It has now been a common knowledge that exposure to asbestos may cause serious health problems. One of these problems is malignant mesothelioma which is a rare form of cancer.

Mesothelium is a lining that covers certain organs in the body such as the lungs (pleura), heart (pericardium) and abdominal cavity (peritoneum). Mesothelioma or malignant mesothelioma is cancer that develops from the mesothelium. Just like other cancer cells, they may spread and affect other parts of the body and the treatment and evaluation of the disease depends on the form of the mesothelioma that the patient has.

Symptoms

A victim of malignant mesothelioma may experience non-specific symptoms, or symptoms that also appear in other kinds of diseases, such as shortness of breath, abdominal pain, and swelling or weight loss. Anemia could also be a symptom, as well as bowel obstruction, fever, and night sweats. That is why sometimes it takes a while for the disease to be diagnosed unless there is a known specific probable cause. It may even take 10 to 50 years until the symptoms emerge.

Risk Factors

This rare form of cancer suddenly saw an increase in the number of those afflicted within the past 20 years. Most of the victims of this disease have acquired it through years of working in jobs where they were exposed to asbestos. The longer that a person has been exposed to asbestos, the higher the chances that they may develop this disease. However, there have been some reports of individuals who have acquired the disease even if they have only been briefly exposed to asbestos.

Filing an Injury Claim

Since people would generally not be aware of the risks they have been exposed to, certain states enacted laws when the statute of limitations for filing a suit starts from the time of the detection of the disease, and not the time of the exposure. This is because it may at times take years before the symptoms show, such as in certain diseases such as mesothelioma. If you think that your medical condition is caused by exposure to toxic substances such as asbestos, consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer to find out what you can do.

Compensation for Asbestos Exposure Injuries

Personal injury laws seek to put an injured person back to the situation or place they were prior to the injury. But there are times when this is not possible. Exposure to asbestos may cause irreparable and permanent damage to the health such as cancer. For such cases, compensation may be in the form of money or economic compensation in the amount that is deemed equal to the victim’s damage. There may be other noneconomic compensation for certain cases.

Read about asbestos in this overview of legal options available to those who may be seeking compensation for claims related to injuries caused by asbestos.

Getting Help

Consult with an experienced asbestos/mesothelioma attorney as soon as possible if you know or suspect that you may be suffering from injuries or health problems caused by asbestos.