Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Filing an Asbestos Mesothelioma Lawsuit

Mesothelioma or malignant mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer which is developed from the inhalation or exposure to asbestos particles, dust or fiber. The cancer is developed around the protective lining which covers many of the body's internal organs such as the outer lining of the chest (pleura) or the heart. Some of the symptoms if mesothelioma are shortness of breath, chest wall pain and weight loss. Malignant mesothelioma can be detected via CT scan or chest X-ray. Malignant
mesothelioma can be confirmed by conducting a biopsy.

Malignant mesothelioma is a debilitating disease. It deprives the person from having a normal life and an active occupation. Furthermore, it costs hundreds to thousands of dollars in medical bills. By extension, malignant mesothelioma also affects the family and friends of the person ailed by mesothelioma. Thus, it is only natural that persons who have been affected by this disease to file an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit.

A mesothelioma lawsuit is filed in order to sue the responsible company for damages. This is in order to recover expenses incurred for the medical bills as well as for wrongful death and debilitation. There are several things to consider in filing an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit. First, hire an expert lawyer. The lawyer should have extensive experience and knowledge regarding mesothelioma lawsuit. Ask from your immediate network or seek help from the local bar association. It is best to seek free consultations and gauge the expertise of the potential lawyer. It is imperative the lawyer handling the case will be able to steer the results toward a favorable settlement.

Second, gather relevant documents that will support the case. Prior to filing an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit, the patient should have been examined by an expert. The doctor should be an expert in asbestos related disease. CT scans, X-rays and biopsy results can be used as evidences against the defendant. Gather documents related to the company. The documents should indicate the place of employment, the nature of work, years in service, contact information of co-workers and specific asbestos products which were directly or indirectly handled by the plaintiff. Fill out a document which allows your lawyer to access all pertinent confidential information such as medical records, employment records etc.

Once all pertinent documents have been gathered, the lawsuit will be forwarded to the company or defendant. The defendant may choose to settle early or let the case be filed at a court of law. Once the asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit is filed, the court will examine the evidence while a jury will decide if the defendant is responsible for the plaintiff's disease. The most important thing to remember is to be honest and consistent with proceeding and hope for a reasonable mesothelioma settlement.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Asbestos/Mesothelioma Lawsuits & Claims

Asbestos law dates back to 1929 in the United States. However, by the 1970s, the evidence of asbestos as a substantial health hazard had become abundantly clear to the medical industry. This changed the way asbestos/mesothelioma claims were viewed.
In the early 1980s, the some plaintiffs started receiving multi-million dollar jury awards and settlements for asbestos and mesothelioma claims. This caused the Manville Corporation, formerly the Johns Manville Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, to file for bankruptcy protection. The Manville Corporation was an asbestos manufacturer that had thousands of lawsuits brought against the company related to the health effects of the potent asbestos product.

Court documents showed that the Manville Corporation had a long history of hiding evidence of the harmful effects of asbestos from its employees and the public, resulting in dangerous health effects. At the time it went bankrupt, it was the largest U.S. company ever to file for bankruptcy protection.

New laws and the changing landscape caused asbestos manufacturers to alter the way they operated. Many large asbestos manufacturers diversified their products, produced substitutes, sold off subsidiaries, or started asbestos removal businesses. Due to the health hazards caused by asbestos and resulting lawsuits, the removal of the asbestos became big business.

By the early 1990s, more than half of the top 25 largest asbestos manufacturers had filed for bankruptcy protection. This shielded them from creditors. Abestos bankruptcy protection caused plaintiff lawyers to seek new avenues of relief for the clients, targeting companies that used it in their products. Large companies that have seen significant asbestos litigation include the Boeing Company, the Ford Motor Company, Deere & Company, and the Sears Roebuck & Company.
The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently upheld the rights of individuals to pursue asbestos claims. Two large class action asbestos settlements came before the Court in 1997 and 1999. The Court rejected both, as they would have excluded future asbestos claims.

Legislation has been proposed to reduce the amount of asbestos litigation in the United States. However, still today the U.S. Congress has failed to act on a 2005 bill entitled "Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2005". If passed, the Act would establish a $140 billion trust fund for asbestos victims. The Act would limit employer liability. In the meantime, federal and state courts have thousands of asbestos cases on the docket. Due to the delayed onset of the disease, it is predicted the number of asbestos cases will continue to increase in the coming years, which typically leads to mesothelioma cancer.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Mesothelioma - The Silent Killer

There are a number of diseases that you would want to be wary about in the world today, but there are some diseases which are more dangerous than the others. These are the ones that you would really wish to do something about but might not be successful in the end. One such disease would have to be Mesothelioma, which is one of the most lethal diseases to affect mankind today. There are a number of reasons why people would want to be scared of this disease, and once you learn all about it, you too will realize why people are so petrified about it.

