Before the discovery of the health hazards associated with it, asbestos was a common building material used in constructing everything from residential homes to immense commercial buildings. Although asbestos is toxic to anyone who lives or works in places where it is present, asbestos poses the biggest threat to builders who came into contact with it for several years.
In order for asbestos to cause health problems, it must be inhaled in significant quantities over an extended period of time. Although no one is certain how much asbestos one must inhale, or over how long a time period, studies have revealed indisputable evidence that inhaling asbestos often leads to the development of a rare form of cancer called “mesothelioma.”
Given the fact that construction workers were exposed to high quantities of asbestos on a daily basis for years on end, it should not be surprising that the bulk of mesothelioma cases have been attributed to those who worked construction occupations before the dangers of asbestos were known. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, an estimated 27 million American workers were exposed to asbestos while on the job between 1940 and 1980.
Once scientists established the asbestos mesothelioma connection, thousands of asbestos claims were filed by workers who were exposed to the dangers of asbestos for years. When ill workers, or family members of people killed by mesothelioma were denied benefits, the leading mesothelioma law firms assisted these individuals in filing mesothelioma law suits.
The challenging part for workers or their families to win mesothelioma law suits was showing that the employers were liable. After all, if science was unaware of the dangers at the time, how is it possible to put that responsibility upon employers? The only way is to show that workers were knowingly placed in harm’s way.
As you can see, winning a mesothelioma lawsuit is difficult. But with the help of the right mesothelioma attorney, many victims and their families have won their lawsuits, and received large settlements for their pain and suffering.
