Mesothelioma Lawyers: Exposure to Asbestos and Your Legal Options

Asbestos is a toxic and carcinogenic material that was heavily used in many industries from the 1940's through the early 1980's. Some industries that used asbestos heavily include, but are not limited to, the construction, military, ship building, and automotive fields.
It has been proven that exposure to asbestos dust can result in the development of mesothelioma (asbestos cancer). This cancer usually forms in the lungs, but it can also commonly appear in the lining of the heart and the abdomen.

Because of the nature of this disease, it is often very difficult to treat and can prove to be fatal. In fact, the symptoms and tumors of mesothelioma normally do not form until at least 10 years (and as many as 40 years) after exposure.

Due to the length of time it takes for the tumors to form, a correct initial diagnosis is difficult to come by. The initial symptoms include shortness of breath, coughing, nausea, loss of appetite, fatigue, and blood in the phlegm. Since many of these symptoms mimic those of bronchitis or pneumonia, it is common to receive that diagnosis.

Unfortunately, early diagnosis is vital to a successful outcome. Diagnosing mesothelioma in its advanced stages often results in a poor cure rate.

Due to the large medical expenses and the nature of the disease, victims of asbestos exposure can be entitled to large legal settlements from the employer or company that caused the asbestos exposure. These settlements cover medical costs and pain and suffering payments.

Finding an experienced lawyer for mesothelioma or asbestos cancer law firm is the best way to pursue these cases. Today, there are many law firms that specialize in mesothelioma and asbestos exposure law suits. Most major cities will have at least one firm with experience in this area of practice.

The benefit of utilizing experienced mesothelioma attorneys is the resources that that they bring to the table. These firms have the ability to research the companies that used asbestos in the past, the estimated medical expenses involved, and the appropriate pain and suffering calculations.

If you have been diagnosed with asbestosis or mesothelioma, finding the best mesothelioma doctor or pulmonologist needs to be the first priority. After your treatment process is underway, it may be time to research the best mesothelioma lawyers for your specific case.

Utilizing an experienced mesothelioma cancer lawyer or law firm can make a major difference in the outcome of your lawsuit.

If you have been exposed to asbestos dust, and you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or asbestosis, you can visit http://www.lawyersformesothelioma.org to find more information on this disease, treatment options and the best lawyers for mesothelioma.

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Mesothelioma Lung Cancer - Asbestos Lawyers, Attorneys & Lawsuits

Mesothelioma is a rare but deadly type of cancer usually caused by exposure to asbestos or asbestos-containing products. The mesothelium is a thin mucous membrane that covers most major organs, and provides the moisture the organs need to move properly. Lubrication allows organs to move in order to circulate blood in the heart, or infuse it with oxygen in the lungs, or process food properly in the gastrointestinal tract.

There are several different kinds of mesothelioma, but by far the most common is pleural, or lung-related mesothelioma. As asbestos enters the body through respiration, the microscopic shards pierce the lungs and lodge in the delicate pleural mesothelium. The shards irritate and fester in the mesothelium, and over time will most likely develop into mesothelioma. Most cases of this cancer take decades before any symptoms begin to appear, but by the time they manifest they are too advanced to treat.

Other kinds of mesothelioma include pericardial mesothelioma, which affects the lining around the stomach and digestive tract; and pericardial mesothelioma that affects the lining of the sac that contains the heart. Most mesothelioma prognoses are not positive; victims rarely live longer than five years after their first diagnosis, and most succumb between six and 12 months.

Many experts call mesothelioma the "silent epidemic", because virtually every person in the United States has been exposed to asbestos at some point in time. Asbestos is naturally heat and flame resistant, pliable, durable, and was made into everything from baby's clothing to brake pads to insulation to potting ceramics. Many of the current victims of the mesothelioma epidemic worked in or around military installations, as asbestos was a critical part of shipbuilding and other large scale manufacturing industries, but mesothelioma can strike anyone of any age.

Part of the tragedy of mesothelioma is that many asbestos companies or industries that used the material refused to acknowledge it is dangerous. Civilizations around the world used asbestos for thousands of years, and even peoples as early as the ancient Romans knew that people who worked with the mineral died of lung ailments. Even into the 20th and 21st century these companies denied or covered up the evidence that linked their product to not only mesothelioma, but lung cancer and asbestosis as well.