What It Is Actually

Mesothelioma is a kind of cancer that is observed in certain kinds of human beings. It is developed in the lungs, and eventually causes lungs to collapse and become pretty much useless. Most of the people that have this disease have the pleural Mesothelioma, which is the cancer on the membrane that surrounds the lungs. This is not the only site for this disease, as there are cases of abdominal infections and also reproductive organs getting damaged in certain cases. Depending on your body, it can affect pretty much anywhere, in some cases quite lethally as well.

How Is It Caused?

The main reason for someone to develop Mesothelioma cancer is if they have been exposed to asbestos. Hence, it is important to avoid exposure of any kind to this material. Even if you expose to it infrequently in small amounts, it is adequate to contract Mesothelioma. In most cases, people start showing symptoms several years later on, even sometimes after a decade or two. Hence, you really should be careful when working with asbestos if you don't want to be diagnosed with this condition. Despite being a relatively rare disease, it is known to spread through contact. Hence, you can contract it even if you don't directly come in contact with asbestos.

Can It Be Cured?

Unfortunately, like other kinds of cancer, Mesothelioma cancer also cannot be completely treated. To a certain degree, it can be controlled using chemotherapy and other such kinds of traditional treatments. However, this too is not a guaranteed treatment and can only help in ensuring that you don't suffer in excruciating pain due to the condition. The people that are diagnosed with the disease were exposed to asbestos many years ago, which would have given the cancer ample amount of time to have developed and taken significant control.

But, not all hope is lost. There have been some cases where people have walked away from the disease unscathed. You need to have faith and believe in the fact that mesothelioma cancer will not get the better of you. If the need arises, get the support of the people that are around you in order to help you out and ensure that you don't end up being left all alone. Having sound support during this time of crisis is the least that you can expect to look forward to.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

About Mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer which develops from the protective lining of the internal organs of the body and is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos. It is also believed that coming into close contact with a person's clothing that has been exposed to asbestos can also cause mesothelioma.

The disease is not very common and has a very limited chance of recovery because most symptoms are observed only after 20-50 years of exposure to asbestos and at this time the disease is generally beyond recovery. Research is being conducted on the early detection of mesothelioma to allow doctors to detect signs of this disease at an early stage and thus prevent it from developing to higher levels.

Mostly the lungs or the heart are known targets for this disease and general symptoms like difficulty in breathing, shortness of breath, chest wall pain, cough and blood in cough are signs of the development of mesothelioma that affects pleura. Symptoms like abdominal, development of a mass in abdomen and weight loss are signs of mesothelioma that affects the abdominal cavity. Diagnosis of the disease includes the use of x-ray, CAT scan and MRI for the detection of pleural thickening and other abnormalities.

Lung function test may also be performed if deemed suitable to confirm the disease. The treatment of the disease is not particularly very successful due to the non-availability of methods and techniques which can ensure early detection of the disease. However, current methods of treatment include combination of conventional therapies of radiation treatment and chemotherapy.

In some cases, surgery might also be used to aid the radiation therapy and other treatments. However, surgery in itself has proved to be of little use in later stages of the disease. Even though the disease is rare, there are several victims of the disease and only a few of them have lived for some time with the disease.

Why is Mesothelioma So Deadly?

Mesothelioma, cancer of the mesothelium, is caused by exposure to asbestos. The disease can take decades to appear or to develop to the point that it is detectable. Once it forms, it takes time for the disease to be diagnosed and then treated. So why, exactly, is it so deadly?

One of the biggest problems with the disease is that it takes what seems like forever, to those who have been exposed to asbestos, to show up in tests. The disease usually takes around 20 years to develop but has been known to wait around 40 years to develop. What this means is that a person who knows he or she has been exposed to asbestos can wait a long time before a test shows anything either abnormal or serious.

This long period of inactivity means that individuals who do not know that they have been exposed to asbestos may ignore early signs and symptoms of the disease and explain them away as bronchitis or something else that will go away with time. This means that by the time they go see a doctor because they feel awful and can't breathe very well, the disease has progressed to the later stages.

