Archive for February, 2008
Mesothelioma, Hurricane Katrina and the New Orleans Rebuild
The seemingly endless process of restoring New Orleans to a functioning city after Hurricane Katrina can be attributed in part to the enormity of the task. It is the size and scope of the project that leads to a multitude of problems, each of which must be handled of its own accord.
In one area of the city, the abandoned hulks of asbestos contaminated buildings have halted the process of clearing the area. Ruined buildings that were constructed with asbestos products – roofing, insulation, coated pipes, etc. – are still standing while officials debate the best way to demolish them without creating clouds of asbestos dust. Asbestos exposure has proven to lead to, among other afflictions, the lethal lung cancer known as mesothelioma.
Filter Cigarettes – the “Healthy Option”
One of the most insidious aspects of mesothelioma, the fatal cancer caused by asbestos exposure, is that the disease often appears decades after the victim’s exposure to asbestos. That fact, combined with the widespread use of asbestos in industrial and construction products, has become a puzzle that every mesothelioma victim who is seeking compensation must solve.
One of the more ironic uses of asbestos that has come back to haunt many older Americans is as a filtration component for filter cigarettes. Those who can remember the introduction of filtered cigarettes in the 1950s will remember that they were touted for their health benefits. Supposedly they exposed the smoker to “less tar,” “less nicotine,” and other unnamed and unhealthy byproducts of a good old American smoke.
Mesothelioma may be another 9/11 Killer
Those clouds of dust that enveloped thousands of New Yorkers who were near the World Trade Center’s destruction and who participated in the rescue efforts may be another large group of victims exposed to the cancerous effects of asbestos. Mesothelioma is a deadly form of lung cancer that is caused by exposure to asbestos, usually in the form of dust or tiny fibers that get into the respiratory system.
What’s Involved In A Mesothelioma Lawsuit
Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that usually develops in the lungs, and in up to 75% of these cases the cause of the disease is believed to be exposure to asbestos, the liability of asbestos manufacturers and companies who used asbestos in their products has been well established.
As the result of lawsuits successfully connecting mesothelioma with asbestos several major U.S. corporations have been driven into bankruptcy and billions of dollars have been put into trust funds by these companies to compensate victims of this lethal asbestos poisoning.
Asbestos and Brake Repairs
For at least eighteen years asbestos has been identified as a cancer causing agent, inducing thousands of cases of mesothelomia among people who have been exposed to it. The large majority of mesothelomia victims have been people who worked directly with asbestos coated products, with asbestos construction materials or within factories that produced the many types of asbestos products.
In June of 2007 however, a case was filed in New Jersey claiming damages for a woman who died of mesothelomia after being exposed to asbestos by virtue of auto brake repairs performed by her husband and children in the driveway of their home. These amateur brake jobs took place from the 1960s through the 1980s. The alleged victim of this exposure was diagnosed in 2002, which is in keeping with the long period of latency typical of mesothelomia.