In order to address the mounting concerns about the legacy of asbestos, Senator Arlen Specter proposed a bill that would remove the ability of victims of mesothelioma to pursue legal settlements against the companies or industries that may be responsible. The government expects thousands of new cases of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases in the years to come, and so the bill will establish a $140 billion trust to compensate victims or their families. Ostensibly, this is to relieve the stress on the courts of thousands of lawsuits, but it in fact would severely limit the amount of financial restitution the companies would owe their victims. Furthermore it would disallow many types of asbestos suits, and would potentially extend legal proceedings far beyond the expected lifespan of the people afflicted with this deadly disease.

To learn more about hiring a mesothelioma lawyer or filing a mesothelioma lawsuit, please visit our website at http://www.resource4mesothelioma.com. This article may be freely reprinted as long as this resource box stays intact and all links remain active as hyperlinks.

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Asbestos Cancer Lawyer - Your Hope For Your Family's Future

Are you looking for the best asbestos cancer lawyer? If you know anyone who is inflicted with asbestos cancer, or what is medically known as mesothelioma, then you know what a grave condition this is, not just for the person involved, but also for his family, co-workers and friends. He or she would need a very competent lawyer to defend his case and he needs one now!

There are a number of asbestos lawyers around in every state and in some regions of the globe. Asbestos lawyers specialize in litigating cases involving asbestos cancer patients, people who have been exposed to asbestos, and the dangers of asbestos to society in general. The best asbestos lawyer will know just what to do in order to help you and your family get compensated for being inflicted with such a disease, including provision of medical insurance, and taking care of all medical bills.

Where does this cancer come from? This cancer or mesothelioma is a very serious and fatal condition. Particles from asbestos attack the lining of the person's internal organs leading to cancer. Those inflicted with it can only hope to survive in the next year or so. What will become of their families? What if they are the sole breadwinner, or what if they had their life ahead of them and were meant for greater opportunities? These are the things that are put at risk the moment you let the dangers of asbestos infiltrate your life, and the lives of our future generation. With the help of asbestos lawyers, particularly a good asbestos cancer lawyer, future lives can be saved, and the mesothelioma patient together with his family can get heavily compensated.

Asbestos lawyers like an asbestos cancer lawyer, not only defend mesothelioma patients. The best ones also help in the dissemination of information about the dangers of asbestos and advocate against the use of it. Asbestos is a popular human carcinogen and when exposed to great amounts, it can result to asbestosis or mesothelioma. It is a pretty rare disease since people are not normally exposed to it. And asbestos cancer lawyer will tell you that for those who have been exposed, whether unknowingly or not, diagnosis of having cancer can only come later in life. And once the diagnosis is final, the person inflicted will only have about 1-2 years to live depending on the amount of asbestos in his system. By having all asbestos lawyers work together towards the same goal, and getting the best asbestos cancer lawyer for those who already have this type of cancer, asbestos may be fully eradicated from being used in many products.

Find the best asbestos cancer lawyer now and begin the healing process. Having the best lawyer may be your only hope to secure your family's future.

The Asbestos Attorney Center is a great place for useful information about asbestos cancer lawyer and asbestos lawyers in general, packed with the latest practical information about asbestos health issues and law.

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How Much Does an Asbestos Lawyer Cost?

Asbestos exposure can be the cause of serious illnesses such as mesothelioma and asbestosis. These diseases are caused by the occupational exposure to the toxic mineral. People who work in factories and mines are likely to develop these illnesses. The directors of the factories or manufacturers are responsible for the loss and suffering the person suffers when he develops mesothelioma. They know about the cancerous effects of the mineral and very often they don't even warn their workers about it. In general special clothing and equipment should be used by people who are in direct contact with the mineral. But sometimes these rules are not preserved. Thus, people become the victims of asbestos exposure. These people have the right to get compensation for their loss and suffering. They hire asbestos lawyers who take asbestosis legal actions and fight for their client's rights.

But how much does an asbestos lawyer cost? It is worth mentioning that the costs vary from one lawyer to another. This is conditioned by different factors. First of all the experience plays a great role. The more experienced the lawyer is the higher the costs of his services are. It is natural, that if the lawyer has won many cases the cost for his services will be higher. Another factor is the reputation. Reputation is important in any aspect and here it also plays an important role.

Thus it is impossible to say exactly how much an asbestos lawyer costs, since the costs vary from country to country.

