families.
Some companies have been ordered to set aside funds to compensate victims and their families far into the future.
What Is Asbestos?
There are three types of asbestos, but minimal asbestos exposure to any of them can result in a person contracting an asbestos-related disease. Medical evidence has increasingly demonstrated that working with or around asbestos causes irreparable lung damage and cancer.
Asbestos is a deadly class-one carcinogen, meaning that all types of asbestos cause cancer. Mesothelioma is caused by inhaled asbestos fibers and can cover the lungs, abdomen, or heart lining.
Three Types of Asbestos
- Chrysotile. Also known as white asbestos. Almost all Chrysotile was produced in Canada. It comes from a serpentine rock, which means its fibers are curled.
- Amosite. Also known as brown asbestos. Amosite comes from Africa. Brown asbestos is known for its long, jagged, needle-like fibers, which can lodge in the lungs if inhaled.
- Crocidolite. Also known as blue asbestos, it is an amphibole rock from Africa and Australia. Most experts consider blue asbestos to be the most lethal type of asbestos.
Those At Risk for Asbestos-Related Diseases
Nearly everyone is exposed to asbestos at some time during their lifetime. The good news is that most people never develop symptoms of mesothelioma or asbestosis.
Generally, people who get sick from asbestos exposure were exposed to it regularly, most often in a job where they worked directly and routinely with the material.
Not all workers exposed to asbestos will develop an asbestos-related disease. The risk of developing mesothelioma or asbestosis varies with the type of industry in which the exposure occurred and the degree of the exposure.
The asbestos contained in finished products such as “popcorn” ceilings and acoustic walls and tiles poses a negligible health risk as long as the materials are not damaged or disturbed by sawing or drilling into them in a way that releases asbestos fibers into the air. However, when someone inhales asbestos fibers, the exposed individual is at risk of developing an asbestos-related disease.
Military Personal
It has been estimated that over 500,000 military personnel have been exposed to asbestos, and many veterans now show symptoms of asbestos-related disease. Many veterans with symptoms are unadvised that they are under strict deadlines for filing a legal claim for asbestosis compensation.
It’s estimated as many as 30 percent of all malignant mesothelioma victims are veterans. Asbestos was commonly used in the military and other industries because the substance was resistant to heat and fire.
During the Vietnam War, most U.S. naval ships contained high levels of asbestos. Navy veterans were exposed to asbestos from air vents, heating sources, insulation panels, sleeping compartments, engines, and boiler rooms.
Some veterans have been denied the right to sue the government for injuries under the legal doctrine of governmental immunity. Still, they have legal options against private providers of military building material containing this deadly toxin and other companies in the seller distribution chain.
Mesothelioma – The Organs Asbestos Targets
Mesothelioma is a malignant tumor caused by inhaled asbestos fibers and forms in the lungs, abdomen, or heart lining. Asbestos primarily targets the lung, esophagus, and colon.
Asbestos is composed of microscopic fibers so tiny that they remain airborne for long periods and rapidly pass into the body, unhindered by the metabolic and respiratory defenses, such as coughing and sneezing, that the body typically employs to ward off toxic substances.
Once exposed to and infected by asbestos, it can take up to forty years before the body shows any symptoms. For example, installing asbestos as insulation and fire retardants throughout the 1950s are now developing cancer and other asbestos-caused respiratory diseases.
Asbestosis
When people breathe in asbestos-related dust, the fibers can lodge in the alveoli, the tiny air sacs that absorb oxygen and filter out toxins from the air you breathe.
One of the lungs’ functions is to break down and expel invaders from your body. The body reacts to the invasion of asbestos fibers by sending white blood cells to destroy them. Because asbestos does not chemically break down, the white blood cells are ineffective.
The body relies on its last defense – it creates other cells to surround and neutralize the asbestos fibers. These cells, called fibroblasts, are made up of scar tissue. Over time, scar tissue builds up in the lungs, impairing regular lung function. Asbestosis is the name given to this scarring of the lungs.
The symptoms of asbestosis may not appear for ten to fifty years. The first symptoms are usually a dry cough and shortness of breath. As the disease progresses, the victim may experience chest pain and tightness, fitful sleep, loss of appetite, and shortness of breath. At first, the shortness of breath occurs only during exercise. Later, it can be present even at rest. The symptoms of advanced asbestosis include pronounced clubbing of the fingers.
Asbestosis is progressive and incurable. People with asbestosis are at greater risk of developing mesothelioma and lung cancer.
