Asbestos and Cancer

A lot of people are unaware of the fact that there is a relationship between Asbestos and Cancer.

The EPA website describe Asbestos as a group of fibrous silicate minerals occurring naturally mined simply because of their useful properties in terms of thermal insulation, chemical and thermal stability and a high tensile strength. These properties lead to asbestos been used as fireproofing and other building materials, thermal insulation, acoustic insulators and much more.

The issue of side effects from asbestos exposure was first mentioned in the late 1960’s. It however gained prominence in the 80’s and 90’s when high profile cases stated to appear in courts involving big companies and resulting in large settlements.

Recent scientific discovery has confirmed what has been suspected all along that there is a significant link between asbestos and cancer with the prominence of Mesothelioma as a major form of cancer. Other diseases relate to horrible lung illnesses. Inhaling either the dust or fibre is the main way of asbestos entering into a victim’s body.

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that takes a very long time before it manifests, taking sometimes as long as 30 years after exposure before symptoms become obvious and by this time it has often become malignant and that is why it has been observed that the survival rate in a lot of cases been as low as 4 to 18 months after symptoms appear.

Therefore, the best line of action is to see a physician immediately if you work or have worked in a asbestos related industry or worked in building sites or have carried out some form building repairs as a contractor on homes that have been built older than 20 – 30 years or even older. Also, if you live with or have lived with such a person for a period of time, you also need to do a medical check up which mostly comprise of a chest X-ray and similar tests.

If it was detected that you suffer from asbestos related diseases, you might be eligible for some sort of asbestos settlement. Asbestos settlements are compensation paid to victims especially if the exposure was at a work place which indirectly means it was due to carelessness on the part of the victim but rather negligence on the part of the employer. 

It is quite difficult to estimate a standard value for settlements since a lot of factors has to be considered and these factors are of subjective values, however, once it has been established that disease occurred due to exposure to asbestos filling for settlement is the way to go.

The process of instituting an asbestos lawsuit could be quite tricky but if the victim has done his/her home work well and has chosen an experienced team of asbestos attorneys to represent and file the case, it is almost certain that a settlement would be received unless the investigative process has not been properly done.

There have been quite a lot of allegations making rounds about asbestos attorneys turn the plight of asbestos victims into a full fledged industry where they obviously become the big winning since they get paid fees out of the asbestos settlement fees leaving the victims with only a part. The real purpose of the settlements are however, to help the victims cover the cost of medical treatments and therapies that are need for the care of the victims and also to cover any loss of earnings and incapacity payment arising from the disease.