What Causes Mesothelioma?
Our Mesothelioma Lawyers Explain
Mesothelioma cancer can almost always be linked to some type of asbestos exposure. Such exposure could range from having worked with asbestos on a daily basis, typically in an industrial setting like an oil refinery, an aluminum smelter or in home construction.
Other people have contracted the cancer through second-hand contamination — washing clothing laden with asbestos dust or because asbestos was used in the original construction of their home or office.
Asbestos fibers are the primary culprit in mesothelioma cancer. As long as the fibers remain encapsulated or otherwise inert, there is little danger of asbestos exposure.
However, once they are disturbed, they can become airborne, increasing the likelihood that they will be inhaled or otherwise ingested by those who live or work around them. These fibers can then become lodged in the mesothelium—the lining that surrounds the body’s internal organs—causing its cells to become abnormal and grow out of control.
There is no “safe level” of asbestos exposure. Some people have worked around asbestos all of their working life and suffered no ill effect. Others contracted the cancer late in life after only minimal exposure.
We do know that the longer a person is exposed to asbestos, and the more he/she work around asbestos and products that contain asbestos, the greater the possibility that he or she will develop mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases.
It can take decades for symptoms of asbestos exposure to appear. It’s not unusual for these symptoms to manifest after 20 or 30 years — and there have been recorded cases of mesothelioma symptoms appearing 50 years after exposure.
The latency, and the fact that the symptoms can be similar to other medical conditions, makes it very difficult to accurately diagnose the disease. Only a trained physician can determine whether a person who has been exposed to asbestos has developed one of the several types of mesothelioma.
Our asbestos lawyers understand that you have a choice in selecting your attorney for a mesothelioma lawsuit but our experience gives our clients an advantage that many firms simply cannot offer. We have a medical doctor who is also a mesothelioma attorney, who can provide invaluable expertise in handling asbestos lawsuits aimed at mesothelioma compensation. If you need to speak with mesothelioma lawyers, contact our law firm today.