Mesothelioma Lawyers Blog

December 30, 2015

A Look at the Third Wave of Asbestos Victims

According to a recent news report form NPR, the interview subject was doing well in life. He owned a flooring company that was just awarded a good contract. He was on his way to work one morning when he decided to stop at a fast food restaurant to get something to drink when he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He described how he collapsed in pain and said it was like he had been stabbed in the stomach with a large knife. At this point, he was being driven to the emergency room by a coworker.

When he woke up, he was in a hospital bed. He saw his wife crying and asked what happened. She told him when doctors looked in his stomach, they found it was full of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma tumors. His doctor told him he did not have very long left to live. He was 39 years old, and this was the first he learned that was his sick, let alone dying of cancer. Continue reading

December 26, 2015

Westford City Officials Look to Renovate Historic Buildings — Asbestos Poses Problems

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Residents of Westford, Massachusetts are proud of the Roudenbush Community Center building that has brought so much enjoyment to the area after it was converted to a community center in the mid 1970s. It was originally built as a private school, and, at the time, the designers spared no expense. The building was intricately designed and filled with architectural treasures. Even the railings on the staircases feature detailed carvings done entirely by hand.

While the building has been added to the historic registry, it has become a victim of its age, and it is starting to deteriorate to the point where it is causing safety concerns among residents and town officials. For this reason, town residents are pushing their elected officials to allocate enough money from budget to restore the building to its former glory. However, due to the high cost and amount of work involved, the town officials are not sure what they will be able to do, according to a recent news article from Wicked Local Westford. Continue reading

December 20, 2015

Boston Area Schools Fail to Keep Track of Deadly Asbestos

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

While asbestos has not been used in construction in the United States for over two decades, it is well known that many older buildings in the greater Boston area contain large amounts of deadly asbestos fibers. For the most part, these fibers are not a threat to the occupants of the buildings unless the buildings are in a deteriorating state or building owners perform renovations or demolition work.

However, it is up to the building owners to make sure they are not exposing the occupants or general public to the deadly asbestos fibers. Unfortunately, they know that it generally takes between 20 and 50 years for the asbestos fibers to cause malignant mesothelioma, and the victims often have no idea that they are sick. Continue reading

December 15, 2015

Former Navy Firefighter Files Mesothelioma Lawsuit

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Mesothelioma lawsuits are generally filed under a theory of negligence. The claim is that the company knew or had reason to know that their product could cause mesothelioma, lung cancer, or respiratory illness, and they failed to warn the millions of workers who dealt with the deadly substance on a routine basis. Failure to adequately warn of a known danger is a specific claim filed in many lawsuits in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The reason asbestos is so deadly is because, once inhaled, the fibers can become trapped in a layer of tissue known as the mesothelium. Once in the mesothelium, they can metastasize into a deadly form of cancer known as malignant mesothelioma. This process usually takes between 20 and 50 years, so many companies were willing to trade present profits for future risk of mesothelioma lawsuits. Continue reading

December 10, 2015

Medford Arcade Finally Demolished – Asbestos and Dry Cleaning Chemicals Caused Delay

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent article in Wicked Local Medford, the long-standing and now closed arcade business building is finally being demolished to make room for new construction.

The old arcade building has been empty for quite some time, and there has been talk about tearing it down after the roof collapsed, but there were two major impediments to taking such action. The town officials were worried about contaminating workers and the general community. One of the chemicals discovered during an inspection and present in the building was asbestos. Continue reading

December 5, 2015

Mesothelioma and Workers’ Compensation Issues

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Mesothelioma is a very rare cancer that forms in a layer of tissue know as the mesothelium, hence the name mesothelioma. While most people associate mesothelioma with lung cancer, it is not technically lung cancer. It is an entirely different form of malignant cancer that often forms in the lungs, abdomen, or chest.

