Asbestos is a naturally mineral

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral and until the 1970s was extensively used for many different purposes. Asbestos was often mixed with other materials as well as being used on its own. It has thermal insulation qualities and heat retardant properties and this encouraged its widespread use during most of the 20th century.

It was made into paper, cloth, tape, felt, yarn, millboards, cement, flat sheets and wallboards. Consequently, materials and components containing asbestos were used throughout industry and also at home.

There are many workers across the globe who are currently suffering with serious illnesses simply for doing the job they were paid to do. Hindsight being the wonderful thing it is we now know that working with or being exposed to asbestos can be extremely dangerous.

After imposing an almost universal ban on the substance in the early 1980's, the UK is now in the early stages of the litigation process. Because related diseases such as asbestosis can incubate for long periods (decades in fact) many potential sufferers have yet to encounter the full force of the symptoms and many more may not realise they have the right to claim compensation for their illness.

Any workers that have been exposed to asbestos during the course of the last 30 years may be able to claim compensation and should seek advice from solicitors who specialise in such cases.

The UK Government is about to introduce legislation which will allow non-workers to claim compensation where it is known or proven that they have been exposed to asbestos fibres / dust. This will mean that many housewives, members of the public and people who were under 18 at the time of exposure may now have a right to compensation.

Asbestos Settlements

It has been proved that asbestos is responsible for a host of deadly diseases, including cancer. Settlements worth billions have been given in asbestos litigation; settlements worth billions more are pending in various American courts.

The purpose of asbestos settlements is to help the victim of asbestos related diseases with money to cover medical expenses. In worse cases, it was meant as a compensation for the loss of income over the years, and the potential earning capacity of an individual.

The government has set up regulations that limits asbestos exposure with the permissible limit for exposure being 0.1 fibers per cubic centimeter for an eight hour workday. For every 30 minutes of work period, fibre exposure should fall below 1.0 fibre per cc. Statutory health protection measures such as these have been mandated.

The process of asbestos settlement puts the onus on the employer to compensate victims of asbestos related health problems. In case the company fails to adhere to these stipulated protection rules, resulting in adverse effects for its workers, the company is legally bound to pay settlement to the affected workers as compensation.

There have been numerous cases of asbestos settlements in the United States, after the awareness towards asbestos as a health hazard grew. Two of these famous cases happened in 1997 and 1999. Both these cases involved huge settlement class actions. In the end, both these settlements were overturned by the court.

There are also allegations of asbestos settlements having become a full-fledged industry, where the party benefiting the most are the attorneys, as they get a part of the settlement as fees for fighting the cases.

asbestos litigation is one of the most expensive

Asbestos litigation is one of the longest and most expensive mass-tort cases going on today in the US. With over six hundred thousand litigants, it is understandable why so many people think it is such a big issue.

Asbestosis - This is a very difficult asbestos-related disease to diagnose since a lot of people do not display any outright symptoms. Actually, many people know that asbestosis can only be diagnosed via x-ray.

What exactly is this asbestos-related disease? Well, when asbestos fibers get into your lungs, they tend to cause inflammation and irritation. Your body, naturally, tries to combat these effects. The body's defense mechanism is simply amazing because of its creativity. But sometimes, this creativity can only lead to a worse condition. The body attempts to get rid of the inflammation through various ways but some of these ways actually damage the lung tissue more. This causes more severe inflammation and the cycle goes on and on. Asbestosis develops when scar tissue forms around the air sacs. This scar tissue prevents oxygen from traveling between air sacs which make breathing very difficult.

The main symptoms of asbestosis are coughing and difficulty breathing. These symptoms are also associated with other types of diseases. This asbestos-related disease can actually only be detected through an x-ray. This means an ordinary physical exam is unlikely to reveal that you have this illness. Although asbestosis is unique among other asbestos-related diseases in that it is not cancerous, it can still be a pretty big obstacle to living a normal life. There are certain things which you would not be able to do because of this asbestos related disease.

Mesothelioma - This asbestos related disease starts with tumors. It is actually named because the person suffering from this illness first develops tumors in the mesothelium. Although some of the tumors are benign, most are actually cancerous which led people to just classify the whole illness as mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is actually the easiest type of illness to associate with asbestos since no other substance is known to cause it.

Mesothelioma is actually a cancer. About 75 percent of mesothelioma cases begin in the lungs, known as pleural mesothelioma. What happens is that malignant tumors first develop in the tissue covering the lungs. These tumors spread throughout other body organs. The process of developing tumors and passing them on continues until all the vital organs are covered and the person dies.

Mesothelioma can be treated. However, symptoms are usually only obvious during the late stages of this asbestos related illness. This means that it might be too late when a person decides to go in for a check up. Surgery and radiation therapy can help cure this disease like other types of cancers. However, as said before, if the disease is discovered too late then it will be too late for the person. If you develop this disease, then you have to realize that if you want to survive, you are going to need every resource you can tap. This is the reason why people with mesothelioma are so eager in litigating. Some people think that those people want to get rich. This is not the case since all they really want to do is live another day.

Lung cancer - How is lung cancer different from mesothelioma? For one thing, although they are both cancers, they affect different parts of the body. In mesothelioma, the area affected is the tissue covering the lungs and other vital organs. With lung cancer, the affected areas are the lung tissues. Just like mesothelioma, however, people also do not feel any symptoms during the early stages of the disease. This means that you need to have a regular check up schedule if you have been exposed to asbestos and have your suspicions regarding your health.

These are some of the known asbestos-related diseases. These three are well-known mainly because of the fact that these diseases are the ones involved in asbestos litigation.

asbestos can lead to cancers

Extensive exposure to the toxic substance asbestos can lead to cancers such as lung cancer, mesothelioma, asbestosis and various others. Asbestos are groups of minerals that come about naturally in the environment as fiber bundles and can be separated into thin threads. They are heat and fire resistant and cannot conduct electricity, and for this reason they are often used in various industries. A lot of people in the building and construction industries have had a lot of exposure to asbestos, so there are many people with those kinds of jobs who have had these cancers.

 

Identification

Because the danger of asbestos is now much more widely known than it was in past decades, the use of asbestos has become a lot more limited. However, there are latent periods for asbestos cancers, so people who worked with paints, floor tiles, roofing materials and any of the other 5,000 products that consisted of asbestos are still at a great risk for getting these cancers. Family members who were around these people when they came home from work in attire that was covered in asbestos have the potential risk as well.

Symptoms

There are various common symptoms that could be signs of asbestos-related cancers. Some of these symptoms include abdomen or chest pains, drastic weight loss, extensive hoarseness in the throat or having a hard time swallowing, shortness of breath, coughing, and blood in the fluid that is coughed up from the lungs.

Diagnosis

If you have any of the above symptoms, you should consult a doctor immediately; he will most likely give you a full physical examination. You might undergo lung function tests and chest X-rays. If any type of abnormality is shown in your X-ray or lung function testing, you might have a biopsy to determine whether there is any cancerous material there and whether you have an asbestos cancer.

Treatment Choices

The type of treatment someone has to receive for asbestos cancer depends on various factors, such as the type of cancer and the extent and location of the cancer. The most common treatment options for asbestos cancer are radiation therapy, surgery and chemotherapy. These treatments can be performed alone, or there can be a combination of procedures conducted on a person.

Prevention/Solution

There are many corporations that have known about asbestos dangers for decades, thus putting their workers at risk in order to cut corners financially. If you believe that you have been exposed to asbestos as a result of your current or former workplace, you should consult an attorney. There are laws designed to help protect people who have been harmed by asbestos exposure.