Mesothelioma Legal Blog

Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive type of cancer that affects the mesothelium. The mesothelium is a layer of cells covering and protecting organs and tissues in the body. Mesothelioma commonly forms in the tissue covering the lungs and chest walls (pleura). This type of mesothelioma is called pleural mesothelioma. However, mesothelioma can also form in the tissue covering other organs. In this article, we discuss another type of mesothelioma known as peritoneal mesothelioma.

The risk of exposure to asbestos fibers is often associated with individuals who worked with or around products that contained asbestos. However, people who come in contact with workers who are exposed to asbestos fibers are also at risk of the dangers of asbestos. These dangers include the development of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related cancers. Asbestos was used in many products up until the 1980’s, when the dangers of it were universally recognized. Asbestos becomes dangerous when it is disturbed and releases microscopic fibers into the air.

Since the 1970s, the federal government has recognized the dangers asbestos poses to the health and safety of those who come in contact with it. To that end, the government empowered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to investigate asbestos contaminated sites across the country and force responsible parties to take accountability in the clean up effort. On December 11, 1980, Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), informally known as Superfund.

Chemotherapy is a common mesothelioma treatment. This form of treatment involves using drugs aimed at killing cancer cells and helping slow tumor growth. Cisplatin and pemetrexed is the most popular mesothelioma drug combination. Other chemo drugs that can be used to treat mesothelioma include carboplatin, vinorelbine, and gemcitabine. And while, often, chemo drugs are given as combinations of two drugs, single drugs can be used in patients who cannot tolerate more than one drug. Read on to learn more about chemotherapy for mesothelioma.

A jury in Savannah, Georgia recently awarded $2 million to the wife of a man who died of mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure. The victim spent years working in a pulp paper mill in Alabama, where the plaintiff’s attorney alleged he was exposed to asbestos contaminated asbestos gaskets and packing material manufactured by John Crane. During trial, the plaintiff’s lawyer explained to jurors that the defendant had been sued multiple times for asbestos-related injuries but never tested its products to determine if they were safe.

A New Jersey federal judge recently handed down an important ruling which will allow thousands of talcum powder asbestos cancer lawsuits to proceed against pharmaceutical and cosmetics giant Johnson & Johnson. The plaintiffs lawsuits allege that they developed serious forms of cancer, including mesothelioma, as a result of exposure to deadly asbestos fibers in Johnson & Johnson products such as the company’s iconic Baby Powder and Shower to Shower.