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MESOTHELIOMA LAWSUITS
Most victims diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare and deadly cancer, have been exposed to asbestos in the workplace: for more than 100 years, this carcinogen has been widely used in the construction, shipbuilding, transportation and manufacturing industries.
The link between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma has been known since the early 1900s and by 1930 knowledge of the hazards of asbestos was widely available to all companies and industries worldwide. However, even though it has been officially recognized as a health hazard since the 1970s, industry has continued its use; due to its resistance and resilience to fire, asbestos (which comes from the Greek word meaning "inextinguishable") can be found in more than 3,000 products.
Asbestos has been banned in many countries, but in the US and Canada, it is still found in insulation, clutch and brake linings, wallboard and floor tiles, oven mitts and even baby powder. A human hair is more than a thousand times as thick as an asbestos strand – making it all but invisible.
Over the past hundred or so years, asbestos has killed more than 259,000 people in the US alone (according to EPA estimates). Among all the carcinogenic products, natural and fabricated, only tobacco ranks higher in number of deaths. It is estimated that each year, approximately 10,000 people die from asbestos-related illnesses and about 3,000 new cases are diagnosed. And more deaths are anticipated, mainly because mesothelioma is a creeping disease: the time of exposure and illness (the latency period) can be anywhere from 10 to 50 years—many of its victims often find out, too late, that asbestos caused their cancer.
Mesothelioma develops when asbestos fibers or dust is breathed or swallowed and affects the lining of the lungs (the “pleura”), the abdomen (the “peritoneum”), or the heart (the “pericardium”). Family members can also develop mesothelioma simply by being exposed to clothing brought home by workers—by washing their clothes together. (One woman in Texas sued Dupont and other asbestos manufacturers because she developed mesothelioma from washing and handling her husband's asbestos-contaminated work clothes for many years.)
The first lawsuit was settled in 1926 when the Massachusetts Industrial Accidents Board compensated a worker for asbestos-related illness. By 2004, about six percent of all personal injury lawsuits filed were mesothelioma lawsuits or other asbestos-related lawsuits, and in some asbestos-mining states, the percentage was higher.
Now, mesothelioma lawsuits have increased to such an extent that some states have increased the statute of limitations and many states have enacted specific laws dealing with asbestos-related cases. Some politicians have cited an "asbestos litigation crisis" due to so many companies claiming bankruptcy attributed to asbestos lawsuits.
However, many of these companies filed for Chapter 11 protection and in fact have not gone out of business. In 2003, a study of seven major companies that filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2000 and 2001 determined that all seven continued to prosper and grow financially. The report also stated that each company emerged from bankruptcy far stronger than they entered it.
In 2005, The Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution (FAIR), capped cases of malignant mesothelioma at $1.1 million. In 2006, The Congressional Budget Office estimated that legitimate claims could grow to between $120 billion and $150 billion over the next 50 years.
Congress and insurance companies are currently attempting to tighten restrictions on asbestos-related lawsuits, which could make it difficult to cover high medical expenses and to compensate families. The laws surrounding mesothelioma are complex and may differ from state to state. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you should seek legal advice sooner than later.
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