Asbestos litigation is one of the longest and most expensive mass-tort cases going on today in the US. With over six hundred thousand litigants, it is understandable why so many people think it is such a big issue.
Asbestosis - This is a very difficult asbestos-related disease to diagnose since a lot of people do not display any outright symptoms. Actually, many people know that asbestosis can only be diagnosed via x-ray.
What exactly is this asbestos-related disease? Well, when asbestos fibers get into your lungs, they tend to cause inflammation and irritation. Your body, naturally, tries to combat these effects. The body's defense mechanism is simply amazing because of its creativity. But sometimes, this creativity can only lead to a worse condition. The body attempts to get rid of the inflammation through various ways but some of these ways actually damage the lung tissue more. This causes more severe inflammation and the cycle goes on and on. Asbestosis develops when scar tissue forms around the air sacs. This scar tissue prevents oxygen from traveling between air sacs which make breathing very difficult.
The main symptoms of asbestosis are coughing and difficulty breathing. These symptoms are also associated with other types of diseases. This asbestos-related disease can actually only be detected through an x-ray. This means an ordinary physical exam is unlikely to reveal that you have this illness. Although asbestosis is unique among other asbestos-related diseases in that it is not cancerous, it can still be a pretty big obstacle to living a normal life. There are certain things which you would not be able to do because of this asbestos related disease.
Mesothelioma - This asbestos related disease starts with tumors. It is actually named because the person suffering from this illness first develops tumors in the mesothelium. Although some of the tumors are benign, most are actually cancerous which led people to just classify the whole illness as mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is actually the easiest type of illness to associate with asbestos since no other substance is known to cause it.
Mesothelioma is actually a cancer. About 75 percent of mesothelioma cases begin in the lungs, known as pleural mesothelioma. What happens is that malignant tumors first develop in the tissue covering the lungs. These tumors spread throughout other body organs. The process of developing tumors and passing them on continues until all the vital organs are covered and the person dies.
Mesothelioma can be treated. However, symptoms are usually only obvious during the late stages of this asbestos related illness. This means that it might be too late when a person decides to go in for a check up. Surgery and radiation therapy can help cure this disease like other types of cancers. However, as said before, if the disease is discovered too late then it will be too late for the person. If you develop this disease, then you have to realize that if you want to survive, you are going to need every resource you can tap. This is the reason why people with mesothelioma are so eager in litigating. Some people think that those people want to get rich. This is not the case since all they really want to do is live another day.
Lung cancer - How is lung cancer different from mesothelioma? For one thing, although they are both cancers, they affect different parts of the body. In mesothelioma, the area affected is the tissue covering the lungs and other vital organs. With lung cancer, the affected areas are the lung tissues. Just like mesothelioma, however, people also do not feel any symptoms during the early stages of the disease. This means that you need to have a regular check up schedule if you have been exposed to asbestos and have your suspicions regarding your health.
These are some of the known asbestos-related diseases. These three are well-known mainly because of the fact that these diseases are the ones involved in asbestos litigation.