Posts Tagged ‘Mesothelioma’
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
For the millions of people in America now suffering with mesothelioma cancer, the question of whether or not they have a valid lawsuit and what it may be worth surfaces. Hearing a diagnosis of cancer is traumatic under any circumstances. Hearing that you may have planted the seeds for that cancer decades ago simply by doing your job is devastating news. That, however, is exactly what has happened too many of the mesothelioma cancer victims in the United States.
Estimates vary, but even conservative estimates put the number of mesothelioma cases that are caused by previous exposure to asbestos at 80%. Some experts put that percentage as high as 90%. Mesothelioma was once considered a vary rare form of cancer. .In people afflicted with mesothelioma, malignant cancer cells are found in the mesothelium, a protective sac that protects and covers many of the body’s internal organs. Scientists and doctors believe that when someone is exposed to asbestos dust particles, these particles are breathed in and subsequently enter the lungs. Years, even decades, later, those particles can cause the cells of the mesothelium to become abnormal and eventually lead to mesothelioma cancer.
If you have recently been diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer, you may be entitled to receive compensation for the injuries you have suffered as a result of the cancer. Under the California laws of negligence, if someone that had a duty of care to you breaches that duty and causes injuries, then you may be entitled to compensation. In the case of asbestos related mesothelioma, if you once worked in any of the numerous industries that used asbestos, then your employer or the manufacturer of the products that contained the asbestos could be responsible for your injuries. According to California mesothelioma lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates, under a California personal injury lawsuit such as an asbestos related mesothelioma case, the victim may be entitled to economic and non-economic damages. “Damages” is a legal term that is used to refer to injuries. Economic damages generally include things that have a quantifiable numerical value such as medical bills or time lost from work due to the illness. Non-economic damages are what many people think of as pain and suffering. In addition, under some circumstances, punitive damages can be awarded when the judge believes that the defendant’s actions (or inactions) were particularly egregious and that the defendant acted with malice. California courts have led the way with some of the highest mesothelioma awards in the country and judges have not shied away from awarding punitive damages as part of those awards.
If you have recently been diagnosed with mesothelioma, seek the advice of an experienced California mesothelioma lawyer as soon as possible. While the statute of limitations for asbestos cases does not require that a lawsuit be filed shortly after exposure as many other personal injury cases require, it does require that you file a lawsuit within a short time after you have been diagnosed. For a free and confidential detailed evaluation of your mesothelioma case, contact the mesothelioma firm of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit them on the Internet at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: asbestos, california law, compensation, damages, defendant, duty of care, economic damages, emery, emery ledger, injury, juries, law, lawsuit, lawyer, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, lungs, malignant cancer cells, medical bill, medical bills, Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma lawyer, Negligence, numerical value, pain and suffering, Personal Injury, personal injury case, personal injury cases, personal injury law, personal injury lawsuit, ploy, punitive damages, states, statute of limitations, suffering
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Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
If you have recently lost your spouse, parent or other loved one as a result of mesothelioma cancer, you are not alone. What was once considered a very rare form of cancer has seen a sharp rise in prevalence in the last few decades. Experts point to the thousands of products that were produced with heavy amounts of asbestos in them during the last century as the main reason for the increase in mesothelioma cancer.
The link between asbestos and illness or even death has been known since the turn of the century. Sadly, no one did anything to limit workers’ exposure to the deadly asbestos dust particles until the 1980’s. In the meantime, millions of American workers in the auto industry, textile industry and construction industries were exposed to asbestos dust on a daily basis. For many workers, the exposure went on for decades. Millions of unsuspecting workers went to work every day for years not knowing that the very air they were breathing might cause them to die of mesothelioma cancer years, even decades, later. The risk associated with asbestos dust was sometimes even transferred to family members that lived in the same house when the dust was brought home on the worker’s skin or clothing.
Now, decades later, we are seeing a sharp increase in the number of people diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer. Doctor’s agree that the single biggest risk factor for mesothelioma cancer is previous exposure to asbestos – generally in the workplace. So where does that leave you if you have lost your spouse or another family member to this horrible cancer? Under the laws of the State of California, you may be entitled to file as a claimant in a wrongful death lawsuit, says attorney Emery Ledger of the mesothelioma law firm Ledger & Associates. As a claimant in a wrongful death lawsuit, you may be entitled to compensation for the loss of your loved one. Under the California wrongful death statutes, you may be entitled to compensation for the loss of financial and/or household support as a result of the death of your loved one. Whether your loved one worked outside of the house or inside the house, if you were dependant on their support to make your household run, then you may be entitled to compensation for that loss. You may also be entitled to compensation for the loss of love, comfort, companionship, affection, moral support, solace and consortium (if applicable). The exact value of your California wrongful death claim will depend on a number of factors including the age and health of the decedent aside from the cancer, your age and life expectancy, the length and type of relationship you had with the decedent and many other factors. Only an experienced California mesothelioma lawyer can evaluate your specific case and advise you what it may be worth.
