About Mesothelioma Lawsuits

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, from exposure to asbestos, you are not alone. Trust money may be available to help you pay for medical care and provide future financial security for you and your family.

Even if a loved one has already passed away due to mesothelioma complications, you may still be entitled to receive compensation for his or her death.

Money may be available to help you and your family, but you must act quickly. State law limits the amount of time you have to file a claim.

Asbestos trust funds totaling $30 billion have been set aside to help the victims of asbestos and their families. You may be able to receive compensation without ever having to go to court.

What is Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a cancer of the thin layer of protective tissue that covers the lungs and many internal organs in the abdomen. It is caused by microscopic asbestos fibers that are ingested and settle in this lining.

Over time these ingested asbestos fibers can irritate and scar these organs and lead to mesothelioma. After many years or decades, this scarring can compromise or impair function, leading to pulmonary and respiratory dysfunction and sometimes fatal respiratory decline.

There are several types of mesothelioma both malignant and benign:

Pleural Mesothelioma is a cancer of the pleura or the lining of the lungs. The exposure may have happened 20 or more years before the disease became evident.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma is a tumor of the membrane that surrounds the abdominal organs. It can incubate for many years before symptoms develop.

Other types of Mesothelioma can attack the testicles, the heart, and other organs and are also caused by asbestos exposure.

Symptoms of mesothelioma include:

• Back pain;
• Chest pain;
• Shortness of breath;
• Fever; and
• Fatigue.

All of these symptoms can be indicative of many other types of illnesses as well. Because of this, mesothelioma can be difficult to diagnose.

Asbestos Exposure

Asbestos exposure is the only known cause of mesothelioma in the United States. Furthermore, although some asbestos-related deaths may have been the result of frequent exposure to naturally-occurring asbestos, the majority of them can be traced back to the large-scale industrial application of asbestos-containing materials (ACMs).

Asbestos has been used for thousand of years for various purposes, but its usage was at it’s peak in the United States between the 1930s and the 1970s, when nearly every major industry in the country used asbestos-derived products for things like insulation, gaskets, roofing and flooring materials, and even for fire-resistant clothing.

Of all industries, those whose workers are most likely to have been exposed to asbestos fibers are:

• Mining
• Shipbuilding
• Chemical manufacturing
• Electric power companies
• Construction
• Automobile repair
• Steel mills
• Paper manufacturing

Despite the fact that these industries produced or distributed a variety of different products and services, they all used asbestos because it is resistant to corrosion, electricity, and extreme heat.

In addition, it is flexible enough to be woven into textiles and can provide tensile strength to wide variety materials.These attributes made asbestos especially useful in heavy industries such as steel, manufacturing, and shipbuilding.

Mesothelioma Lawsuits

Manufacturers of ACMs have known for almost a century that ingesting asbestos fibers can lead to mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other serious and often fatal asbestos-related diseases.

Manufacturers who produced and distributed ACMs had a legal duty to warn the end user of the dangers inherent in their use.

Their failure to warn unsuspecting workers and the public at large of these risks makes them liable to you for the injuries and illness you have sustained.

Your Mesothelioma Claim

The value of your mesothelioma claim will depend on a variety of factors, such as:

• The medical evidence that confirms your diagnosis;
• How serious your condition is;
• Your actual damages;
• The strength of the identification of the toxic products that you were exposed to;
• The manufacturers of these products; and
• The manufacturer’s legal and resources.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you should contact an experienced mesothelioma attorney immediately to learn more about mesothelioma lawsuits, and to find out if you qualify for a settlement.