If you are reading this, you might be going through one of the most stressful and confusing times in your life. Few people read about mesothelioma for simple fun. Those who want to know more are those whose lives are impacted by the illness and whose financial security is threatened by the preventable health problem.
For the reported 3,000 people diagnosed with it each year, mesothelioma isn’t the loud, avoidable TV ad some can turn on mute. The serious cancer diagnosis presents a real threat of death. Research shows only about one-third of people with mesothelioma live longer than one year after their diagnosis.
It is a tragic life circumstance, made even more tragic by the fact that mesothelioma is caused by a toxic environment and a failure to protect people from the toxicity. Asbestos is the root of the too-often deadly problem.
Since the 1930’s, manufacturers of asbestos-containing products understood but still denied the risk of the substance. Decades later, the workers whose occupations required them to work with and around asbestos pay the price of manufacturers ignoring the dangers of their products.
There are certain workers that literally build and protect a community. Some of the strongest men and women you know work in admirable occupations that, sadly, have shown to result in the highest rates of mesothelioma cases.
If you are an asbestos victim, you might work or have worked as the following:
These are only several of the occupations that have endangered and continue to endanger hard-working men and women in Texas and across the U.S. The workplace danger of asbestos, however, is to be mitigated. Workers deserve protection.
Not only are there ways to avoid contact with and the inhalation of asbestos, but there are laws in place for employers meant to protect workers. If you have been exposed to the toxic substance while working and are experiencing the health crisis of mesothelioma, you have rights a lawyer should help you pursue.
Your mesothelioma attorney would at least examine whether your employer followed the proper federal protocols to protect its workers. Think. Were you protected in all the following ways?
We all want to believe in the best of people. Employers, however, can get caught up in the chaos of running a business and trying to earn a profit. Still, when an employer fails to protect their workers from the historically deadly impact of asbestos exposure in the workplace, workers have legal protections.
Because mesothelioma can be diagnosed so late after victims are exposed to a dangerous environment, victims and their families can fear it is too late to fight for justice. Don’t assume that. Talk to a lawyer who can discuss the various possible avenues toward receiving the compensation you need and deserve.
