Sumter Asbestos/Mesothelioma Lawyer
For years, manufacturing companies freely used asbestos, even though they knew this substance is highly toxic. Now, a Sumter asbestos/mesothelioma lawyer from the Stanley Law Group can obtain the compensation these victims need and deserve.
Asbestos, a natural mineral, does not conduct heat or electricity. These properties, along with its extremely low cost, made asbestos the most popular insulation ingredient for years. These traits, primarily the low cost, also prompted meaning, manufacturing, construction, and other companies to hide the health risks. Asbestos is still technically legal in the United States. Today’s construction and demolition workers face asbestos exposure risks when they work on old buildings. Furthermore, many imported manufactured parts, like brake pads, still contain high levels of asbestos.
A single microscopic fiber could cause one of the illnesses mentioned below. Toxic particles, like asbestos fibers and dust, burn lung tissues and alter cellular DNA, causing cancer in multiple areas of the body.
Sumter Asbestos/Mesothelioma Lawyers and Legal Options
Very early on, attorneys must work with doctors to pinpoint a likely exposure window and a likely exposure source. These determination often chart the course for the remainder of the case. Some possible legal options include:
- Workers’ Compensation: Injured workers are eligible for no-fault benefits that replace lost wages and pay medical expenses. A diagnosis and exposure source is usually enough to obtain these benefits.
- VA Disability: Before 1980, shipbuilders loaded naval vessels with asbestos from stem to stern, especially in ammunition storage areas, boiler rooms, fuels storage areas, and other such regions. These victims are also entitled to no-fault disability benefits.
- Social Security Disability: Work-related and service-related victims may also be entitled to Social Security Disability benefits, as are take-home asbestos exposure victims, such as female caregivers who lived with asbestos workers. SSD benefits include monthly cash and Medicaid membership.
- Civil Claim: Most victims are also able to file civil claims against the mining company, manufacturing company, or other company that used asbestos. These matters are quite complex, but substantial compensation is usually available, including punitive damages.
If the responsible defendant is no longer in business, a bankruptcy victim compensation fund claim might be an option. These funds contain over $30 billion.
Asbestos Exposure Illnesses
Lung disease and cancer, in one form or another, are the most common asbestos exposure-related illnesses. These illnesses usually have very long latency periods. So, many exposure victims are sick for more than a half-century before they show illness symptoms.
Asbestosis is an asbestos exposure-related lung disease. Toxic fibers burn airways in the lungs, creating scar tissue. This scar tissue accumulates and blocks these airways. Asbestosis is difficult to treat, aside from a risky and expensive complete lung transplant.
Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive form of cancer that usually develops in the meso lining that separates the lungs and heart. These tiny tumors often don’t appear on MRIs and other diagnostic tests. Furthermore, by the time victims show physical symptoms, such as radical weight loss, the cancer is usually advanced. Therefore, the pleural mesothelioma five-year survival rate is under 10 percent.
Other kinds of asbestos exposure-related cancer include cervical cancer, brain cancer, and abdominal cancer.
Rely on a Thorough Sumter County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced asbestos/mesothelioma lawyer in Sumter, contact the Stanley Law Group. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.
