Mesothelioma: Legal Ramifications



Mesothelioma: Legal Ramifications


A Brief Overview

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that attacks the linings of the lungs and the intestinal tract, and also the sac covering the heart. It is also called epithelial mesothelioma, as it affects the membrane in the pleura, the pericardium and the peritoneum. It is not lung-cancer per se. The mesothelioma-lung cancer confusion has been there earlier. Mesothelioma is merely a form of cancer that affects the lining covering the lungs. It comes in three forms:

o Pleural mesothelioma

o Peritoneal mesothelioma

o Pericardial mesothelioma

Causes of Mesothelioma

The primary cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos. This can be direct exposure at the work place, or secondary exposure (when the victim is exposed to asbestos through coming in contact with someone who has already been exposed to asbestos). Despite all the pain and the loss that the workers faced, there was some hope in the form of legal recourse. Workers started suing the plants they worked in, and soon the legal battle against mesothelioma reached epic proportions. Even today, there are around 3,000 cases of mesothelioma being diagnosed in the United States every year. While the treatment is painful and not always successful, these mesothelioma victims at least have the hope of monetary compensation to help them fight mesothelioma.

The first manifestations of mesothelioma were seen as early as the 1950s and the 1960s. At that time, the workers in plants and other work areas that used asbestos in some form or the other were unaware of the lethal side of asbestos. The management at these work areas - docks, industrial plants, equipment manufacturers, and many more, the list is endless - soon came to know of the adverse effects of asbestos. However, for some reason they kept quiet about it. Their focus was on reduced costs and profits, it seems, and they remained mum about the harmful effects that asbestos could have on their workers. Asbestos, after all, had huge advantages over other material, which was why it was used so much irrespective of the genre of industry. This over the years proved to be a very, very costly error on their part.

Mesothelioma Litigation - Did it Help?

The implications of asbestos use are staggering, primarily because of the range of products it is used in. From office buildings to toasters to car brakes to shipyards, asbestos was used almost across the breadth of the industrial sector. A publication in 1935 by the American Journal of Cancer - Pulmonary Asbestosis: Carcinoma of the Lung in Asbesto-Silicosis - first raised the suspicions of people from the research and medical fields of the connection between the presence of asbestos and the unusually high death rates and lung-related diseases in the industrial sector. This connection was confirmed in 1955, and soon the continued use of asbestos despite knowing about its deadlier side became a legal nightmare for the industrial sector. Mesothelioma litigation in the United States has enabled mesothelioma victims win hundreds of thousands of dollars in lawsuits from their callous employers. It has been one of the successes in the battle against mesothelioma indirectly, and against the irresponsible attitudes of the management of workplaes that used asbestos, directly.

The Legal Aspect of Mesothelioma

Over the years, the legal benefits that mesothelioma victims have received have been enormous. The symptoms of mesothelioma manifest much after the initial inhalation of the asbestos fibers. Mesothelioma treatment is also painful and expensive. The compensations awarded to them have helped them at least cover their medical expenses. Nowadays there are mesothelioma law firms - law firms that specialize in mesothelioma. They have trained mesothelioma lawyers and mesothelioma attorneys. These lawyers specialize in mesothelioma compensation cases.

It can happen that a victim may shy away from legal recourse because they fel that they do not have adequate financial support to pay the lawyer. However, this is a scenario they need not worry about. All they have to do is contact a mesothelioma support group, or a mesothelioma help group. These are present all over the United States. The patient can also go online and put a search for mesothelioma legal assistance cells by typing mesothelioma and then typing the name of the state or area they are from in the search field of the search engine they are using. This is not a fixed rule - they can type it in any order. For example - mesothelioma California, mesothelioma Texas, mesothelioma lawyer texas, New York mesothelioma, California mesothelioma lawyer, etc.

How are Mesothelioma Lawyers so Successful?

One of the basic things in awarding compensation is for the judge or the jury to decide whether the harm done was intentional, or whether it was the result of a choice the victim made, in simple terms. In many cases, the circumstance of a victim is a result of a choice he or she made. For example, in a smoking-related cancer case, the choice to smoke was made by the victim. However, in the case of mesothelioma, the situation is different. The circumstance of mesothelioma in the victim could have been averted if only his employers had been more careful, had made him aware about the risks the job entailed, and then let him choose, besides providing him whatever protection required to prevent him from being exposed to asbestos. This is one area that mesothelioma lawyers and mesothelioma attorneys have been able to successfully work on.

After the initial slew of mesothelioma cases and lawsuits, now laws are firmly in place to safeguard the health interests of the worker. Besides, in the event of someone actually suffering from mesothelioma, there are some guidelines towards seeking legal redress for them as well. Mesothelioma law is strict and helps provide fair verdicts in mesothelioma-related compensation cases.

Guidelines for Mesothelioma Victims Seeking Legal Action

The primary rule of thumb while filing a mesothelioma lawsuit is that it has to be filed immediately on diagnosis of the disease. In fact, in many of the states across the United States, mesothelioma laws stipulating the timeframe within which a lawsuit can be filed are in place. On diagnosis, you can contact a mesothelioma lawyer through your local mesothelioma activists or mesothelioma group for more mesothelioma information relating to lawsuits. The work of a mesothelioma lawyer or mesothelioma attorney is not limited to just fighting your case. A mesothelioma attorney usually has an extensive network of contacts - other victims, mesothelioma case histories, good treatment facilities, nature of treatment options available, in fact, for most mesothelioma-related information. His specialization is a distinct advantage over a lawyer who doesn't have too much of an idea about mesothelioma.

