Articles Posted in Asbestos Exposure

A plumber has filed a lawsuit against a medical center for wrongful termination, claiming he was fired because he reported asbestos to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Employers are generally prohibited by law from firing whistleblowers who report wrongdoing or who alert OSHA to workplace health hazards. As such, if the plumber can prove that he was terminated due to complaining about asbestos on the job, he should be entitled to back pay and compensation.

Workers in the building trades, including plumbers, should be aware of what asbestos fibers look like and should alert their employers immediately if they identify any signs that these fibers are present. Exposure to asbestos fibers can be deadly and there is never an excuse for not taking asbestos complaints seriously. A Boston mesothelioma lawyer can represent individuals exposed to asbestos on the job who became ill and can help victims to ensure that they are not retaliated against for protecting their right to avoid exposure.
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The estate of a shipfitter who died of mesothelioma at aged 62 recently won a lawsuit against nine asbestos companies. The shipfitter’s wife sued and claimed that her husband’s exposure to asbestos occurred when he worked at the Philadelphia Navel Shipyard between 1965 and 1971. Although he left this career and spent the rest of his life as a nurse anesthetist, he was still diagnosed of mesothelioma in 2010 because of the asbestos he encountered on the job. He died six months after his initial diagnosis.

According to the Legal Intelligencer, the jury hearing the claim found for the estate and awarded damages of $7.2 million against the nine companies whose asbestos products were used by the shipfitter and caused his exposure. The compensation included $3.6 million in Survival Act damages and $3.6 million in wrongful death damages.
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Statistics indicate that members of the military are among the most-often affected by asbestos exposure and diagnosed in mesothelioma cases. Veterans have an exceptionally high rate of disease and some experts suggest that 30% of all mesothelioma cases are diagnosed in veteran cases. Historically, many of these veterans were exposed during the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s; however; veterans who have served abroad in more recent decades may also have suffered from asbestos exposure.

The U.S. Navy has some of the highest rates of asbestos exposure and development of mesothelioma. Tragically, for these veterans and their loved ones, mesothelioma survival rates are grim. Our maritime mesothelioma attorneys are dedicated to protecting the rights of mesothelioma patients and their families.

Asbestos was commonly used in ship production and an insulation solution until its dangers were revealed decades later. Veterans may have been exposed to asbestos in boiler or engine rooms, in the material wrapping pipes, or lining breaks. U.S. Navy veterans may also have been exposed through the walls, floors, and ceilings of the ship. Any number of jobs could have exposed a veteran or civilian to asbestos on a ship, including insulation, electrical work, plumbing, or welding.
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Despite workplace safety standards that have been in place for decades, on-the-job exposure to toxins remains a leading cause of injury. In fact, on a recent list of the Five Jobs Most Likely to Make You Sick, exposure to toxins and chemicals were the cause of illness for both the number one and number two jobs.

While the job found most likely to make you sick was agriculture (because of exposure to fertilizer), the number two job on the list was construction work. Construction workers have such a high rate of job-related illness as a result of asbestos that can cause asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. Victims who suffer from these conditions because of their jobs need to talk to a mesothelioma law firm in Massachusetts as soon as possible for information on how to pursue a damage claim.
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Many people are inspired to do home repairs and home remodeling themselves, especially with network shows like HGTV and This Old House making it look so simple to fix up a house. Unfortunately, many homes built before 1980 have asbestos in them, and doing home improvement tasks could cause serious illnesses.

Victims exposed to asbestos can develop a condition called asbestosis as well as other serious issues, including lung cancer or a rare type of cancer called mesothelioma that usually only develops from asbestos exposure. The illnesses may not show up for decades after the exposure, but mesothelioma and other asbestos-related health problems can be difficult or impossible to treat. An experienced mesothelioma lawyer should be consulted by victims for help in pursuing a claim for compensation if they are ill as a result of asbestos exposure.
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With the dangers of asbestos so well-known, it’s hard to believe that companies continue to put employees and the public at risk of exposure. Unfortunately, an incident of careless asbestos handling by an Essex demolition company has endangered countless people recently as a result of the company’s complete failure to follow best practices when handling asbestos. The company has been fined and faces further potential liability.

Workers and other individuals harmed by exposure to asbestos can pursue a claim for compensation against companies like this careless demolition business. A mesothelioma lawyer in New England can assist those who have been exposed.
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The majority of those filing asbestos lawsuits in Massachusetts are people who worked in industries where they were exposed to the dangerous fibers in the course of carrying out their daily duties.

These individuals suffered from what we call occupational exposure. There are other forms of exposure of course, including second-hand, usually stemming from relatives who returned home each day with the material on their clothing.

Yet even for those diagnosed with mesothelioma, in which the only known cause is exposure to asbestos, these cases can be complex. It requires delving back many years into a person’s work history and daily routines. It requires testimony from colleagues and supervisors from decades ago. It requires an extensive analysis of medical records and evaluations. To top it off, most of these cases are fast-tracked, due to the rapid deterioration of patients’ health following diagnosis.
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An ongoing mesothelioma lawsuit raises questions about an employer’s responsibility in cases of asbestos exposure and whether workers’ compensation laws bar plaintiffs from taking action against former employers.

In the case of Walston v. Boeing Co., the plaintiff is attempting to sue his former employer on the grounds that the company “deliberately intended” to cause him harm, as it knew of the dangers involved with asbestos work and failed to properly protect or warn him.

However, the company argues that the lawsuit is barred under Washington state’s Industrial Insurance Act, the state’s workers’ compensation law, which offers employer immunity under the exclusivity provisions.
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Many people each year file lawsuits in the United States because they develop cancer as a result of exposure to asbestos. The thousands of lawsuits largely go unnoticed amidst the other legal news, especially as asbestos litigation has been going on for a long time and there is no question that asbestos is the cause of mesothelioma as well as the cause of many cases of lung cancer.

One recent case, however, is bringing issues of asbestos exposure back to the headlines because the plaintiff is a politician. According to The Hill, the lawsuit was brought by a 69-year-old U.S. Congresswoman named Carolyn McCarthy. The congresswoman announced back in June that she had been treated for lung cancer and she has now filed a lawsuit against multiple manufacturers of asbestos because she alleges that exposure to toxic asbestos fibers when she was younger was a significant contributing factor to the development of her lung cancer.
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The link between exposure to asbestos and the development of cancer has been long-established and it is clear that when asbestos fibers are breathed, they can cause mesothelioma. Unfortunately, new research shows that even very low levels of exposure to asbestos can trigger the damage to the lining of the lungs that causes mesothelioma.

The study was published in the Journal of Occupation and Environmental Medicine and it involved reviewing data from more than 60,000 men that was collected as part of the Netherlands Cohort Study. The men whose data was reviewed were Norwegian men between the ages of 55 and 69. The researchers took a careful look at the job history of each of the 58,279 men who were involved in the study and compared the work background of the men to the different occupations where workers were routinely exposed to asbestos. The researchers also compared the levels of asbestos exposure among the men surveyed to the rate at which the men developed mesothelioma and other cancers such as lung cancer.
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