Mesothelioma and Asbestos

There are a lot of ads on daytime TV that talk about asbestosis. There’s a reason why so many lawsuits are formed due to damage caused by this harmful material. Asbestos is known to cause many chronic and even terminal illnesses after the material in its fibers are inhaled. At one point in history, asbestos was used to help prevent buildings from going up in flames. This was before the dangers were known about the substance, so it was used in many homes and businesses.

Now that it’s known that asbestos can be dangerous when inhaled and it gets trapped in our lungs, there’s been a lot of pressure to stop using asbestos. That doesn’t mean that companies have stopped using it as it is still used in many products we use today. Because of this, it’s been found that asbestos causes mesothelioma and other forms of lethal lung cancer. People are dying from inhaling asbestos fibers, which is why many people are reaching out to a Chicago Mesothelioma Lawyer and lawsuits are being pursued to recover damages.

This article will share the various risks of asbestos use including all the different symptoms and treatment options for mesothelioma. This information will help you decide if you need to file a lawsuit to recover money damages for your own injuries.

The Risks of Asbestos Exposure

The odds are pretty good that you have at some point in your life or will in the future, been exposed to asbestos. It was a very common type of fabric used in many homes and businesses around the world. Asbestos helped to protect homes from fire damage. Being fire resistant, homes were automatically built putting asbestos in attics, and basements, and any other places where the builders wanted to keep the fire from ravaging. Most of the homes and offices that were built before the 1980s had at least some amount of asbestos in it.

So, unless you live in a brand-new home or work in a newly built office space, your exposure to asbestos might be minimal at best. Yet there are many others who have been regularly exposed to large amounts of asbestos at some point in their life. It’s these people who are most at risk of developing mesothelioma or other illnesses related to this dangerous fabric. The sad part is most people don’t realize they’re being exposed until it’s too late.

It’s often those who worked in asbestos mines and even those who created asbestos products who have been at the most with asbestos-related illnesses. They worked around the product all the time and because of that, many of them became really sick. Many others who became sick because of asbestos include construction workers, firefighters, demolition workers, drywall removers, shipyard workers, military personnel, and even automobile mechanics. Asbestos has been used in all these different industries.

What is Mesothelioma?

Despite cases of mesothelioma still being extremely rare, around 3000 people each year get this disease in the United States. The majority of these cases are often traced to people who have received asbestos exposure to a high degree. He could’ve even been many decades ago when the person was last exposed to asbestos. It can take a lot of time for the damage to do its job and for the cancer to form.

Considering that 3000 people get asbestos-related mesothelioma, this just goes to show how much the product has been used over the years. Since many people are still getting the illness, improves that many industries still haven’t gotten the memo and still use asbestos in their operations. If you find out that your home or business has asbestos, you should have it removed immediately.

Even after mesothelioma hits, a lot of people still don’t believe that they received this type of rare cancer because they were exposed to asbestos. It’s a complete mystery to them why this happened and they may not ever find out whether they were exposed in the past or are currently being exposed right now. They may not even realize that there’s asbestos in their home today and that they continue to be hurt by these dangerous fibers.

It can take decades for anyone to notice any symptoms of asbestos exposure, someone could have been working construction in the 60s and even 70s installing insulation in homes that are primarily made of asbestos. Remember, this is a common type of product used to help prevent fire from spreading throughout a home and acting as a fire retardant. While it might seem like a good idea to find ways to prevent homes from burning to the ground, is cause more harm than good.

If this person did not know that there is a risk of being around and inhaling asbestos fibers, there was no use of gloves or other protective gear that might’ve helped protect them. The same person could’ve been working at a different job free from asbestos for many decades without realizing the damage that was being done to his lungs. Since it’s been so long since you worked with asbestos, and many decades of past, this construction worker might’ve started getting sick without realizing what was causing his illness.

Symptoms of Mesothelioma

The best thing to do in this instance is to understand what the symptoms of mesothelioma are. This is especially true if you’ve worked with asbestos in the past. Even if it’s been several decades, that doesn’t matter. As soon as the symptoms start happening, you should contact a doctor immediately and tell them that you’ve been exposed to high amounts of asbestos. Even if you’re not showing any of the symptoms, you should be checked out to help prevent mesothelioma from forming in the first place.

Here are several of the symptoms:

•  Chest pain
• Difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Unexplained weight loss
• Coughing
• Abdominal issues like lumps and bloating

A lot of these symptoms often act like the common cold or bad case of chest congestion. Most people don’t get diagnosed with mesothelioma until it has gotten to an advanced stage of the disease. This is why it’s important to get tested often if you know you’ve been exposed to asbestos.

If you’ve developed mesothelioma, you should speak with an attorney to see if you can recover any damages. You’ve been injured as a result of your work and that injury has taken a toll on your body. Even if it’s been 50 years since you were exposed, you need to look at any legal options you might have. Contact an attorney right away to help pay for any treatment and medical costs that will surely be associated with treating mesothelioma.

Read one of our recent blogs here: $16 Million Settlement For Young Woman Who Is Paralyzed Due To The Negligence Of An Emergency Physician & Hospital

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