Mesothelioma Lawyers Blog

October 24, 2015

Firefighters Exposed to Asbestos

When firefighters arrive at a burning building, truck crews will typically go to work fighting their way inside to look for victims, while ladder companies and engine companies set up and start fighting the fire itself. Every aspect of working as a firefighter and responding to a blaze is very dangerous. There is always the risk firefighters will be badly burned, trapped under a building as it falls apart around them, or suffer severe injury from breathing thick smoke.

To prevent smoke inhalation injuries, firefighters will often wear a self-contained breathing apparatus, like a scuba driver wears, but this equipment is designed to work in fire instead of underwater. Air packs firefighters wear are often called Scott Packs after the company that makes them. This is the same company that makes respirators and ventilators for use in asbestos abatement projects, but the two products are not interchangeable. In other words, a firefighter air pack is not extremely effective at keeping a firefighter safe from asbestos inhalation in a fire, and an asbestos abatement pack wouldn’t be much help in fire. Continue reading

October 20, 2015

Columbia Gas Headquarters in Springfield Moving to New Location: Asbestos Issues

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Any one who lives in western Massachusetts is probably familiar with the Columbia Gas building. The iconic old industrial building that houses thousands of gas meters and other equipment owned by the utility is well known and easily recognized by its giant sign depicting the companies blue flame logo above the word Gas. This logo is done in what now a classic vintage style and was easily seen from the road.

According to a recent news article from Mass Live, Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, formerly known as the Bay State Gas Company, had finally decided to move from the old building constructed in 1964. While the building is not particularly old relative to other buildings, it is outdated and inefficient for handling all of the pipes and equipment need to supply western Massachusetts with natural gas. The new facility will be more centrally located, which will help achieve this goal. The current building is already in the process of being razed, as it was not worth repurposing, given asbestos issues and the generally layout of the building. Continue reading

October 17, 2015

Rolls-Royce Employee Dies of Asbestos Exposure

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Many people associate a Rolls-Royce with extreme luxury and wealth. Much like a Lamborghini or Ferrari, many have never seen one driving on a highway or on a city street. These are cars we see on TV shows, movies, and in museums.

One thing we do not generally associate a Rolls-Royce with is asbestos exposure and mesothelioma. However, according to a recent news story for the Derby Telegraph, an electrician for Rolls-Royce recently died of mesothelioma due to occupational exposure to deadly asbestos fibers. Continue reading

October 15, 2015

Wife Dies from Doing Husband’s Asbestos Filled Laundry

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

There is no question that asbestos was dangerous to the seemingly countless factory workers and construction workers who worked in asbestos-laden environments for decades of the last century. When these workers would breathe in the deadly asbestos fibers, these fibers would become embedded in the layer of tissue know as the mesothelium, where they could develop in into an aggressive form of cancer known as malignant pleural mesothelioma.

While most people associate mesothelioma with lung cancer, it is actually a different form of cancer, though it often does form in the lungs. However, it can also form in the stomach, chest, and other internal organs. Wherever it initially forms, it can quickly spread to other organs in the short period time a patient has left to live following a mesothelioma diagnosis. It should also be noted that asbestos exposure can cause lung cancer, asbestosis, and other forms of serious respiratory illness. Continue reading

October 13, 2015

New England School Closed Due to Asbestos

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Many schools in Boston and across New England were built during a time when asbestos was heavily used in construction. The asbestos was deadly to the miners who unearthed the material and to the workers who installed it in the schools, but, generally speaking, asbestos is no longer harmful to occupants of a building. The reason for this is because asbestos was used in wall joint compounds and many other things, but, unless it is being disturbed, there is not a great risk of inhaling the deadly fibers.

However, if a building is not properly maintained and is allowed to fall apart, the risk of asbestos exposure skyrockets for anyone inside. Unfortunately, due to budgetary shortcomings, it is fairly common for schools to end up in very bad condition to the point where students are at a high risk for asbestos exposure. Continue reading

October 9, 2015

Rep. Blake Fernthold Discusses Need for Asbestos Reform to Protect Veterans and First Responders

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Representative Blake Fernthold (R-Texas) is speaking out about problems with the mesothelioma victims’ fund for first responders and veterans exposed to deadly mesothelioma fibers. The funds were set up by Congress in the 1990s, and money was reserved for future victims, since it typically takes between 20 and 50 years after first being exposed to deadly asbestos fibers before they metastasize into malignant pleural mesothelioma, lung cancer, or cause other forms of serious respiratory illness.

These funds were designed to provide fair payments as compensation for present and future victims, but instead there have been many funding problems with the systems and payments, which have been reduced since the 2000s, and in some cases multiple times to the same victims or their families. Fernthold says the reason for this is because of recurring incidents of fraud and abuse of the system. He, along with a group of advocates, is supporting the Furthering Asbestos Claims Transparency (FACT) Act. They hope that with greater transparency, there will be less fraud, and victims and their families will finally get the compensation they deserve. Continue reading

October 6, 2015

Results not Promising for New Mesothelioma Drug

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

As many know too well, there is not much doctors can do for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. This is not say there aren’t a multitude of FDA-approved treatment options, because there are, but even in the best case scenarios, patients undergo invasive and painful procedures and may only be given an extra few months to live.

There is, however, hope that, one day, there will be real treatment options for mesothelioma patients that can actually arrest the growth of tumors or even force them into remission. One drug that people thought might help doctors and patients achieve these goals was known as VS-6063, being developed by Verestem Inc. pharmaceuticals based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company had recruited patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma in 2011, and, by 2012, the company had announced it was closing enrollment in the study because it had enough patients with the deadly disease to complete the study. Continue reading

September 29, 2015

Facts About Mesothelioma

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A recent news article from Dr. Tipster takes a closer looks at mesothelioma. As many people know, mesothelioma is a very rare from of cancer that is almost exclusively caused by exposure (usually at the workplace) to deadly asbestos fibers. Once inhaled, it can take between 20 and 50 years for these fibers to metastasize into a deadly form of cancer known as malignant pleural mesothelioma.

One of the first questions many people ask is how is mesothelioma diagnosed? Unfortunately, mesothelioma is very difficult to diagnose until the disease is in an advanced stage, and the patient has only very short time left to live. Many people who finally do start noticing symptoms do not go to the doctor right away, because they mistake the symptoms, such as stomachache and shortness of breath, for a less serious illness. The vast majority of patients are diagnosed with mesothelioma within a few months after they first start experiencing symptoms. Continue reading

September 27, 2015

Promising Results for CRS-207 Trials in Fighting Mesothelioma

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news release from Nasdaq News Service, Aduro Biotech has just announced the results of Phase 1b mesothelioma trials for its new immunotherapy drug, CRS-207.

Phase 1b is part of the process of clinical trials to test new medications on human patients. In this phase, multiple increasing dose studies are performed on human patients to determine safety and tolerability. The patients are given multiple low doses of the drug during the study, and multiple tests are performed to determine how the human body processes the new drug. In the next group of patients, the dose of the experimental drug is increased, and then increased again in future groups, until a preset limit has been reached. Continue reading