Health and Medication

One of the initial questions that people may ask when their doctor tells them that they have mesothelioma, asbestosis, pleural plaques or one of the other conditions caused by asbestos exposure is, “How did I get this?” This is an important question, because pinpointing how and where you were exposed to asbestos can be the key to a successful lawsuit. That compensation can pay for your medical bills and ensure that your family isn’t burdened with them.

Unfortunately, it is not always an easy question to answer. Many employees have handled asbestos over the years without even being told what it was, or that it was a dangerous substance. Additionally, many people have been exposed to asbestos in more than one location as they moved from one place to another.

Finding the Source

If you worked around asbestos, you may not have been told that you were bringing home asbestos dust on your clothing, shoes, hair and skin to poison your family. You may have breathed in asbestos dust in the air because a company nearby was mining, milling or making things with asbestos. In addition, there were nearly 3000 products containing or made with asbestos that were used by consumers in one way or another.

Just being around something that was made with asbestos doesn’t necessarily mean that you were exposed to asbestos fibers. As long as the asbestos is intact, it presents no danger. When it’s broken, however, it releases fibers into the air that can be inhaled or swallowed. At that point it becomes friable, meaning that it may be releasing asbestos dust into the air. Workers in many industries were exposed to friable asbestos in the course of their jobs. If you worked in any job where you handled or removed products with asbestos, you may have been exposed to asbestos dust, often without knowing it.

If you suspect that you may have been exposed to asbestos dust, you should consult a doctor. While a chest X-ray won’t show fibers of asbestos in your lungs, it may show the early signs of damage from those fibers.

Determining Responsibility for Your Illness

Plaintiffs in asbestos exposure lawsuits have at least one advantage: asbestosis and mesothelioma have only been linked to the ingestion of asbestos. This makes it very difficult for defendants to argue that another environmental factor may have caused plaintiffs’ illnesses.

However, establishing that you were exposed to asbestos in a particular location, and that it caused your injuries, is almost never a simple process. It takes an experienced asbestos exposure attorney to narrow a plaintiff’s illness down to a specific source and effectively present this evidence in court.

Symptoms of mesothelioma might not be felt till 20-50 years after exposure to asbestos. Cough, shortness of breath, and chest pain due to an accumulation of fluid in the pleural space are often symptoms of pleural mesothelioma.

Weight loss and cachexia, abdominal swelling and pain due to ascites (a buildup of fluid in the abdominal cavity) are symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma. Other symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma are bowel obstruction, blood clotting abnormalities, anemia, and fever. If the cancer has spread beyond the mesothelium to other parts of the body, symptoms may include pain, trouble swallowing, or swelling of the neck or face.

These symptoms may be caused by mesothelioma or by other, less serious conditions.

Mesothelioma that affects the pleura can cause these signs and symptoms:

* Chest wall pain
* Pleural effusion, or fluid surrounding the lung
* Shortness of breath
* Fatigue or anemia
* Wheezing, hoarseness, or cough
* Blood in the sputum (fluid) coughed up (hemoptysis)

In severe cases, the person may have many tumor masses. The individual may develop a pneumothorax, or collapse of the lung. The disease may metastasize, or spread, to other parts of the body.

Tumors that affect the abdominal cavity often do not cause symptoms until they are at a late stage. Symptoms include:

* Abdominal pain
* Ascites, or an abnormal buildup of fluid in the abdomen
* A mass in the abdomen
* Problems with bowel function
* Weight loss

In severe cases of the disease, the following signs and symptoms may be present:

* Blood clots in the veins, which may cause thrombophlebitis
* Disseminated intravascular coagulation, a disorder causing severe bleeding in many body organs
* Jaundice, or yellowing of the eyes and skin
* Low blood sugar level
* Pleural effusion
* Pulmonary emboli, or blood clots in the arteries of the lungs
* Severe ascites

A mesothelioma does not usually spread to the bone, brain, or adrenal glands. Pleural tumors are usually found only on one side of the lungs.

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