While it is medically possible to develop malignant pleural mesothelioma (lungs), malignant pericardial mesothelioma (chest), or malignant peritoneal (abdomen) mesothelioma without ever having been exposed to toxic asbestos fibers, the chance of that happening is extremely remote. In reality, almost all cases of malignant mesothelioma are caused by exposure to deadly asbestos. During the process of diagnosing a patient with malignant mesothelioma, the asbestos fibers will generally still be visible in the cancerous tissue, so the body has no ability to break them down, which is one of the major reasons they are so dangerous. Continue reading

November 30, 2015

Worcester County Recycler Cited for Asbestos Violations

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

When asbestos is removed from a building during a demolition or renovation process, the asbestos must first be inspected by a certified asbestos contractor and sent to a hazardous materials testing lab for confirmation that the substance is, in fact, asbestos. After the presence of asbestos is confirmed, a building owner, with the help of a certified asbestos abatement contractor, must submit an asbestos abatement plan to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and apply for an asbestos abatement permit.

Once the permit is granted, a certified asbestos abatement contractor must perform the work with properly trained employees who are provided with required safety equipment, including protective clothing and respirators or ventilators. The asbestos must be removed carefully, so as to prevent anyone from being exposed to the deadly fibers. This may involve painting exposed asbestos with a heavy coat of sealant to prevent dust from escaping. Regardless of what is needed to remove the asbestos-laden materials, the material must be wet down to suppress most of the dust and placed in approved containers. The containers must be sealed and taken to an approved hazardous waste disposal center. Sometimes, this involves taking the asbestos to an approved recycling center. Continue reading

November 28, 2015

Promising Treatment Options for Mesothelioma

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

When a victim first learns he or she has a malignant mesothelioma, there is often very little time to reflect on the diagnosis. The patient is normally told he or she have very little time left to live – in many cases, this means a matter of months or less than a year.

The mesothelioma patient can elect to have treatment, but this is a hard decision. Most treatment options are able to extend a patient’s life for anywhere from a matter of months to even a year or two, but this extension comes at a big cost – not only in terms of dollars (which happens to be quite expensive), but also in terms of pain and suffering. If a mesothelioma victim elects not to undergo treatment, he or she will essentially be given painkillers and breathing aids and placed in a hospice type status for the duration of his or her life. Continue reading

November 26, 2015

Radiotherapy Not Shown as Effective in Mesothelioma Treatment

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Radiotherapy, or “radiation” as it often called by both patients and oncologists when speaking to the general public, is a common treatment option for patients with mesothelioma. Radiotherapy involves using a targeted beam of concentrated ionizing radiation aimed at the location of a malignant tumor. A modern radiotherapy machine uses laser guidance and special molds placed under the patient to determine the exact location to apply the beam. This is very important, because the ionizing radiation will kill any cells it encounters. It is not only effective against tumorous growth. Accidental exposure to healthy cells can be devastating to a patient’s health.

The specific manner in which radiation works is that it kills the DNA in any cell it interacts with, and this will result in death of the entire cell in a short amount of time. The procedure is effective but can and often does lead to serious side effects. While there is no pain at the time of the procedure, just as there isn’t during exposure to most types of radiation, side effects can linger for years and can include vomiting, nausea, heart disease, brain damage when using radiation of the brain, and even cancer. Radiation can be used as primary treatment but is often used as secondary treatment after surgery or chemotherapy. This is the case in mesothelioma patients. Continue reading

November 23, 2015

Asbestos Causes Problems at Gateway Arch in St. Louis

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Even if you have never been there, most people are familiar with what the giant silver arch in St. Louis looks like. It is a must see for anyone visiting St. Louis or traveling through the area. The Gateway Arch is the largest of its kind in the world and is part of the Westward Expansion Museum. There is an elevator in the arch that takes riders to the top, so they can look through observation windows.

The arch was constructed in the 1950s, and it is not surprising that asbestos was heavily used during the construction, because such use was very prevalent during that time in American history. Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that is actually comprised of six different strains of silica. It was once heavily mined from the earth and used in virtually every aspect of production and construction during the industrial revolution. Continue reading