Oklahoma City Mesothelioma Attorney

The builders, miners, and other blue-collar workers who helped build Oklahoma were fully aware of most of the risks they took. However, they were largely aware of mesothelioma, which may have been the most serious risk they faced. These rare and aggressive cancerous tumors, which normally form between the heart and lungs, are usually untreatable and fatal. Making matters worse, many mesothelioma victims are diagnosed very late in life, just as they are making plans to enjoy their final years.

The compassionate Oklahoma City mesothelioma attorneys at the Throneberry Law Group understand the immense pain and suffering their victims and their families must face. This understanding motivates us to find fast and efficient solutions. Normally, victims and survivors have several legal options. So, we carefully, yet quickly, evaluate your situation and diligently fight for you in court.

The first white settlers came to Oklahoma City in the late 1880s, looking for land and petroleum. They found plenty of both. At roughly the same time, newfangled contraptions made asbestos mining cheaper and more efficient than ever. As a result, Oklahoma City has some of the most asbestos hot spots in the country, such as:

• Hudson Refinery: According to the EPA, “loose and friable asbestos-containing material” contaminated this entire Superfund site. The EPA and Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality did not finish the cleanup until 1999, even though the plant closed in 1982.
• Tinker Air Force Base: Tinker AFB is one of many Air Force bases where dangerous asbestos exposure has occurred. Asbestos materials were used in plane parts such as engines, brake pads, and gaskets. This resulted in a risk of exposure for Air Force pilots and aircraft mechanics. Asbestos exposure also occurred in military housing at Tinker AFB.
• Belle Isle School: Asbestos does not conduct heat or noise. Therefore, before the 1990s, when the government banned the practice, builders packed schools with asbestos, not only in the attic, wieing, and piping insulation but also in floor and ceiling tiles.

Other known asbestos hot spots in the area include the Skirvin Hotel, St. Anthony Hospital, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, and the Standard Asbestos Manufacturing and Insulating Company.

All workers at these facilities risked asbestos exposure. The people they lived with and around were at risk as well.

Many petroleum and other industrial workers did not wear PPE (personal protective equipment) that completely covered their bodies. Partial PPE, like a breath or face mask, only provided partial protection. Microscopic asbestos fibers can easily enter the body through tiny orifices, such as the tear ducts or skin pores.

Sometimes, fibers remain on a worker’s clothes instead of absorbing into the worker’s body. These stray asbestos fibers put other workers at the facility, such as drivers, clerical workers, and managers, at risk. These individuals usually never wore any PPE.

Asbestos fibers are only slightly heavier than air. So, they often float for at least seventy-two hours before they come to rest. In that time, they could easily drift to nearby churches, hospitals, grocery stores, and other public buildings.

The people who lived with at-risk workers were vulnerable as well. Many workers unintentionally carried tiny fibers home on their shoes or in their hair.

An Oklahoma City mesothelioma lawyer can obtain compensation for all these victims, often without even filing a court case.

A single asbestos fiber could cause mesothelioma or another serious disease that is usually fatal. For a free consultation with an experienced Oklahoma City mesothelioma lawyer, contact the Throneberry Law Group. We handle these claims on a nationwide basis.