Survival Rates
Most people diagnosed with mesothelioma have approximately eight to twelve months to live. Not much longer. The one-year mesothelioma survival rate is approximately 73% for pleural patients and 92% for peritoneal patients. The five-year mesothelioma survival rate is about 12%.
One-Year Mesothelioma Survival by Age
- Under 50 years old: 57.2%
- 50 – 64 years old: 51.2%
- 65 – 74 years old: 40.9%
- 75 and over: 28.5%
Statistics from www.asbestos.com Jun 30, 2021
Recovering Damages from Asbestos
Let’s assume you have been exposed to asbestos but have not yet contracted a disease; you may still be entitled to compensation, assuming you can prove your claims in court.
In cases involving Mesothelioma, there are strict time limits within which you must make your claim, which vary from state to state. You must prove you were exposed to asbestos and establish the location of that exposure.
This is a specialized area of the law, and it will be crucial that you hire a qualified attorney who has the knowledge and resources to prosecute your case successfully.
Recovery of Economic and General Damages
Individuals who suffer from these diseases can recover economic and general damages, such as out-of-pocket losses like medical expenses and lost earnings and pain and suffering. Their families can also recover compensation for the loss of their loved ones. Even people exposed to asbestos not yet manifesting symptoms may recover damages under limited circumstances.
State law determines the measure of damages in asbestos cases. Examples of injuries a plaintiff may recover, depending on their state of residence, are economic damages such as past and future medical costs, past and future nursing costs, and past and future lost earnings. As well as pain and suffering injuries based on physical pain, loss of enjoyment of life, and emotional distress.
Financial Recovery For The Victim’s Spouse and Heirs
The spouse of an asbestos victim may also recover for the loss of their husband’s or wife’s services and companionship. If someone dies of an asbestos-related disease, their heirs may recover “wrongful death” damages.
A person who can prove they were exposed to asbestos may recover damages based on the likelihood of developing an asbestos-related disease.
Proving Asbestos Exposure
Asbestos is a product that many industries have used in manufacturing and construction for decades. Millions of workers in various industries and trades have been exposed to asbestos. Asbestos exposure can lead to the diseases of asbestosis and Mesothelioma. Both conditions are incurable, and Mesothelioma is always fatal.
Being diagnosed with Mesothelioma is not sufficient to prove your legal case.
To prevail against a manufacturer or distributor, your asbestos lawyer must prove that you were exposed to a specific asbestos product or asbestos-containing location. The case will likely fail without this connection established by a preponderance of the evidence.
Statute of Limitations for Filing An Asbestosis Case
You must file within the state’s statutory deadline. These statutory deadlines vary from state to state, so you must consult a personal injury attorney with extensive experience in asbestos litigation sooner rather than later.
Settlement Values Are About One Million Dollars
Legal Settlements and verdicts in asbestos cases vary wildly. Plaintiffs who have already developed an asbestos-related disease tend to recover far more in settlements or verdicts than those who have only been exposed to asbestos. They can be affected by the state’s laws in which the claim is filed and the case’s particular facts.
The Average Trial Verdict For A Mesothelioma Victim Is About Six Million Dollars
A RAND Corporation study found that, nationwide, the average settlement for someone who had developed mesothelioma was $1,000,000, and the average trial verdict for a mesothelioma sufferer was $6,000,000. As of 2015, these settlement values have remained relatively consistent.
Asbestos Lawyers And Law Firms
Within the field of personal injury law, some lawyers focus their practice on representing the legal rights of asbestos victims. These are highly trained lawyers with substantial asbestos litigation experience.
Asbestos Poisoning And Worker Exposure
Workers harmed by asbestos exposure have the right to sue under the legal theory of negligence. Most of these cases fit within the legal category of product liability law.
Experts in the field of asbestosis poisoning have irrefutably proven that asbestos exposure can lead to death. Today, employers are legally obligated to protect their workers from known health dangers such as asbestos exposure.
A lawyer who is an expert in litigating mesothelioma cases is skilled at countering and overcoming the typical defenses to a plaintiff’s recovery from asbestos exposure. The lawyers are also familiar with the various state laws governing asbestos litigation.
Settlement Value
The average settlement value of an asbestos case is approximately one million dollars.
Suppose you or a family member believe you have fallen ill from asbestos exposure. In that case, contacting an experienced asbestos law firm to explain your legal rights is the first step toward mesothelioma compensation. Some of the top asbestos lawyers in the country come from well-established national law firms.
Asbestos Lawyers
For more information, we advise you to contact an asbestos lawyer as soon as possible to discuss your rights and legal options.
If you have specific questions or require additional information about asbestosis poisoning, consult a verified Asbestos Lawyer as soon as possible.
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