If your loved one lost his life as a result of someone else putting him in harms way, then they should be held accountable. Remember that there is a limited amount of time within which to file a claim under California law so time is of the essence. Contact a mesothelioma law firm today.
Tags: california law, claim, claimant, companionship, compensation, death lawsuit, decedent, family members, law, lawsuit, lawyer, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma lawyer, risk, state of california, wrongful death, wrongful death case, wrongful death claim, wrongful death law, wrongful death laws, wrongful death lawsuit
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Monday, June 14th, 2010
If you have recently lost a loved one to mesothelioma cancer, you are undoubtedly going through a range of difficult emotions. Losing a loved one under any circumstances is one of the most difficult things that can happen to us. When you lose a loved one to cancer that may have been caused by their exposure to toxic materials at their job, it can be even more difficult and frustrating. To make matters even worse, with mesothelioma, the exposure to asbestos may have been as long as 30 years ago or more. While mesothelioma may take years, even decades, to metastasize into cancer, it can turn deadly rather quickly. Understandably, the surviving family members are left feeling angry and frustrated as well as financially unstable sometimes due to the death of their loved one.
Clearly, people should not be subjected to cancer causing materials as a result of simply doing their jobs. The federal government finally initiated regulations governing the use and exposure to asbestos in the 1980’s – many decades after the first indications were discovered that asbestos was potentially deadly. For many, however, these regulations came too late. If your loved one died from mesothelioma, it could be that their exposure to the asbestos that caused the cancer dates back to the 1970’s or even before then. Unlike many other cancer causing agents, asbestos can be present in your system for decades before it finally turns your cells to cancer causing cells. For this reason, many family members of mesothelioma victims believe that it is too late to do anything about the cause of the mesothelioma. That may not be the case in the State of California.
While it is true that most lawsuits for wrongful must be commenced within a short time from the date of the accident or injury that caused the death, in the case of a death caused by exposure to asbestos the statute of limitations (time to initiate the lawsuit) is a little different. California Code Section 340.2 reads as follows:
(c) In an action for the wrongful death of any plaintiff’s
decedent, based upon exposure to asbestos, the time for commencement
of an action shall be the later of the following:
(1) Within one year from the date of the death of the plaintiff’s
decedent.
(2) Within one year from the date the plaintiff first knew, or
through the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known, that
the death was caused or contributed to by such exposure.
What this may mean for you as a surviving family member is that regardless of whether the exposure to asbestos was 30 years ago, if your family member recently passed away as a result of that exposure, you may still be entitled to file as a claimant in a California wrongful death lawsuit says California mesothelioma lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates.
As a claimant in a wrongful death lawsuit, you may be entitled to compensation for the loss of financial as well as emotional support due to the death of your loved one. If someone else was responsible for the death of your loved one, you owe it to yourself and your family to hold them accountable. For a free detailed evaluation of your potential mesothelioma wrongful death case, contact California mesothelioma lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: asbestos, cancer causing agents, death lawsuit, decedent, family members, injury, law, lawsuit, lawsuits, lawyer, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, Mesothelioma, mesothelioma cancer, Mesothelioma lawyer, mesothelioma victims, plaintiff, statute of limitations, surviving family, toxic materials, wrongful death, wrongful death case, wrongful death law, wrongful death laws, wrongful death lawsuit
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Saturday, June 5th, 2010
If you are suffering from mesothelioma, then you may already have some idea of how expensive the treatment will ultimately be. As with most cancers, there is no known cure for mesothelioma. Doctors can aggressively attack the cancer with drugs, radiation and chemotherapy as well as alternative medicines and cutting edge therapy, but the survival rate is not high and the cost of that treatment can be exorbitant.
Mesothelioma was once considered a very rare form of cancer that attacks the mesothelium – a sac that surrounds and protects many of our internal organs including our lungs. In recent years, the number of mesothelioma diagnoses has risen dramatically with even more cases expected to surface over the next couple of decades. The reason for the rise in cases over the past couple of decades is that unlike most cancers, mesothelioma has an extremely long latency period – in some cases as long as 50 years. The cancer’s long latency period means that the patients being diagnosed today were most likely exposed to asbestos in their work environment decades ago. While it is possible to develop mesothelioma without exposure to asbestos, doctors and scientists all agree that the biggest risk factor for developing the cancer is asbestos exposure. As many as 90% of all mesothelioma cases can be traced back to asbestos exposure.
