Mesothelioma is 99.99% usually the fault of some irresponsible corporation someone works for or has worked for in the past. It is caused by asbestos and other industrial chemicals and is often fatal without treatment and sometimes even with treatment.
Mesothelioma
What is mesothelioma?
Mesothelioma is a rare and deadly form of cancer which attacks the sac, or lining, that covers the body's internal organs. In the chest this sac is called the pleura, on the abdominal cavity, it is the peritoneum, and on the heart, the pericardium. There are about 2200 cases a year and this number is rising. Survival rates from time of diagnosis to death are from 4 to 18 months.
What causes mesothelioma?
The main cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos, although a few cases with no exposure exist. The time from exposure to asbestos to getting cancer is from 30 to 40 years. Exposure of only two to three months may cause mesothelioma and family members may also contract it. Although the number of cases is rising, these will peak in 2020 and then decline because people are no longer exposed to asbestos.
Mesothelioma is a rare and deadly form of cancer which attacks the sac, or lining, that covers the body's internal organs. In the chest this sac is called the pleura, on the abdominal cavity, it is the peritoneum, and on the heart, the pericardium. There are about 2200 cases a year and this number is rising. Survival rates from time of diagnosis to death are from 4 to 18 months.
What causes mesothelioma?
The main cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos, although a few cases with no exposure exist. The time from exposure to asbestos to getting cancer is from 30 to 40 years. Exposure of only two to three months may cause mesothelioma and family members may also contract it. Although the number of cases is rising, these will peak in 2020 and then decline because people are no longer exposed to asbestos.
How you can FIGHT the company that was responsible.
Deciding to pursue legal recourse and selecting an attorney to represent you in a mesothelioma or asbestos lawsuit are important decisions that should be made carefully. I have seen some families receive $500,000 and others be awarded nearly $30 million. I have seen some lawyers reject a case only to have another firm accept it and make a big success of it. And I have seen some families wait nearly three years to receive their first check while others received large checks within three months of filing a claim. The main reasons for these differences are the facts of the patient's situation and the law firm chosen.
The Facts of Your Situation
Some mesothelioma patients know they worked around asbestos, but many do not know how they were exposed or how often. In fact, many people are not sure if they were ever near this carcinogen. Unfortunately, there have been thousands of products that contained asbestos - cigarette filters, hair dryers, brakes, basement and roof materials, pipes, boilers, insulation, and many other products found throughout the home and at work. If you were diagnosed with mesothelioma it is more than likely that you were exposed to asbestos multiple times in your life and that this happened decades before your diagnosis.
In general, the value of your case depends on how many asbestos containing products you were exposed to, the number of identifiable defendants that still exist (many have declared bankruptcy), your age and earning capacity. And the speed of your case can depend on a number of variables including the state where you worked and lived when you were exposed to asbestos.