Asbestos and Mesothelioma Attorneys

Mesothelioma forms a malignant tumor in the lining of the heart, abdomen, or lungs when a person inhales asbestos fibers. Mesothelial cells, a layer of specialized cells, line the inside of the space around the heart, and the inside of the chest and abdomen. The outer surface of most of your internal organs is also covered by these cells. The cell lining is known as the mesothelium.

Over 3,000 new mesothelioma cases are diagnosed each year, according to the American Cancer Society. The disease is more prevalent in older people. The average age of mesothelioma diagnoses is 69. This may be due to many changes that have been made regarding workplace exposure to asbestos. In 1989, the Environmental Protection Agency finally banned asbestos use. The EPA also required school systems to inspect their buildings for asbestos and cover up or remove the material so it wouldn’t get into the air.

It’s important to note that diagnosing mesothelioma can be very difficult – especially in the early stages of infection, as this disease has been known to take decades to develop in victims to the point where it becomes fatal.

With this in mind, some symptoms may be vague and sometimes mistaken for signs of other medical conditions.

If you are experiencing any of the symptoms below, please consult your physician immediately,  despite this disease having an almost 100% mortality rate, there are treatments available to help alleviate the associated pain and discomfort.

• Shortness of breath
• Swelling of the face or arm
• A heavy feeling in the chest
• Pleural Effusions (a buildup of fluid between the lining of the lungs and the chest cavity)
• Weight loss
• Chest or back pain
• Chronic hoarseness, difficulty swallowing or coughing up blood

Workers regularly handle high concentrations of asbestos in high-risk jobs. The greatest potential for exposure to dangerous asbestos is in the mining profession. While asbestos mining has since ended in 2002 in the United States, most miners have been exposed to it, since certain minerals such as vermiculite and talc contain asbestos contaminants. In addition, miners used equipment that contained asbestos gaskets and asbestos insulation.

Libby, Montana, experienced the worst asbestos incident in W.R. Grace and Co’s vermiculite mine. Hundreds of miners and their families died from mesothelioma and asbestosis in Libby.

Occupations with an increased risk of asbestos exposure include:

• Textile mill workers
• Steel mill workers
• Shipyard workers
• Power plant workers
• Factory workers
• Insulators
• Industrial workers
• Firefighters
• Construction workers
• Boiler workers
• Asbestos plant workers
• Asbestos mining

The main source of asbestos exposure in the United States is construction jobs. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 25% of the people who died of asbestosis were construction workers.

Filing a mesothelioma lawsuit can help you as well as your family recover lost wages and medical expenses and hold the asbestos companies responsible for their actions. Mesothelioma is a costly disease to treat. Travel costs to a specialist alone can add up in no time. Compensation from a mesothelioma case can offer you the flexibility you need to pay for any up-front treatments that your insurance company may not cover. Filing a mesothelioma claim will help you take care of yourself during a difficult time in your life.

How Mesothelioma Cases Work

Any party who was responsible for making or using products containing asbestos could be held responsible for any injuries these products caused. Some examples of parties that can be held liable in a mesothelioma lawsuit include:

• Product manufacturers
• Manufacturers of component parts containing asbestos
• Distributors and wholesalers
• Any company that employed workers to use products containing asbestos

It’s important that you understand deadlines regarding how much time you have to file a mesothelioma case. States determine the laws surrounding mesothelioma litigation, and these requirements differ from state to state. For instance, time limits are put in place by state governments on how long people have to file a mesothelioma lawsuit (statute of limitations).

The amount of compensation a victim may receive from a wrongful death lawsuit or an asbestos injury case can vary from case to case. A person’s estate or a patient may have received jury awards and settlements worth several million dollars. Trust payouts are typically less than what a claimant may be able to receive in court.

It can take some time for claimants to receive a mesothelioma settlement. Some plaintiffs have had to wait anywhere from a few months up to as long as a year to receive a check. States have their own individual time limits for mesothelioma claim payouts.

The exact settlement amount a claimant receives is always kept private, as they are bound by confidentiality contracts. There are some occasions, however, where mesothelioma amounts have become public. Some notable mesothelioma lawsuit settlements include:

2003: North America’s largest raw steel producer, U.S. Steel Corp, was ordered to pay over $250 million dollars to a former employee who had developed cancer from asbestos exposure.

2005: In Madison County, Illinois, a jury ordered U.S. Steel Corp to pay Roby Whittington, a 70-year-old former employee, $250 million dollars because he was diagnosed with mesothelioma as a result of being exposed to asbestos fibers. The verdict was broken down as follows: $50 million dollars was awarded for compensatory damages, with an additional $200 million for punitive damages.

2011: Nancy Lopez was awarded a $10 million dollar settlement by a circuit court judge. Nancy, an employee of the Jackson County courthouse, had been exposed to asbestos during a renovation project conducted by U.S. Engineering Company.

November 2016: In Los Angeles, Philip Depoian was awarded $18 million dollars by a Superior Court jury for a mesothelioma-based talcum powder lawsuit. This was a record-setting lawsuit for L.A. He had been exposed to talcum powder products containing asbestos at the barber shop where his father once worked.

February 2020: More recently, a New Jersey state jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay over $750 million dollars in punitive damages to four plaintiffs who developed cancer after using the company’s baby powder for years.