All About Asbestos Cancer (Mesothelioma): Types, Symptoms and Compensation Claims

Of the many injuries and work related diseases, mesothelioma is perhaps the one that draws much attention. Every other day a case is reported or a compensation claim is filed. Mesothelioma is a cancer that is almost always caused by earlier exposure to asbestos, approximately in ninety percent of cases.

People normally working in industries where asbestos was used extensively, such as construction work, plumbing, ship yards, old houses and at power stations, were more likely to have been exposed to breathing in asbestos fibrous materials often over a period of years and thus are more likely to suffer from either asbestosis or mesothelioma among others.

In the United Kingdom alone almost 2300 people a year are diagnosed with mesothelioma. At least 3,500 people in Great Britain die every year from asbestos related lung cancer and mesothelioma as a result of past exposure to asbestos fibers.

Types of Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a cancerous disease that affects the Mesothelium, which is a thin membrane that covers the lungs or the lining of the abdomen. There are two main types of mesothelioma.

1. Peritoneal (if present in abdomen)

2. Pleural (if present in the chest wall)

Pleural Mesothelioma is more common than peritoneal mesothelioma. Asbestos exposure is the primary cause of mesothelioma. Asbestos fibers are microscopic and once swallowed or breathed in tend to stay in human body. With time they undergo changes and start damaging the body. Thus mesothelioma does not appear suddenly but takes several years before the symptoms start becoming evident.

Mesothelioma is often confused with asbestosis. Asbestosis is also a disease of the lungs that is caused by again the presence of deadly asbestos fibres but it is not cancerous and thus can be treated more effectively if diagnosed at an early stage.

Symptoms of Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma symptoms are difficult to spot as they are very comparable to pneumonia. It is important for a doctor to ask a patient if he has a history of being exposed to asbestos related materials. Early diagnosis can prolong life and improve the chances of survival. The main symptoms of mesothelioma are:

• Shortness of breath, especially during excercise

• Coughing

• Chest pain

• Weakness

• A feeling of tightness in the chest.

Other symptoms that sometimes occur are vomiting, nausea, nail abnormalities, constipation or diarrhea and clubbing of the fingers.

After Diagnosis

The occurrence of mesothelioma is constantly increasing and is expected to surge in the next 15 years. Once the diagnosis is confirm the doctor will decide to start treatment. The main treatment used in asbestosis is oxygen therapy but surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy are also used to increase the life span of the patient. The survival from mesothelioma is improving but is still not very promising and varies by area of diagnosis.

Asbestos Compensation Claim

Once a patient has been properly diagnosed and have started treatment he will need specialist care and support. The family should look for the services of a solicitor who specializes in these cases. The matter should be investigated and the responsible party should be held accountable. If needed an asbestos compensation claim should be filed so as to provide monetary help to the suffering family who have to struggle with pain, bills and loss of wages.

Sabeen Nadeem writes about legal and financial matters. She is currently working for Peregrine Claims which offers personal injury compensation services in UK. They have experienced and competent Asbestos Compensation Claims Solicitors and Slips and Trips Experts in UK.

Winning Mesothelioma Compensation With An Asbestosis Lawyer

Success for mesothelioma victims and their families in obtaining justice and their rightful entitlement to mesothelioma compensation can often be a long process requiring many different factors to be carefully considered when determining exact cause and liability as a consequence of asbestos exposure and the contracting of an asbestosis disease.

There is, invariably, a considerable amount of background work which needs to be carried out by a highly experienced and specialist asbestosis lawyer and when a final resolution is arrived at in a long running mesothelioma claim case, it is often as a result of more than one appeal and a previous judgement being overturned.

Asbestosis lawyers will attempt to recover financial damages urgently needed to provide the patient, spouse or close family with the urgent and vital support at a critical time. Financial redress can include the cost of often large medical bills - possibly including specialist equipment and care, travel expenses relating to medical treatments, expenses not covered by health insurance, group or family support, and other types of fees and funeral expenses.

In a majority of cases a confirmed diagnosis is made when the mesothelioma has reached an advanced stage and there may be less than 12 months left to live. The judicial process will then have to be continued by a spouse or member of family working with their asbestosis lawyer.

The long period that elapses of between 15 to 50 years from the initial exposure - most often in industrial workplaces and factories but also in public sector buildings such as schools and hospitals - and the emergence of asbestosis symptoms may often cause a considerable challenge in tracing original employers, and/or their insurers.

Insurers have previously contested their liability over the issue of asbestos awareness and whether the risk to the claimant eventually contracting mesothelioma could be reasonably foreseen by the employer at the time of the original exposure, and at the level which would likely cause the employee to be exposed to a future health risk.

Consequently, a defence could be mounted upon the expected reasonable steps having been actually carried out to prevent foreseeable injury. However, it has been recorded many times that little to no information, face masks or other protection equipment/clothing were provided to men and women working around asbestos during the peak use years from the 1940s to the 1970s and 80s.

While in certain cases of single exposure, it only requires to be shown that the presence of asbestos materially increased the risk to the claimant of contracting mesothelioma, in other instances a defendant may shift the focus of their defence to a light mesothelioma exposure risk claim. This type of case would require proof that where an exposure to asbestos had shown to have caused an effect, whether any 'breach of the duty of care' by the employer had taken place.

Here, the ability of an asbestosis lawyer to win an asbestosis claim may rely more on showing that there was a breach of duty in each individual case of asbestos exposure.

While there will be an attempt to settle the case on behalf of a client without going to trial, scrupulous preparation will of course, still be required, including the drafting of pre-trial briefs, notifying hearing witnesses and assembling a considerable case file of support documentation. Not only will the victim's medical history be essential but a full employment history, detailing employment duration and asbestos exposure frequency will be crucial to determine which employer is likely to be liable.

Asbestosis Victim Advice

Offering clear information, advice and FAQ's on mesothelioma and asbestos related illnesses.

Visit http://www.asbestosvictimadvice.com/ for more information and advice.