For more information about lawyers and legal news please check out http://www.LawyerKind.com

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Fighting For Asbestos Workers' Rights - Plaintiffs Lawyers and the Federal Government Turn the Tide

The turning point in the fight for workers rights was Dr Irving Selikoff's study of asbestos workers, published in 1964. Following the health histories of 1117 members of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers, he showed a clear dose-response relationship between exposure and serious diseases, such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis. The more years a worker had been exposed in the workplace, the greater the probability that the worker would develop cancer. Selikoff found that more than half the workers showed evidence of asbestosis, and he documented a death rate among this population 25% higher than statistically expectable.

Armed with this damning information, plaintiff's lawyers representing workers with lung cancer and mesothelioma began to file product liability lawsuits against the manufacturers. The asbestos companies and their lawyers met them with evasions, misrepresentations, and outright lies. Two years after Dr Selikoff had published his findings a senior executive of Raybestos-Manhattan complained to the press that "We feel that the recent unfavorable publicity over the use of asbestos fibers in many different kinds of industries has been a gross exaggeration of the problems. There is no data available to either prove or disprove the dangers of working closely with asbestos."

Juries saw things differently. As evidence mounted that companies had known of the hazards and had failed to warn and protect their workers, plaintiff's attorneys won in court and delivered long-delayed justice and financial compensation to workers facing fatal cancers.

In 1971 OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, took a major step toward worker protection when it published a set of exposure standards for asbestos in the workplace. The EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency, was also watching, and in 1973, it determined that spray-on insulation containing asbestos violated air quality standards, and it banned the use of it altogether. Six years later the EPA decided that asbestos was so hazardous to human health that all use of it should be prohibited. The regulation was published in 1989. Companies filed suit, and two years later they prevailed in court.

The fight for justice for terminally ill workers got another assist in 1977 when plaintiff's lawyers found the Simpson papers. Sumner Simpson was president of Raybestos-Manhattan during the 1930's and 40's, when companies continued to insist that they knew of no dangers from asbestos. Simpson's letters to the company lawyers and other companies' officers showed that he and they had full knowledge of the dangers, and the life-threatening implications for their workers. The letters reveal decisions to withhold critical information and to mislead employees about the causes of their illness. Simpson and his peers chose their companies' profits over the lives of their workers.

The Simpson papers were the smoking gun the lawyers needed. When their leaders' own words revealed what the industry knew, the companies' defense crumbled. In a Florida case, brought by an Owens Corning worker with terminal cancer, the Florida Supreme Court determined that the employer had intentionally withheld information from the worker about the danger he faced working asbestos: "It would be difficult to envision a more egregious set of circumstances," the justices wrote. It represented "... a blatant disregard for human safety involving large numbers of people put at life-threatening risk."

Through the 70's and 80's plaintiff's lawyers cited the Simpson papers, and new research on mesothelioma to document the asbestos industry's failure to protect their workers.Workers who had served their country and trusted their employers were able to get compensation for the deceptions worked against them.

Asbestos companies file for bankruptcy In 1982, after a series of legal defeats in asbestos cases, Johns-Manville declared bankruptcy. At time it was the largest US corporation ever to do so. As they continued to lose in court other companies and manufacturers of products using asbestos did the same. Now bankruptcy courts are involved in determining the size of most victims' awards.

Asbestos companies, lawyers, and the US Congress must work out a plan, including legislation, to deal with victims' and their families' needs. The plan must also reckon with the needs of future victims, such as those who breathed the air in lower Manhattan after 9/11. Unsafe exposure still continues, and these victims' illnesses will be diagnosed in the years to come.

Casey Gerry Schenk Francavilla Blatt & Penfield LLP's team of asbestos lawyers led by Frederick Schenk have spent the last quarter century networking compiling and sharing information with colleagues, enabling the ability for attorneys to identify manufacturers, installers, sellers and industrial users of asbestos products. The result of this cooperative work helps enable mesothelioma victims to recover damages for their suffering related to exposure to asbestos.

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Selecting an Asbestos Cancer Lawyer - Useful Info

In case you have the misfortune to be found suffering from a cancer that was generated by handling asbestos at your working place, then you will need the assistance of an asbestos cancer lawyer. These professionals are there in order to see to it that the ones responsible for you getting this disease will pay for their negligence.

