Asbestos
Asbestos is an insulating material that is actually a type of rock that is made of billions of microscopic fibers. It is fireproof and strong. It is impervious to acid. It is a great insulator. Because of the physical and chemical properties, it was used in thousands of industrial and consumer products from the 1800s until the 1990’s. Asbestos’ heyday was in the 1950s to the 1970’s when it was used in virtually every type of product you could think of from pipe insulation to cars and trucks brake pads.
In the 1970’s it finally started coming out that asbestos was a silent killer. The asbestos companies had known it was a killer for decades, but had done everything they could to hide that from the government and the public.
In the 1970’s it finally started coming out that asbestos was a silent killer. The asbestos companies had known it was a killer for decades, but had done everything they could to hide that from the government and the public.
Asbestos gradually stopped being used in new products, but because it is virtually indestructible, it remains in place in hundreds of thousands of homes and business places and cars throughout the country.
Every year, thousands of people are diagnosed with mesothelioma, the cancer of the lining of the lungs or the lining of the digestive tract. Mesothelioma is always fatal, though there are some treatments that can prolong life enough to let the victim spend precious months with their family and friends.
Asbestos disease takes decades to show its face and strike down the tradesman who worked with or around asbestos, or the consumer who handled products made of asbestos. The same properties that made asbestos so widely used also make it so dangerous. The microscopic asbestos fibers that get into people’s lungs can stay there for decades before causing asbestosis or cancer. The fibers can get into the lining around the lungs and around the gut and cause mesothelioma, a fatal cancer only caused by asbestos.
After decades of litigation, the main asbestos companies have set up trust funds to compensate victims of asbestos disease. As new cases of asbestos disease – asbestosis, lung cancer, throat cancer, mesothelioma – are diagnosed, claims may be brought against the billions of dollars in the asbestos trusts. And, lawsuits can be brought against the asbestos companies that are still in business.
We have litigated asbestos cases for a combined two decades, cases involving product manufactures and the owners of industrial sites where asbestos was used.
If you or a loved one is diagnosed with lung cancer, mesothelioma, or asbestosis, and worked in an industrial facility, or was in one of the following trades, call us for a free consultation:
- Auto mechanic
- Plumber/pipefitter
- Carpenter
- Scaffold builder
- Laborer
- Insulator
- Electrician
If you or a loved one was exposed to asbestos in a home setting, on car or truck brakes, ripping up floor tiles, or disturbing pipe insulation, contact us for a free evaluation.
We have litigated hundreds of asbestos and mesothelioma cases, know the ins and outs of industry and the defense tactics to defeat these types of cases and have years of experience in the Texas and Federal Multi-District Asbestos Litigations.
Bezene
Benzene is an industrial solvent that causes the blood cancers Acute-Mylgenous Leukemia (AML), Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), and Aplastic Anemia (AA). These blood cancers arise decades after exposure to benzene and products containing benzene, like the solvent Naptha.
Benzene is a common industrial chemical that is made either as a byproduct of oil manufacturing or in the steel manufacturing process. Companies have known that benzene can cause blood cancer since the 1970’s and know that it can cause blood cancer since the early 1900s.
Benzene is a common industrial chemical that is made either as a byproduct of oil manufacturing or in the steel manufacturing process. Companies have known that benzene can cause blood cancer since the 1970’s and know that it can cause blood cancer since the early 1900s. Benzene is still in wide industrial use and is still traded as a commodity. It is used frequently in “clean rooms” where silicon computer chips are manufactured. Workers are required to wear protective gear now when handling benzene, but that wasn’t always the case.
Workers were exposed to dangerous levels of benzene in tire manufacturing plants, rubber manufacturing plants, and in industrial shops where degreasing agents are used (painters, mechanics). The blood cancer caused by these exposures develop decades later.
We have years of experience litigating benzene-exposure cases, know the industries and the highly specialized science.
If you or a loved one was exposed to benzene or industrial solvents, and is diagnosed with Acute-Myelogenous Leukemia (AML), Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), and Aplastic Anemia (AA), give us call or send an email for a free consultation.
