Mesothelioma is a fatal form of cancer that is entirely preventable. Also known as asbestos cancer, it is a truly evil disease with a horrific ability to conceal itself literally for decades within the bodies of workers or their family members before it manifests. In fact, mesothelioma can hide from view for as long as 40 years before an exposure to asbestos fibers culminates in a cancer diagnosis.
How do you get asbestos cancer?
Mesothelioma victims fall prey to the disease either by inhaling (breathing in) asbestos fibers or by ingesting (swallowing) them. Usually, this occurs on the job; however, there have been cases of asbestos cancer where the wife or other family member was exposed to asbestos by coming into contact with a worker’s clothing, shoes, gloves, or the like. Many wives are diagnosed with mesothelioma after years of doing the laundry, cleaning a husband’s work clothes that have been inundated with the deadly fibers.
Steelworkers susceptible
Steel workers who worked in the mills prior to the 1980s can be particularly susceptible to mesothelioma, as well as other serious diseases caused by exposure to asbestos. Often clothing worn by mill workers contained asbestos, as well as equipment used in the steel mills such as piping, blast furnaces, boilers, etc. And, it is not limited to just workers in the steel industry. Construction workers, carpenters, electricians, roofers, plumbers and other occupations are potentially at risk.
The Three Main Types of Mesothelioma
There is more than one type of mesothelioma, and most mesothelioma like other cancers — can spread to other parts of the body (’metastasize’). The most common forms of mesothelioma are:
1. Pleural Mesothelioma (Attacks Breathing System). Pleural asbestos cancer is the most widespread form of mesothelioma. It is the result of someone breathing in asbestos usually in the form of tiny asbestos fibers, inhaled on the job. Once drawn into the body, these tiny particles of toxic asbestos material then slowly maneuver themselves toward the walls of the air passageways, lodging particularly in lung tissues, and eventually metastasize into lung cancer.
2. Peritoneal Mesothelioma (Attacks Digestive System). Peritoneal mesothelioma is a common form of cancer that results from swallowing asbestos, allowing the toxic asbestos fibers to travel through the digestive system. The tiny asbestos fibers bury themselves in the walls of both the small and large intestines, and over time their toxic presence results in cancer not only in the abdomen’s lining, but usually metastasizing into growing, spreading cancerous tumors.
3. Pericardial Mesothelioma (Attacks the Heart / Lymph System). Pericardial mesothelioma is not seen as often as the prior two forms of asbestos cancer, but it still occurs all too often in this country. In this type of cancer, fibers are swallowed but instead of entrenching themselves within the digestive system, they maneuver into the lymph glands, pushing into the mesothelium lining of the heart.
Who Gets Exposed to Asbestos Fibers?
Asbestos is a miracle mineral from many industrial perspectives, and for over 200 years it has been commonly used for a wide variety of economical commercial purposes, particularly in the manufacturing and building trades. Asbestos is flexible. It is extremely hard to catch on fire. It is also very hard to destroy; it’s almost an everlasting, indestructible bit of nature.
These three industry-favorable characteristics (flexible, fire-retardant, long-lasting) are weighed against the possibility of endangering workers, and all too often profit-oriented companies choose profits over people. Famous, internationally known corporations like Nabisco, Goodyear, Toyota, and IBM have all been found liable to their employees for millions of dollars in damages resulting from mesothelioma. Nevertheless, asbestos still can be found in the following everyday products:
- Brake linings
- Building insulation
- Carpet underlay
- Caulking/Putties
- Ceiling panels and tiles for ceilings and floors
- Cement piping and cement board
- Chalkboards
- Electrical wiring
- Laboratory Hoods and Tabletops
- Linoleum flooring
- Roofing materials
- Toasters and Toaster Ovens
- Wall paneling.
For more information:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (Center for Disease Control)
Environmental Protection Agency – Asbestos
National Cancer Institute
Complicated Lawsuits Need Experienced Mesothelioma / Asbestos Cancer Lawyers
Lawsuits are usually filed after diagnoses are made that a worker or their loved one suffers from mesothelioma (’asbestos cancer’) in order to fight for proper and adequate compensation for the care and treatment of the cancer victim. Since each case involves the need to have complex medical knowledge as well as detailed legal expertise to adequately advocate for these victims and their families, there are certain trial attorneys and injury law firms dedicated to this focused area of severe injury practice, such as the Chicagoland law firm of Allen Law Group.’
Looking for an Indiana attorney?
The rules in Indiana do not permit attorneys to promote or use past verdicts as a method of determining quality of service. However, if you are seeking an Indiana attorney, you may request this information by clicking here and it will be forwarded immediately.
Looking for an Illinois attorney?
If you are seeking an Illinois attorney you may review the past verdicts and results obtained for Mr. Allen’s clients by clicking here.
Referrals by attorneys?
If you are an attorney and you wish to refer your client’s case in either Indiana or Illinois for handling by Allen Law Group, you may review past verdicts and results in cases by clicking here.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or killed due to the wrongful acts of another, then you may have a legal claim for damages as well as the right to justice against the wrongdoer and you are welcomed to contact the Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland personal injury lawyers at Allen Law Group to schedule a free initial legal consultation.