The government is also taking steps to ensure that workers are safe from exposure to asbestos. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has passed laws and regulations stipulating safety measures and also has set in motion plans to ban and phase out the use of asbestos as much as possible. You can find more information about this at the EPA website - http://www.epa.gov.

You can also browse the Internet for mesothelioma-related information, mesothelioma pictures, more information on asbestos, etc.

Resources

o http://www.mesothelioma.org

o http://www.mesolink.org

o http://www.asbestosnews.com

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Asbestos Information

What is Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is often directly caused by asbestos exposure.

Seeking Mesothelioma Legal Information

Important mesothelioma legal information should be researched by anyone who is thinking about starting a case related to mesothelioma or some kind of asbestos cancer. Often there are legal issues that come up or have importance in mesothelioma cases, and though these often vary by state, the application of these laws is dependent on the individual case.

The second injury rule is of special note in mesothelioma cases. In a lot of states, if you or someone you love has been diagnosed in the past with a non-malignant disease such as asbestosis, you may be able to seek compensation if you suffer a malignant disease later in life – like mesothelioma. Essentially, if for some reason you believe that you have a malignant cancer that was caused by asbestos exposure, the second injury rule can be on your side.

A common hindrance for people seeking mesothelioma legal information is the state of limitations and the discovery rule. There is a time limit on how long you have to file a lawsuit, and if you wait too long after mesothelioma has been diagnosed, you may not be backed by the law in your pursuit of compensation.

This time frame varies from state to state, but basically the time period begins when someone has been diagnosed with mesothelioma and when they realize that asbestos exposure caused their mesothelioma cancer.

Because mesothelioma is a latent injury or illness – it doesn’t appear until years after exposure – mesothelioma legal cases tend to be special. They have to be treated carefully as often people who are diagnosed with mesothelioma only have it because employers exposed them (usually consciously) to asbestos.

If you are seeking more in depth mesothelioma legal advice, the wisest course of action is to consult a lawyer. Someone who knows the law is going to be the most knowledgeable on how your mesothelioma case should be treated.

Mesothelioma Cause

A great deal of investigation has been done on the possible cause of mesothelioma. Around 2000-3000 instances of malignant mesothelioma are clinically determined each year in America alone. In fact, these numbers have been projected to grow through the next ten years.

According to a detailed and considerable body of scientific and healthcare investigation, the major cause of malignant mesothelioma is asbestos exposure. No one knows for sure why asbestos brings about mesothelioma, but there is an unquestionable tie between asbestos and the cancer itself.

To date, medical professionals have come to the realization that a significant cause of mesothelioma is when asbestos irritates and inflames mesothelial cells, which in turn causes scarring damage, cell harm, and eventually cancer.

This happens when asbestos fibers enter the cells and disrupt their tasks. Asbestos initiates the creation of free radicals, which are substances which damage DNA and cause cells to mutate improperly, becoming cancerous.

Yet another concept is that the presence of asbestos within the body leads to oncoproteins, which are basically molecules that cause mesothelial cells to ignore their regular division process. Too many cells grow, which leads to cancer – and mesothelial cancer is extremely hostile and aggressive.

What ties all these theories together is one element that has been proven: asbestos results in cell damage. Whether it is mutation of cells themselves, or an interruption of regular cell division, asbestos is undoubtedly a cause of mesothelioma.

Some other factors which may contribute to the development of mesothelioma include exposure to radiation, non-asbestos fibers entering the body, and a Simian virus.
In the event that mesothelioma is diagnosed, a patient should immediately take steps towards the cure of mesothelioma.

There are a number of mesothelioma treatments available, and deciding which is best is ultimately up to the patient. Depending on the severity of the case and the stage in which the cancer has progressed to, different options for a mesothelioma cure can be chosen.

Finding a mesothelioma cure

There are numerous methods to find a mesothelioma cure, based on how severe the condition of the affected individual is. The most prevalent treatments of mesothelioma involve radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and surgery. Some varieties of experimental cures for mesothelioma are also becoming much more extensively applied and are displaying good outcomes in the medical trials being performed on them.

These trial and error treatments include photodynamic therapy, immunotherapy, gene therapy, and others.

While there is no one certain cure for mesothelioma, many patients do decide to carry out treatment to fight the cancer. Some affected individuals also get involved in these professional medical trials to test out new cures before they are released to the open public. Information developed by medical experts and cancer professionals is very beneficial in learning a long term mesothelioma cure.

Surgical therapy of mesothelioma entails curative surgery, diagnostic surgery, and palliative surgery. As an example of this, thoracentesis is sometimes employed as a diagnostic procedure and also as a palliative treatment in order to decrease the problems of mesothelioma.

For curative surgery to be successful in eliminating mesothelioma, it is very important that the affected person be diagnosed very, very early. This infrequently occurs because mesothelioma is generally not recognized until it is at stages III or IV, when surgery is no longer an alternative.

In terms of chemotherapy as a treatment method for mesothelioma, a lot of kinds of chemotherapy require an intravenous use of prescription drugs like Cisplatin and Alimta. These medications are designed to destroy cancer cells that partition and conflict with regular cell division processes. There is also a fairly new form of chemotherapy called heated chemotherapy which is a beneficial option for patients who currently have peritonal mesothelioma.

Finally, there is the alternative of radiation treatment. This is a strong way to destroy cancer cells and cease the multiplication of cancerous cells. Generally with mesothelioma sufferers, radiation therapy is employed in addition to surgery. Nevertheless, it is unusual that radiation therapy does much more than provide short term symptomatic relief for mesothelioma patients.
 
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