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- Asbestos News
- Philadelphia Asbestos Verdict $25.2 Million The jury in the case of Baccus v. Crane Co. recently awarded James Baccus’ Estate $25.2 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
- Navy Firefighter Awarded $2.6 Million for Asbestos Related Cancer David Fortier was diagnosed with mesothelioma in October of 2006, and died in June of 2008. He filed a lawsuit shortly after his diagnosis, but he did not live to see his case decided.
- Asbestos Plaintiff’s Body Subpoenaed, Taken from Graveyard Just Before Burial Harold St. John's body was never laid to rest when a court issued a subpoena for his body to collect tissue samples. Chrysler, one of the defendants in the lawsuit, maintains that the proceedings were necessary to obtain additional information about the way Mr. St. John died.
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Two Asbestos Diseases from Two Different Exposures
Unlike asbestosis which develops after prolonged periods of exposure to asbestos, mesothelioma can occur after only one month of exposure. In some instances, cases have been reported from just a single exposure.Asbestosis: is the name used for interstitial lung disease that is caused by asbestos. It affects as many as half of the workers with very heavy occupational exposure, such as World War II shipyard insulation sprayers, who inhaled as many as 100,000 fibers with every breath while at work. This amount is astronomical compared to today’s legal limit of 100,000-fibers inhaled per day.
Onset of asbestosis symptoms will typically occur 20 to 40 years after exposure to asbestos, and it can lead to disability and death.
Mesothelioma: is a fast-spreading cancer that can be contracted after even low levels of asbestos exposure are associated mesothelioma. The actor Steve McQueen is one of mesothelioma’s more famous victims.
Mesothelioma has a latency period of fifteen to fifty years, and the threat of cancer lasts a lifetime. By the time symptoms manifest, the mesothelioma has usually spread to other areas of the body. Although treatments exist to relieve some symptoms, no cure is available.
Those who have been occupationally exposed to asbestos--such as construction workers, shipyard workers, and possibly those who served in the rescue efforts during the World Trade Center tragedy--are at risk for developing asbestosis, mesothelioma, and other forms of cancer. Since 1940, over 27.5 million people have been exposed to asbestos in the United States.
