Mesothelioma and Asbestos Lawyer in Mobile
Are you looking for a mesothelioma and asbestos lawyer in Mobile for a consultation? Asbestos is a fibrous mineral long considered as a good insulator against heat and flame. In the 1800s, it was also found to resist electricity, and an industry was born. Asbestos was readily available and cheap to mine, so it was the go-to material to insulate against heat and electric current. Shaped into protective fabric mats, asbestos insulation was standard material in buildings, electric circuitry, automobile brakes and gaskets, industrial furnaces and boilers, hot-water heaters, shipbuilding, and thousands of other functions.
When the mineral is roughly handled, it sheds tiny fibrous crystals—some small enough to form an invisible dust. When this dust is inhaled, it has serious damaging effects on the human body. By the 1930s, the dangers of asbestos were widely understood by many scientists and doctors but the hazards were suppressed and hidden by the manufacturers and distributors of asbestos until the 1970s when warning labels began appearing on asbestos-containing products. several decades later when laws were passed which banned and restricted its use in construction. Incredibly, it was not until March 2024 that asbestos use was totally banned in the United States. (See here for a comprehensive history of asbestos regulations.)
There are many ways that a person can be exposed to asbestos, including in the workplace and in maritime settings, but the 3 main ways are:
(1) New construction – up until the 1980s, asbestos was regularly used in construction of buildings, houses, ships, plants, factories, and numerous other industrial and commercial uses;
(2) Repair/Maintenance – Even after asbestos was no longer used in new construction, victims were regularly exposed any time there was repair, maintenance, demolition or tear-out of asbestos materials;
(3) Secondary exposure – People who are in the general areas where asbestos exists, or is being installed, or is being removed, or is otherwise in the air are at increased risk of developing asbestos disease and mesothelioma. This includes wives of asbestos workers who were exposed while handling and washing their husband’s clothes that were contaminated by asbestos.
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What Are the Health Hazards Associated With Asbestos?
It’s estimated that about one in every five people exposed to asbestos will develop a disease related to that exposure. Contact with asbestos or inhaling the mineral fibers can lead to very serious ailments.
Mesothelioma is the asbestos-related lung illness that draws the most attention today. When asbestos fibers are inhaled, they can pass through the lungs and embed in organs or the walls of the chest cavity. Through a mechanism that is still not perfectly understood, these fibers can trigger uncontrolled cell growth: cancer. This type of cancer is called mesothelioma. Symptoms of mesothelioma may include breathing difficulties, abdominal swelling, fatigue, pain, and weight loss. In the United States, doctors diagnose about 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma each year.
This doesn’t happen overnight. It may take years, even decades, after exposure for symptoms of mesothelioma to develop. In some cases, the exposure to asbestos may not be direct. For instance, a person who works in an asbestos-contaminated building may bring home invisible asbestos fibers on his clothing, and his wife may develop symptoms of mesothelioma 20 years later due to exposure while laundering those clothes.
There are no cures for mesothelioma or other asbestos-related lung conditions. In individual cases, some treatments may be able to relieve symptoms. The prognosis for patients living with mesothelioma depends on the stage—the extent of development—of the cancer and many other factors, but long-term survival rates are currently low. For more information about mesothelioma and the health hazards of asbestos exposure from a legal standpoint call a mesothelioma and asbestos lawyer in Mobile with the Lattof & Lattof, P.C. law firm for a free consultation to answer all of your questions.
Consult A Mesothelioma and Asbestos Lawyer in Mobile If You’re Diagnosed With Mesothelioma
If you have developed mesothelioma or asbestos-related lung cancer, you’re facing a medical and personal crisis. Day by day, the bills for medical care pile up, but your symptoms may make it impossible for you to hold down a job. Your financial predicament puts more stress on your family in this already stressful time.
As noted earlier, the first evidence of health complications from asbestos emerged nearly a century ago. Even if you were exposed to asbestos 40 or 50 years ago, the person, organization, or business that owned the place where exposure occurred should have known about the risks to visitors and should have taken better precautions to protect you. That person, business, or organization may be held legally responsible for the harm you are suffering today.
The specific facts of your case determine whether you have a valid legal claim. You may be eligible to have your medical expenses paid and to recover the income your can no longer earn. Contact a Mesothelioma and Asbestos Lawyer at Lattof & Lattof Attorneys for a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your case. Since the 1970s, our firm has worked on thousands of asbestos legal claims for clients across the United States. We never charge a fee until our client gets a settlement or damage award.