The cost for treatment of mesothelioma can run over one million dollars. The cancer fighting drugs that are used to try and combat the cancer can cost over $5,000 per round of treatment. Gene therapy, another possible treatment for mesothelioma patients can run from $150,000 to $950,000 with no guarantee of success. Clearly, the cost to the patient for treating mesothelioma can quickly exceed what many people earn in a lifetime. Why should you be responsible for paying the cost to treat a disease that was likely caused by the negligence of someone else?
The laws of California allow victims to sue a negligent party for injuries and damages caused by that negligence. According to California personal injury lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates, California law has a special statute dedicated to victims of asbestos related injuries. Under the asbestos statute, victims of asbestos related injuries may file a lawsuit up to one year after suffering from a disability related to the asbestos or within a year after they reasonably should have known they were suffering from a disability related to the exposure to asbestos. What this means for mesothelioma sufferers is that even if your exposure to the asbestos was 30 years ago, if you have just now been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you may still be able to file a lawsuit against the manufacturers of the products that contained the asbestos or your employer – both. If you are successful in your lawsuit, you may receive compensation for your injuries and your pain and suffering. Under California law, a negligent party can be held responsible for all the medical bills associated with the injuries that they caused which would go a long way in easing the burden on you – the victim.
If you believe that you are a victim of asbestos related mesothelioma and would like to explore your legal options, contact California personal injury lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit his website at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: asbestos claim, attorney, california law, compensation, damages, emery, emery ledger, injury, juries, law, lawsuit, lawyer, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, legal options, lungs, medical bill, medical bills, Mesothelioma, mesothelium, Negligence, options, pain and suffering, Personal Injury, personal injury attorney, personal injury law, personal injury lawyer, suffering
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Friday, June 4th, 2010
Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that occurs when the cells of the mesothelium become abnormal and start to divide out of control. The mesothelium is essentially a protective sac that covers and protects many of your internal organs. While mesothelioma was once considered a very rare type of cancer, it has become more prevalent in the past few decades. Doctors and scientists attribute that fact that they are seeing more cases of mesothelioma to the fact that millions of workers were exposed to asbestos in decades past as part of their work in construction, textile, automotive and other trades. Although scientists were aware of a potential connection between exposure to asbestos and cancer as early as the beginning of the 20th century, regulations were not enacted until the 1980’s to protect workers from inhaling the potentially deadly particles.
One of the unique characteristics of mesothelioma, and what makes it most troublesome, is that there can be a lapse of 20 to 30 years from the time you are exposed to asbestos and the time symptoms appear and a diagnosis is made. So what can you do if you have recently been diagnosed with mesothelioma and you believe that the cause may be exposure to asbestos in your work environment many years ago?
Normally, tort claims (injury claims) must be commenced within two years from the date of the injury or incident under California law, according to mesothelioma lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates. In the case of exposure to asbestos, however, the statute of limitations (time within which you must file a lawsuit) works a little differently in order to take into account the very long incubation period of the cancer. California Code of Civil Procedure Section 340.02 reads as follows:
(a) In any civil action for injury or illness based upon
exposure to asbestos, the time for the commencement of the action
shall be the later of the following:
(1) Within one year after the date the plaintiff first suffered
disability.
(2) Within one year after the date the plaintiff either knew, or
through the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known, that
such disability was caused or contributed to by such exposure.
.
What this means for anyone that has recently been diagnosed with mesothelioma is that they may still be able to file a lawsuit for the injuries they have suffered or are continuing to suffer as a result of exposure to asbestos. If you were exposed to asbestos in the workplace, you may be entitled to receive compensation from your employer or the manufacturer of the products that contained asbestos. As you may already know, the cost of treating mesothelioma can be quite expensive. If your illness was caused by exposure to asbestos, shouldn’t the culpable party be held accountable and at least help to pay for your treatment?
If you have additional questions about your legal options, please contact California mesothelioma lawyer Emery Ledger at Ledger & Associates. Schedule your free detailed evaluation by calling 1-800-300-0001 or visit him online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: asbestos, california code of civil procedure, california law, civil procedure section, claim, compensation, culpa, deadly particles, doctors, emery, emery ledger, injury, injury claim, juries, law, lawsuit, lawyer, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, legal options, Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma lawyer, mesothelium, plaintiff, statute of limitations, text, tort claim, type of cancer
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Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
If you, or someone close to you, has been diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer, you probably already know that there is an excellent chance that the cancer developed from exposure to asbestos many years ago – probably in a work setting. What you may not know is that despite that fact that the exposure to the asbestos that caused the cancer may have been decades ago, you may still be entitled to receive compensation for the cancer that it is causing now. According the California personal injury lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates says that under California negligence laws, it may not be too late to file a mesothelioma negligence lawsuit.
