Asbestos, Mesothelioma, and more

The dangers of asbestos were known all the way back in the 1930s, yet asbestos companies continued using it extensively through most of the 20th century.

Workers in power plants, refineries, shipyards, auto repair shops, construction sites, schools, and other facilities would grind, sweep, sand, and otherwise manipulate asbestos-containing materials and would thereby inhale asbestos fibers, which became lodged deep in their lungs. Family members were similarly exposed to these fibers from a worker’s hair, skin, or clothes.

These asbestos fibers – over the course of decades – trigger changes in our body’s tissue that cause inflammation, scarring, and genetic damage which may lead to cancers, such as mesothelioma. Types of mesothelioma include pleural (lungs), peritoneal (abdominal), pericardial (heart), and testicular. Other types of diseases caused by asbestos include asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, and pleural thickening.

Products made with asbestos had an extremely far reach. Asbestos was used in construction materials, friction materials, electrical equipment, gasket and packing materials, insulating materials, laboratory equipment, mechanical products, refractory products, and more.

Decades later, workers and their families who were exposed to asbestos at jobsites – as well as everyday folks who were exposed to asbestos through the use of these asbestos-containing products – are still dealing with the fallout from devastating health complications such as mesothelioma and lung cancer. These men and women and their families have the right to an attorney and deserve justice.