Asbestos Exposure In Certain Industries May Put You At Risk For Asbestosis
Richard Worthley, who worked for 24 years at a plant in Illinois that produced asbestos-cement pipes, died of a devastating form of cancer. His mesothelioma lawsuit concerning a defective product and negligence ended in 2009, when a jury awarded $3.4 million to his family. The plant where he was a painter, planner, and millwright, Johns-Manville, closed in 1984. The mesothelioma lawsuit found that the supplier, Advocate Mines Limited, supplied dangerous, raw asbestos to the plant in a negligent way—without any warning or reasonable care to avoid injury to others. Worthley was not only present in the toxic environment daily, but he cleaned the equipment of its contaminated dust. The disease Worthley contracted has historically spawned lawsuits, which have been the most commonly effective way to hold liable parties accountable and to compensate the sufferer. It is also the most effective way to garner compensation for cases involving asbestosis, which is a scarring of lung tissue that occurs when the body tries repeatedly, for years, to expel the indestructible fibers—asbestos. When one is diagnosed with an illness affecting the chest and lungs, it may initially be from suspected infection or another source. However, if one has worked for an extended period in an industrial setting, most often in shipbuilding, automotive, manufacturing, construction, or in another building-related job, it is reasonable to investigate whether or not there was asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma is rare, but can develop later. Mesothelioma symptoms include chest pain, fatigue, anemia, breathing difficulty, and fluid around the lungs. Confirming a diagnosis with a biopsy is often the only way to pinpoint the exposure because the tissue sample reveals the definite presence of asbestos still lodged in the body. After considering treatment options with a medical professional, those diagnosed and their families are advised to consider a mesothelioma lawsuit if there is suspicion of liability—if it is possible that reasonable care to protect them in a hazardous environment was not taken. The damages in these suits encompass the economic and emotional costs that are known to follow from the disease. These represent the compensatory award that a jury may find. The jury may also find punitive damages, an award intended to punish the liable party for wrong-doing and serve as an example of potential losses that will prevent other parties from the action in the future. Before the San Francisco jury determined a higher amount for Richard Worthley, the prior record for damages involved James Cavett, a retired-boiler maker who worked in close proximity to asbestos-containing insulation for forty years. In Cavett v. Johns-Manville Sales Corporation (the same defendant from Worthley’s case), the jury awarded $800,000 compensatory and $1,500,000 in punitive damages.
When liability can be shown, juries are profoundly sympathetic to the plaintiff. Perhaps in response to these dramatic awards, in March of 2003, the Supreme Court ruled on the monetary entitlement and asbestos law, limiting the amounts that railroad workers can receive. The carcinogen at issue was commonly used until the 1970’s and still used wrongfully and negligently afterwards. Disease and cancer can take decades to emerge following the exposure. It is therefore likely that hospitals will continue to see these cases, and the courts will continue to see litigation for a number of years. A mesothelioma lawyer is specialized to manage the issues and concerns that filing a suit entails. Finding one experienced in your industry or area can help while you or your loved one suffers.
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Mesothelioma Lawsuits Attorneys
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