Negligence is a legal term used to describe fault. In order for someone – a person, entity or company – to be found negligent, you must meet four basic elements. First, the defendant (person, entity or company you are suing) must have owed a duty of care to the plaintiff (you). Second, the defendant must have breached that duty of care. Third, that breach must be the cause, or one of the causes of the injuries you have suffered. Last, you must prove damages. Damages refers to injuries, either physical or emotional, that you have suffered as a result of the defendants’ actions or inactions. The laws of negligence are extremely complicated and case specific, however a general idea of how they apply in mesothelioma cases can be summed up as follows: In mesothelioma cases, negligence is often found as a result of a duty of care that was owed to you as an employee or as someone that was handling the materials used in your work. The breach of care comes in because the materials you were using had high levels of asbestos in them causing you to inhale asbestos dust. That asbestos dust eventually found its way to your lungs and over a period of years or decades caused the mesothelioma cancer that you are now suffering from.
California uses a form of negligence known as comparative negligence. What this means is that more than one defendant can be responsible for the damages you have suffered. Additionally, you can even share some of the blame for your injuries – as long as the other defendants were MORE responsible then you may still be entitled to compensation. In the case of mesothelioma cancer, it is often the case that a previous employer as well as numerous manufacturers of asbestos laden materials all share a part of the negligence for your injuries.
While many personal injury cases must be filed within a relatively short time period after the incident that gave rise to the injuries, the California legislature has enacted a special rule for asbestos cases. Under California law, the time frame for the statute of limitations does not begin until you suffer from a disability associated with the cancer or should have known that you were suffering from a disability associated with the cancer. What this may mean for you is that even if your exposure to asbestos was many years ago, if you are just now suffering the effects of the exposure then you may still be entitled to file a lawsuit and receive compensation for your injuries.
For additional information about asbestos related mesothelioma, feel free to contact California personal injury lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates through his website at www.ledgerlaw.com or at his toll-free number 1-800-300-0001
Tags: asbestos, california law, comparative negligence, compensation, damages, defendant, duty of care, emery, emery ledger, fault, injury, juries, law, lawsuit, lawyer, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, lungs injury, Mesothelioma, Negligence, Personal Injury, personal injury attorney, personal injury case, personal injury cases, personal injury law, personal injury lawyer, plaintiff, statute of limitations
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Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
Mesothelioma is a very rare, but very aggressive form of cancer. Scientists are still studying the exact mechanism that takes place inside our bodies to cause the cancer, but almost everyone agrees that the largest risk factor for being diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma is past exposure to asbestos. Although doctors and scientists have known of the potential link between asbestos and mesothelioma since the early 1900’s, thousands of products continued to be manufactured with asbestos until fairly recently. Asbestos was routinely used in the manufacture of cars, textiles and in many of the construction trades until the United States government finally stepped in the 1980’s and began to regulate the use of and exposure to asbestos.
What makes pinpointing the cause of mesothelioma even harder is that it can takes years, even decades to produce symptoms in your body. You would have been exposed to asbestos 30 years ago and just now receive a diagnosis of mesothelioma. The damage from asbestos is caused when someone breaths in the asbestos particles that are found in a plant or construction site where asbestos products are used. When someone breathes in the asbestos fibers, the fibers eventually reach the end of the small airways where they penetrate into the pleura (the lining of the lungs). The asbestos fibers may then injure the medothelial cells that surround the lungs and eventually cause cancerous cells to grow and become mesothelioma.
For years, workers in the construction, textile or automotive trades worked in asbestos filled environments without ever knowing the dangers. The symptoms of mesothelioma are extremely slow to show up in the human body and someone can live with mesothelioma precursor cells in their body for decades without knowing they have contracted the cancer. If you are concerned that you may have been exposed to asbestos over your lifetime, or you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you should contact an experienced California mesothelioma lawyer as soon as possible. While most personal injury cases have a relatively short statute of limitations (time within which you must file a lawsuit), asbestos cases are treated differently for statute of limitations purposes due to the extremely long incubation period of the disease. Only an experienced mesothelioma lawyer can tell you whether you may be able to file a lawsuit for the damages you have suffered as a result of exposure to asbestos. If you were exposed to asbestos at your job, and that exposure ultimately caused you to be diagnosed with mesothelioma, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. Compensation may include payment of your medical bills as well as additional compensation for the suffering you have endured as a result of the exposure.
If you are suffering from mesothelioma, chances are good that your present or past employment caused the cancer. Workers should not have to worry that doing their job can cause them to suffer from cancer 20 or 30 years down the road. If you would like to know more about your legal options as a mesothelioma sufferer, please contact California mesothelioma lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit him online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: asbestos, asbestos fibers, auto, cancerous cell, cancerous cells, cars, compensation, damages, doctors, emery, emery ledger, fibers, human body, injury, juries, law, lawsuit, lawyer, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, legal options, lungs, medical bill, medical bills, Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma lawyer, options, Personal Injury, personal injury case, personal injury cases, statute of limitations
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