Mesothelioma Law Blog

Mesothelioma Deaths On The Rise As Workers Age

A map issued by the American Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) indicates that there used to be a huge and thriving asbestos industry in the Arizonian state, focused mainly in and around the Tucson region. It shows that a certain American Asbestos Mines, a segment of the Arizona Asbestos Inc., used to regulate quite a few number of like mines in the 1950s and 60s. Nancy Lopez worked as a judicial administrative assistant for Division 7 in the Jackson County Courthouse for some 30 years before her diagnosis of asbestos-related cancer in 2009. Her original lawsuit, filed March 18, 2010, in Jackson County Circuit Court in Kansas, alleged that dust laden with asbestos fibers had been spread throughout the building from accumulation in and around the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC) since at least 1983.

Like Temkin, many victims of asbestos exposure only become sick years after inhaling asbestos fibers, which explains the high percentage of mesothelioma victims who are of retirement age. But because, even today, asbestos is still widely present, mesothelioma can, and does, strike younger generations as well. That’s become a particular concern for the doctors and mesothelioma lawyers who have seen the catastrophic consequences of the disease all too well—and all too often. “The aggressive cancer-scientifically linked to asbestos exposure, specifically the inhalation of airborne asbestos fibers-can take years to develop, but once diagnosed, a patient’s prognosis is typically grim. There is no cure, and so far, victims have had far more success in the courtroom,” reports Mesothelioma attorney

More

Asbestos Cancer Fatalities In US May Peak In 2010

Deaths due to the disease known as Malignant Mesothelioma which is a form of cancer mainly caused by over exposure to asbestos are on a rise in the United States. The Centers Disease Control officials examined death records of people in the US, and to their great surprise found that over 18000 deaths occurred in US between 1999-2005 due to malignant mesothelioma. According to the officials, majority of the deaths that occurred due to mesothelioma were among Caucasian people, with Maine being the highest state

Source

Asbestos responsible for decorator's death

A RETIRED painter and decorator died of a lung condition caused by asbestos exposure, an inquest has heard.
No evidence of asbestos was found in 74-year-old Brian Franklin’s lungs during a post mortem examination, but Greater Norfolk coroner William Armstrong said he was satisfied he had most likely died from an industrial disease.

Mr Franklin, of Nicholas Avenue, Clenchwarton, died on January 8 after developing lung problems around 12 months earlier, the inquest, held at Lynn County Court, heard on Thursday.

His son, Gary Franklin, said his father, originally from Northamptonshire, had decorated schools and worked on building sites containing asbestos during the 1960s and 1970s.

Mr Armstrong also read a letter from Roy Hart, Mr Franklin’s former business partner, which said the pair had worked for long periods on building sites with asbestos, sometimes for up to three months.

Mr Hart’s letter said they had never been warned about the dangers of working with asbestos and had not been provided with any protective equipment.

A post mortem examination found Mr Franklin had died of bronchial pneumonia caused by mesothelioma, a type of cancer.

Mr Armstrong said a substantial percentage of mesthelioma cases arose from exposure to asbestos and, not withstanding the absence of asbestos during the post mortem, it was “more likely than not” Mr Franklin’s death was caused by working with the substance.

He recorded a verdict of death by industrial disease and expressed his sympathy to the family.

Source

Asbestos-related cancer deaths still rising in U.S.

Deaths from malignant mesothelioma, a cancer primarily associated with asbestos exposure, are still on the rise in the US, federal health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reported Thursday.

In an analysis of death records, the CDC found that 18,068 deaths from malignant mesothelioma occurred between 1999 and 2005. During that period, the number of mesothelioma deaths per year climbed from 2482 to 2704.

The annual mesothelioma death rate during the 7-year period, however, held steady at around 14 per million.

According to a report in the CDC's weekly bulletin on illness and death, the vast majority of mesothelioma deaths involved white men. The state of Maine had the highest number of deaths at 173 with an annual rate of 27.5 per million.

Although a number of regulatory actions have been implemented to reduce the use of asbestos exposure, the lag time from initial exposure to disease onset can be as long as 40 years. The CDC expects the number of mesothelioma deaths to peak by the year 2010.

"Although asbestos has been eliminated in the manufacture of many products, it is still being imported and used in the US in various construction and transportation products," the report notes. "Ensuring a future decrease in mesothelioma mortality requires meticulous control of exposures to asbestos and other materials that might cause mesothelioma."

SOURCE: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, April 24, 2009.

Coroner rules on asbestos death

An inquest has ruled that a Cotswold carpenter died as a result of cutting up sheets of asbestos in the 1960s, it has been reported.

The Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard revealed that James Bredin, 71, of Gorse Meadow, Bourton-on-the-Water, died of an industrial disease, Gloucestershire coroner Alan Crickmore ruled.

Mr Bredin, who retired nine months before his death, was told by a radiographer that he had a terminal disease, with it later confirmed that he was suffering from asbestos-related lung cancer mesothelioma.

His son James told the inquest: "In the 60s, I had been present when he cut asbestos sheets with a handsaw to fit backing plates to fires."

Dr Richard Bryan, a pathologist, revealed that 32,421 fibres of asbestos per gram of dry lung tissue were found in Mr Bredin's body, which is more than would be discovered in a person free of industrial exposure, the newspaper reported.

Earlier this month, the Health and Safety Executive reminded companies to ensure they follow the proper asbestos handling procedures when encountering the material.
Source

Find an Attorney at the Law Firm Directory.

Asbestos Continues to Kill Many

Asbestos may have been banned long ago, but it's dangers are still very real today. Many people continue dying every year because of it. Something needs to be done.

The director of the Disease Reduction Programme for the HSE, said:

“Exposure to asbestos is the biggest single cause of work-related deaths with around 4,000 people a year dying from asbestos-related disease.

“The overall number of deaths is rising because a large number of workers who have already been exposed to asbestos dust around 40 years ago will go on to develop mesothelioma, a terminal cancer or other asbestos-related diseases.”

“They think that since asbestos was banned many years ago, the problem has been dealt with. The reality is very different.”

Even today asbestos presents a real and relevant risk to plumbers, joiners, electricians and many other maintenance workers. Asbestos may be present in any building constructed or refurbished before 2000. It is estimated that around 500,000 non-domestic buildings could contain asbestos.
Source

Asbestos Involved in Cancer Death in Monkton

A Monkton Heathfield woman who was exposed to large amounts of asbestos as a young woman died after contracting a type of lung cancer linked to the substance, an inquest has heard.

Cheryl Wallington, who was 60, was exposed to asbestos at a hospital in Watford in the 1960s while when she worked in the X-ray department while studying to become an accountant.

Her husband Geoff said Mrs Wallington had been required to retrieve film and other items from a “very dusty and confined, stuffy room.”

She said Mrs Wallington lived a fit and healthy life, and never smoked, but last year developed mesothelioma which is strongly linked to asbestos.

West Somerset Coroner Michael Rose said the disease generally takes between 20 and 40 years to occur following asbestos exposure but once diagnosed patients normally only live for between nine months and two years.

He said that 20 years ago he had no such cases to consider, whereas nowadays he came across 13 to 14 a year.

He said the dangers of asbestos were known about at the turn of the 20th century but no decent steps were taken to protect the public until the 1970s.

Mr Rose said there was a “very real possibility” that Mrs Wallington had inhaled asbestos as a young woman but he could not give that as a cause of death because experts believe it is possible to develop the disease without exposure.

He therefore returned a verdict that Mrs Wallington died of pneumonia after contracting mesothelioma.
Source

Find a mesothelioma Lawyer at the Lawfirm Directory.