Like all cancer, there is something very important in treatment about catching the disease early and getting treatment started as soon as possible. When a cancer is detected early and then treated early, the chances that it will be cured and the person's life saved go up drastically. The later cancer is detected in a person, the lower, usually, his or her chances of survival are.

Part of this is due to cancer's very aggressive nature. The unregulated growth of cancerous cells can quickly take over. Worse, in cancers located near major blood supplies or other fluid systems within the body, these cells can break away from the pack and end up halfway across the body and start a new colony.

Because most mesothelioma patients wait to see a doctor until they are having serious problems, they put themselves at risk and lower the chances that there is any hope for treatment. By the time most people go to see the doctor, the cancer has gotten to the point that it is inoperable. Chemotherapy and radiation can only do so much to kill cancer.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Mesothelioma Treatment Stages

Mesothelioma is the term used for a cancerous tumor, which involves the mesothelioma cells of lungs, heart or abdominal organs. Medical specialists in mesothelioma provide treatment to the patients after assessing the stage of the mesothelioma in their specific case. They analyze the location of the cancer, the level to which it is spread and the patient?s age and general health condition.

Malignant mesothelioma is a disease in which the malignant cells are found in the sac that lines the chest or abdomen. There are four stages of malignant mesothelioma. The first stage is localized mesothelioma and the remaining three are considered advanced stages of mesothelioma. Localized mesothelioma is the phase wherein the cancer is discovered in the lung, diaphragm or in the lining of the chest cavity. The patients in their first stage of mesothelioma get their cancer surgically removed by pleurectomy or decortication or extrapleural pneumonectomy.

In the second stage, the cancer is detected to have spread beyond the lining of the chest cavity. In the third stage, the tumor growth spreads into several areas that include chest wall, center of the chest, heart, and throughout the diaphragm. The treatment in the second, third and fourth stages of mesothelium are done in tandem with supportive care. The treatment for these advanced stages focuses on providing a patient with relief from symptoms, as total cure is generally not achieved. The treatment methodology includes thoracentesis that removes fluid accumulation in the chest cavity, operations to remove the tumor and radiation therapy or chemotherapy aimed at easing symptoms.

In the fourth stage, the cancer is in the process of distant metastasis, which implies that it has spread to other organs and tissues far from its site of origin in the pleural, peritoneal, or pericardial mesothelium. Patients suffering from the fourth stage should enroll themselves in clinical trials that evaluate the newest treatment possibilities in large medical centers. Pain management is an essential aspect of the care of such patients. It is important for patients to know that medications are available to effectively treat pain due to mesothelioma. They should request pain medications or discuss pain control problems with their cancer care team.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Mesothelioma Clinics Are Rare

When diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer a person will most likely be faced with a roller coaster of emotions. Hearing this news can be an emotional drain; however, an individual must get past this heartbreaking news and start weighing their options for treatment. Mesothelioma is still quite rare and finding a cancer clinic that specializes in treatment may be difficult for many people. There are some things that can help when researching a clinic for treatment.

You may be lucky enough to find a good clinic in your own city or at least nearby. However, many people may have to travel far greater distances to receive treatment. This may require prolonged stays away from their own home. If there are no insurance provisions to provide funds to help supplement the cost of this travel there are some other options. There are groups located in some cities that will help with expenses related to medical travel. Contact the hospital or clinic where you will be seeking treatment to see if they can put you in touch with some of these groups. Also, if you belong to a church they may be able to help with fundraisers.

Mesothelioma clinics are frequently associated with the Association of Community Cancer Centers. Also, look for a clinic that the American Cancer Society has officially recognized. Any reputable mesothelioma clinic will be associated with these organizations. In addition, make sure the clinic provides all necessary treatments in- house. Some clinics only specialize in one certain type of treatment and may require you to seek treatment elsewhere in the event that other treatments are necessary.

There may be times during your search for a clinic that you come across claims that may sound too good to be true. There are a number of mesothelioma clinics that claim that they can cure your cancer with alternative methods to traditional treatments. But the fact of the matter is, there is no known cure for mesothelioma. Falling for these claims may ultimately shorten your lifespan and result in more pain and suffering. Some of these clinics may truly believe they are helping, but more than likely they are being staffed by well-meaning health care professionals who do not have any scientific training.

Because of the relatively small amount of people that suffer from mesothelioma there is not the same amount of money and time spent on a cure as it is for other forms of cancers. One thing that a mesothelioma patient can do to help further the cause is participate in clinical trials. These are important steps in finding new treatments and possible cures for the future and some of them have shown first promising results.