Asbestos Poisoning

Asbestos poisoning is a term used for the impact that asbestos exposure can have on humans.  Its toxicity stems from the fact that the microscopic fibers which make up asbestos in its pure form can have a devastating impact on human health when they are inhaled or ingested.

How Does Asbestos Poisoning Occur?

When a person inhales or accidently swallows asbestos, there is no immediate reaction as with toxins that are usually referred to as poisons; in fact, if you were to swallow or inhale asbestos fibers you probably wouldn’t notice.  They are invisible to the human eye and light enough to stay afloat in a cloud of dust for a long period.  Asbestos poisoning is the result of asbestos fibers becoming lodged in the human body, which is unable to expel them through natural methods. 

What is the Impact of Asbestos Poisoning?

The three principal results of asbestos poisoning are asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer.  Asbestosis occurs when the asbestos fibers embedded in the inner lung tissue cause the tissue to harden and lose much of its ability to absorb oxygen.  The disease is progressive; an asbestosis victim will gradually loose lung capacity and the ability to engage in extended physical endeavors.

Mesothelioma is a deadly form of cancer that develops in the mesothelium, a membrane that lines the body’s chest and abdominal cavities.  Sections of this membrane also wrap around the lungs and form a sac around the heart, for protective purposes.  When asbestos fibers lodge in the mesothelium they can cause the development of malformed cells that are malignant and that multiply uncontrollably.  Pleural mesothelioma, or cancer in the outer lining of the lung, is the most common form of the disease.

Lung cancer can also develop from asbestos fibers lodged in the lungs.  When mesothelioma is in its advanced stages, tumors begin to develop in nearby tissues and organs.  The lungs are just beneath the cancerous tissue that develops with pleural mesothelioma, and lung cancer – malignant tumors within the lung – can be caused by metastatic mesothelioma.  However it is also true that asbestos poisoning in the lungs can cause lung cancer or be a contributing cause, especially with smokers who have been exposed to asbestos fibers and who develop lung cancer.

When will I know if I have Asbestos Poisoning?

One of the unusual characteristics of asbestos-caused diseases is the length of time that they take to develop after a person has inhaled or ingested asbestos fibers.  The latency period for mesothelioma is between twenty and forty years.  Someone who inhaled asbestos-laden dust on a construction site while in his late twenties may begin to show symptoms of mesothelioma well after he has retired. 

Asbestosis can take twenty years to develop, as can asbestos-related lung cancer.  Asbestos poisoning also shares early symptoms with many other, more common diseases such as pneumonia and COPD.  Tightness in the chest, a persistent dry cough, shortness of breath and chest pain all are characteristics of asbestos diseases – and many others as well.  That means that asbestos diseases often aren’t diagnosed until they have developed into a major health problem.

Are these Asbestos Diseases Curable?

Both asbestosis and mesothelioma are progressive, incurable diseases.  Asbestosis grows slowly worse over a long period of time, while mesothelioma is a very aggressive malignancy.  The average survival time for a mesothelioma patient after diagnosis is between twelve and fifteen months.  Lung cancer isn’t curable, but many patients live long and active lives after being treated for lung cancer if it is caught at an early stage.

Know your Legal Rights

Because asbestos has done such severe damage to so many thousands of Americans, the companies that manufactured and used asbestos products have been sued hundreds of thousands of times by individuals who have suffered asbestos poisoning.  Asbestos companies have spent over $200 billion paying off asbestos poisoning claims. 

If you are one of those people you should consult with an experienced asbestos attorney.  Give us a call today or fill out our brief form on this page and we’ll provide you with an in-depth analysis of your case at no charge.