Mesothelioma Lawsuits Your legal rights

Mesothelioma Lawsuits Your legal rights

Your legal rights :

Corporations that manufacture asbestos products have known about the dangers of asbestos-related diseases for more than six decades. In an effort to increase profit, they kept this information quiet, putting workers and families at risk.

Working with asbestos causes serious diseases. Unfortunately, many corporations thought they would be able to cut corners and make a large profit at the expense of endangering workers. Fortunately, there are laws that help to protect those individuals that have been harmed by exposure to asbestos-related products. 

Mesothelioma-Lawsuits.us was created to give Americans the chance to learn about this deadly disease and how they can fight back if they or someone they love has been affected by this horrible sickness. Remember that Mesothelioma-Lawsuits.us only provides background information on the disease and legal options. Please consult a lawyer if you wish professional legal advice.

Mesothelioma Lawsuits Symptoms

Mesothelioma Lawsuits Symptoms 

All about Mesothelioma Lawsuits Symptoms 

Symptoms of mesothelioma may not occur for 30 to 50 years after an individual is exposed to asbestos. Unfortunately, the early symptoms of mesothelioma are often non-specific and can sometimes be confused with other illnesses such as pneumonia. Part of the reason that Mesothelioma is often misdiagnosed is that many of the symptoms are similar to pneumonia, including shortness of breath, persistent cough and chest pain. These similarities can sometimes lead to a delay in a mesothelioma diagnosis. Making matters more difficult is the fact that some patients show no symptoms of their mesothelioma.

When symptoms of mesothelioma do appear, they often manifest themselves as shortness of breath and chest pains. The exact symptoms will often depend on which area the mesothelioma is affecting. For instance, some symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include weight loss, abdominal pain, bowel obstruction, anemia and fever.

ONLY A DOCTOR CAN PROPERLY DISGNOSE MESOTHELIOMA

IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY.

Who needs to be examined for Mesothelioma?

Individuals who have been exposed to asbestos (or suspect they have been exposed) dust on the job or at home via a family contact should inform their physician of their exposure history and any symptoms. Asbestos fibers can be measured in urine, feces, mucus, or material rinsed out of the lungs. A thorough physical examination, including a chest x-ray and lung function tests, may be recommended.

It is important to note that chest x-rays cannot detect asbestos fibers in the lungs, but they can help identify any lung changes resulting from asbestos exposure. Interpretation of the chest x-ray may require the help of a specialist who is experienced in reading x-rays for asbestos-related diseases. Other tests also may be necessary.

As noted earlier, the symptoms of asbestos-related diseases may not become apparent for many decades after exposure. If any of the following symptoms develop, a physical examination should be scheduled without delay:

Shortness of breath; 

A cough or a change in cough pattern; 

Blood in the sputum (fluid) coughed up from the lungs; 

Pain in the chest or abdomen; 

Difficulty in swallowing or prolonged hoarseness; and/or 

Significant weight loss.

Mesothelioma lawsuits Settlements

Mesothelioma lawsuits Settlements 

All about Mesothelioma lawsuits Settlements 

You will need to contact a mesothelioma lawyer in order to discuss your legal options and decide upon the best route for your case. Your mesothelioma attorney will need to determine whether or not your case is worth pursuing, and if so which direction it should take. You must also bear in mind that your mesothelioma attorney will need time to put together a solid case and do any necessary research which can be very time consuming. This, in addition to the stipulated time constraints, means that time is of the utmost importance in order to maximise the chances of filing a successful law suit. There are a number of different scenarios for mesothelioma lawsuits, which are listed below:

Product Liability : This is where you exposure to asbestos has been through the use of a specific product that was defective, allowing the dust and fibres from the asbestos to be ingested by you and thus causing cell corruption and abnormalities, ultimately resulting in mesothelioma and other asbestos relates diseases.

Professional Malpractice: This is for delay in treatment due to medical incompetence or negligence. However, you should remember that the symptoms of mesothelioma are non-specific which means that they are common symptoms in a wide range of other diseases. This makes mesothelioma very difficult to diagnose and your doctor should be made fully aware of your exposure to asbestos.

Worker Compensation: This is where you may have been exposed to asbestos through your job. Many people now in their sixties and seventies worked with asbestos thirty to fifty years ago and have now developed mesothelioma. The company that was responsible for this exposure can be sued for compensation. And even if the company has gone bankrupt, special federal laws mean that you may still be entitled to mesothelioma compensation.

Wrongful Death: This is where the victim of mesothelioma has already passed away and a member of the family is filing a lawsuit. Again, it is very important to seek legal assistance as early as possible as it can take time to put the case together and you must act within the limitations.

2004 Mesothelioma Case Settlements

June 2004

Age:77

Monies to Date: $2,000,000

Details: worked as an asbestos ceiling tile installer

June 2004

Age:77

Monies to Date: $1,300,000

Details: served as a seaman in the US Navy; worked as an engineer at an oil refinery

February 2004

Age: 53

Details: son of asbestos plant worker who assisted mother in laundering father's workclothes. Father was employed at CertainTeed Corporation's asbestos cement pipe plant in Ambler, PA. Son also played on CertainTeed's contaminated dump site directly across from the manufacturing plant.

Information about Mesothelioma Lawsuits

Mesothelioma lawsuits 

information about mesothelioma lawsuits 

"Mesothelioma" is the term used to describe a cancerous tumor that involves the mesothelial cells of an organ. Mesothelial cells are cells that form a protective lining over the lungs, heart and abdominal organs. The most common type of mesothelioma is pleural mesothelioma. The pleura is a thin membrane found between the lungs and the chest cavity. It provides a lubricated surface so that the lungs do not rub and chafe against the chest walls.

What causes it?

Virtually all cases of mesothelioma are related to inhaling of asbestos fibers. There are about 3,000 cases per year (mostly men over the age of 40) and there will be about 300,000 cases before 2030. Mesothelioma usually spreads rapidly through the mesothelial cells to the heart and abdominal organs. The life span is typically 24 months after diagnosis, but it depends on what stage the cancer is detected, the health of the patient and other factors.

Although asbestos exposure causes mesothelioma, it has a latency period after exposure that could last 15 to 50 years. This means that someone who worked in a factory with asbestos 40 years ago could be developing mesothelioma now. Anyone who knows they were exposed to loose asbestos fibers should be tested regularly for mesothelioma.

Diagnosis

The onset of mesothelioma is usually very slow. The first symptom is a constant pain in the chest. This pain is later accompanies by difficulty breathing due to an accumulation of fluid in the chest. Other symptoms include coughing, fever and weight loss. Mesothelioma can be diagnosed by your doctor with a chest CT-scan.

Prognosis (the outcome)

Mesothelioma advances in 4 stages:

Stage I - the tumor is limited to the area of the lining of the lung and usually limited to only one side of the chest.

Stage II - the tumor extends to other organs within the chest cavity, such as the heart or lymph nodes in the chest.

Stage III - the tumor expands to the other side of the chest or it spreads into the abdominal organs. The lymph nodes outside the chest are affected.

Stage IV -the cancer spreads to different parts of the body far outside the chest area (liver, brain, bone, etc...).

Mesothelioma is an extremely deadly disease. The average survival time is about one year from date of diagnosis. About 20% of patients who find their cancer early and treat it aggressively will reach the five-year mark.