When you come to deal with this sort of lawsuit you will find that justice is not always served appropriately and the court does not always rule completely in your favour. Choosing the right lawyers will reduce the chances of this scenario happening as all too often powerful companies use their financial muscle to employ the best lawyers in their defence.

Companies faced with this sort of litigation are well aware of the enormity of the possible compensation payments and often feel they are cornered. They will accordingly do whatever it takes to defend themselves against your actions. In this situation it is essential that you get the services of an asbestos cancer attorney who can successfully help with your case.

You will find these days that there are numerous law firms advertising their services for this type of litigation, so you will need to know what questions you should be asking to determine the best one for you.

The following are the questions you will need to ask to make sure that you have the right professional:

1. What is the attorney`s experience in these sorts of lawsuits? The number of cases is not enough, however, the number of cases won can say a lot about the asbestos cancer attorney's professionalism. You shouldn't necessarily be impressed by how many years of practicing law the attorney has, as this is not always enough to prove asbestos related cases experience.

2. What knowledge of these cases does the attorney have? Experience combined with knowledge can be a powerful combination to have in an asbestos cancer attorney. With the right level of information, an attorney has all he needs to successfully fight the opponents.

In fact, it is this depth of knowledge and experience of knowing how and where to attack an opponent in this type of case that determines which attorneys to hire in the first place.

3. What will be the costs of the lawsuit before and after? When hiring an attorney you generally think first of the costs involved. This is the first thing you need to talk about when you are deciding about hiring your asbestos cancer attorney. You can also ask about the additional costs involved throughout the period whilst the lawsuit is carried out.

Inquire carefully about all the fees to make sure that your situation is not abused. The best lawyers will already have a payment plan or system set up for these types of action so the worry of financial implications are eased so that you can concentrate on your own welfare.

I have set up a website specifically for those people who do not know where to start when they find out that they, or someone close to them has contracted mesothelioma. The site has all the information you need to file your case; lawyers, experts, articles by experts, but most importantly, a number of videos by an expert in the field, who will guide you through the process. You will never feel alone using this website resource. I hope that it gives some comfort to those affected. You can go directly to the site here: [http://www.mesotheliomaalternatives.com].

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Hiring a Mesothelioma Attorney Or Asbestos Lawyer

The 3000 people who are afflicted with Mesothelioma cannot simply recover from the disease. A deadly form of cancer, Mesothelioma is caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos. Usually, this exposure has come from working for companies who failed to forewarn employees about exposure to asbestos the risks to their health and lifespan. If you or your family member is fighting Mesothelioma, finding the help of a Mesothelioma lawyer is probably the last thing on your mind. However, it may be just the thing you need.

The knowledge and guidance of a Mesothelioma lawyer is vital if you and your family want to secure the monetary compensation you deserving for your pain and suffering. Many Mesothelioma lawyers specialize in asbestos cases and have vast experience in dealing with these kinds of suits. They are skilled in advising you about what you should do to get the settlement or claim that you are due.

What Does a Mesothelioma Diagnosis Mean?

After you have received your Mesothelioma diagnosis and the cancer has been noted as malignant, you may have little time left. The approach of doctors is geared more toward pain management than significant reversal because there are so few options for treatment. The best strategy is to hire a Mesothelioma lawyer to help you and our loved ones get the compensation you deserve. You attorney will let you know if you are eligible to file an asbestos lawsuit. The tragedy of Mesothelioma is the sheer numbers of lifelong workers who helped to build this country and who have to suffer with this cancer.

Hiring a Mesothelioma Lawyer

The common sense assumption for asbestos claims is that if those who are afflicted had been informed, they never would have chosen to work for the companies where they spent their lives employed. Many companies knew the dangers of asbestos exposure and knew the chemical was present in the dust of these workplaces. Their willful withholding of information placed employees in the devastating position of risking their lives. Hiring a Mesothelioma lawyer to get compensation for that negligence is not an added expense. You simply file the claim, and you are on the way to getting the financial assistance that you need.

Who is Exposed to Asbestos?

The list of workers exposed to asbestos is long and far-reaching. Some of those workers include asbestos textile workers, engineers in shipyards and all ship workers, insulation workers, demolition workers, construction workers who have worked on steel and pipe filters, auto mechanics, and U.S. military and navy dockworkers.

Thank you for taking the time to read my Article! Please visit Hire Mesothelioma Lawyer [http://hiremesotheliomalawyer.com] site for more information.

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