Archive for the ‘Mesothelioma Exposure’ Category:
Mesothelioma Exposure
Victims of Secondary Asbestos Exposure
Asbestos causes cancer, including Mesothelioma, in Americans exposed to the hazardous material while working in steel mills, shipyards, power plants, construction sites, industrial plants.
The symptoms of Mesothelioma or other asbestos-related cancers may not appear for 20, 30, or even 40 or more years after the exposure occurred.
At least 90,000 American workers have slowly suffocated as a result of asbestos-related cancer. Additionally, asbestos is also causing cancer in those who were exposed secondarily through the worker or to the worker’s clothing. This is termed “secondary exposure”. Those most likely affected are the spouses and children of exposed workers.
Very few Mesothelioma patients live longer than one year after symptoms occur.
Secondary exposure to asbestos occurs among those who are exposed to dangerous asbestos fibers but not as a direct result of working with the asbestos related products themselves.
Most secondary mesothelioma cases involve women or children who inhaled asbestos fibers that were brought home on the clothing of relatives who worked directly with some type of asbestos in the workplace.
Mesothelioma Types
Mesothelioma can attack the pleural lining around the lungs. It can also attack the peritoneum, a tissue that surrounds the GI tract. Mesothelioma can attack the stomach lining, other internal organs, or even the pericardium (the tissue sac covering the heart). Thus, mesothelioma can be generally classified into the following types:
Pleural – 75% of all mesothelioma cases
Peritoneal – 10%รป20%
Pericardial – 5%
Mesothelioma Types
Epithelioid – most common, best survival rate
Sarcomatoid – most severe, but more rare
Mixed/biphasic – a mixture of epithelioid and sarcomatoid cancer
Mesothelioma Secondary Exposure
People all over the world have been poisoned by toxic levels of asbestos, putting them at risk for mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, and other deadly diseases that are directly caused by the inhalation and digesting of asbestos fibers.
Asbestos was used in thousands of products that humans and animals encounter on a daily basis particularly in building components such as ceiling and floor tiles, walls, bricks and stucco, and in automotive parts such as brakes and clutches.
Workers who have mesothelioma have labored for years in jobs that required frequent contact with asbestos. When asbestos is mined, processed, woven, sprayed or otherwise manipulated, its microscopic fibers can be released into the air, where they may be inhaled, initiating the development of mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma Symptoms
Mesothelioma symptoms include shortness of breath due to pleural effusion (fluid between the lung and the chest wall) or chest wall pain, and general symptoms such as weight loss
Mesothelioma signs and symptoms:
abdominal pain
bowel function problems
chest wall pain
weight loss
pleural effusion, or fluid surrounding the lung
shortness of breath
fatigue or anemia
wheezing, hoarseness, or cough
blood in the sputum (fluid) coughed up (hemoptysis)
Mesothelioma signs and symptoms in severe cases:
blood clots in the veins, which may cause thrombophlebitis
disseminated intravascular coagulation, a disorder causing severe bleeding in many body organs
jaundice, or yellowing of the eyes and skin
low blood sugar level
pleural effusion
pulmonary emboli, or blood clots in the arteries of the lungs
California Secondary Asbestos Exposure Lawsuit Sees $11.5 Million Verdict
A California jury recently awarded $11.5 million to a woman who developed a rare lung cancer from washing her husband’s asbestos-riddled work clothing.
In October 2001, Genevieve Gunderson, 75, was diagnosed with mesothelioma, an incurable cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. From 1948 to 1963, Gunderson’s ex-husband worked as a pipe fitter at numerous industrial sites throughout Southern California. Plaintiff attorneys argued that during that period, pipe fitters regularly worked near asbestos-laden insulation, which Gunderson would have been exposed to from handling her husband’s work clothes. Asbestos-related diseases can remain latent for up to 40 years.
Gunderson, who has two months to live, filed suit against 40 defendants, all of which settled except for Unocal Corp. Unocal argued that the industry had no way of knowing people could get cancer from secondary exposure to asbestos on clothes during the 1950s. Plaintiff attorneys, however, presented documents citing state and federal hygiene regulations that required employers to provide changing rooms and separate laundry facilities for employees due to “hazardous dust.”
Free Mesothelioma Legal Consultation
If you, or someone you care about, has been diagnosed with Mesothelioma, or any other asbestos-related cancer, you may be entitled to compensation from an asbestos company for your pain and suffering.
Mesothelioma Secondary Exposure – Note of Urgency
The first lawsuits against asbestos manufacturers were in 1929. Since then, many lawsuits have been filed against asbestos manufacturers and employers, for neglecting to implement safety measures after the links between asbestos, asbestosis, and mesothelioma became known (some reports seem to place this as early as 1898).
Source: mesothelioma-absestos.blogspot.com