The Chicago, IL based Law Offices of Parente & Norem, P.C. would like to bring the dangers of asbestos exposure to the public’s attention. They hope that this will encourage people to avoid the substance as well as inform them of the legal steps they may take if they are adversely affected, especially when diagnosed with Mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma is a type of incurable cancer that many hospitals have trouble diagnosing, and it is normally occurs after being exposed to asbestos. It can develop in the pleura (the tissue that is around the lungs) along with the peritoneum (the lining of the abdomen). Asbestos.com found that, “the average life expectancy for mesothelioma patients is 12 to 22 months.” In addition, this disease may not show symptoms until decades after the initial contact with asbestos, which makes it even harder to treat as the tumors may have grown too much by that time.
While U.S. law does not ban asbestos, companies who use it, and thereby put their workers at risk, can and should be held responsible, especially as there are almost 200,000 new diagnoses of asbestosis every year in the States, and around 15,000 deaths due to asbestos-related diseases. Side effects of this disease include abdominal swelling, chest pains, coughing up blood, fatigue, irregular heartbeat, and more.
Asbestos is used in many construction materials, such as roofing materials, insulation, prefabricated cement, and more. In addition, it is also found in many vehicle parts like brakes and clutches. According to the Mesothelioma and Asbestos Awareness Center, it was used in over three thousand products at one point, dramatically increasing the public’s exposure to this harmful substance. While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) attempted to ban the use of Asbestos at one point, this idea was soon overturned.
The most common type of exposure to asbestos is occupational exposure. Occupations in manual labor and skilled trades presented the highest risk of asbestos exposure. Workers in construction, shipyards, and factories faced a high likelihood of exposure on the job. Some examples of these jobs include firefighting, manufacturing, power generation, and chemical refining.
In addition to the dangers that many blue collar workers face, U.S. veterans may be in danger as well due to the military’s past use of several products containing this ingredient. Men are 4.6 times more likely to have mesothelioma, with 95 percent of the patients identified as Caucasians. In addition, the elderly (those older than 60) are ten times more likely to develop mesothelioma than those under 40, especially due to the decades it takes for asbestos to begin permanently damaging a person’s lungs.
The biggest danger of working with asbestos is due to the presence of airborne asbestos fibers. After a person inhales them, they may enter the body and become trapped in the lungs. Prolonged exposure could then cause inflammation. As a result, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, laryngeal cancer, or mesothelioma could form, among other diseases such as pleural effusion, diffuse pleural thickening, pleuritis, and atelectasis. For pleural mesothelioma, the five-year survival rate is less than 20% of stage 1A diagnoses, and by Stage 4, the five-year survival rate is only at 1%. The two-year survival rate is less than 50% regardless of when the cancer is diagnosed.
This is where the Law Offices of Parente & Norem, P.C. are able to help. This firm specializes in asbestos exposure, as well as a few other fields. According to the firm, they have helped recover, “over $300 million dollars on behalf of their clients to compensate for physical, financial, and emotional losses,” focusing on the goal of giving personal attention to every individual clients’ requests and minimizing each attorney’s active caseload. In addition to providing assistance in court, the company also asserts that they aid the recovery of the client with, “medical experts, economic experts, vocational rehabilitation experts, safety experts, human factor experts, and the effective use of various demonstrative exhibits, drawings, models, computer technology and videos.”
Specifically, with asbestos exposure cases, the firm will walk the client through the convoluted and confusing litigation process. They are able to help even if a client is not certain of when the asbestos exposure happened, or if their mesothelioma is not yet diagnosed. The Law Offices of Parente & Norem, P.C. is, “proud to service clients in Joliet as well as surrounding neighborhoods and counties.”
Those looking for more Mesothelioma Lawyers information may contact Sal Terracciano. Interested parties may also visit the firm’s website, or connect with them through their social media platforms.
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For more information about Law Offices of Parente & Norem, P.C., contact the company here:
Law Offices of Parente & Norem, P.C.
Sal Terracciano
(312) 641-7803
st@pninjurylaw.com
Law Offices of Parente & Norem, P.C. 221 North LaSalle Street, 27th Floor Chicago, Illinois 60601 (312) 641-7803
