People in Indiana have simple values. They expect honest pay for an honest day’s work. Unfortunately, asbestos providers, and the companies that used asbestos-laced products, did not share those values. These companies expected honest work but they did not pay an honest wage. Specifically, they lied about the adverse health effects of asbestos for decades. That conspiracy, like all other conspiracies, eventually unraveled, paving the way for victims to obtain compensation for their injuries.
This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. The dedicated Indianapolis mesothelioma attorneys at the Throneberry Law Group can obtain additional punitive damages as well, at least in many cases. These damages are available if the victim proves, by clear and convincing evidence, that the defendant intentionally disregarded a known risk.
Indianapolis Asbestos Hotspots
A 2023 fire at the My Way Trading Warehouse, which produced a toxic cloud that blanketed parts of Indiana and Ohio, called attention to the many asbestos hotspots in and around Indianapolis. These hotspots include:
- Raybestos Friction Materials Company,
- General Motors,
- Rolls Royce,
- Peerless Pump,
- Warrick Generating Station in Yankeetown,
- Nuturn Corporation,
- George Rogers Clark National Park,
- Dow AgroSciences,
- General Services Administration depot in Fort Wayne,
- Chemetron Corporation, and
- Federal Office Building in Evansville.
The aforementioned fire consumed two large warehouses. EPA investigators believed the smoke from this fire contained asbestos and many other harmful particles.
Such disasters, which are certainly not unique to Indianapolis, often spread asbestos across a wide area, infecting people with no relationship to the asbestos-containing facility. Such fires make it difficult, but certainly not impossible, for an Indianapolis mesothelioma attorney to pinpoint the source of the exposure.
Asbestos Exposure Illnesses
Asbestos exposure is the only known cause of mesothelioma. This rare and aggressive kind of cancer begins in the body’s meso linings, such as the lining that separates the heart and lungs. Tumors usually grow undetected for decades. Most mesothelioma victims do not show any visible lung cancer symptoms, like chronic serious pain, severe weight loss, and trouble breathing, for at least fifty years. As a result, by the time a doctor detects the tumor, it is probably untreatable.
Exposure to this toxin could also cause peritoneal mesothelioma (abdominal cancer). This disease is especially common in cross-contamination cases, such as women who used talcum powder laced with asbestos fibers.
Advanced surgical tactics and superheated chemotherapy drugs effectively combat peritoneal mesothelioma in many cases. However, many of these victims are in such poor physical condition that they cannot tolerate these aggressive treatments.
Other asbestos-exposure illnesses include lung diseases such as pleural thickening and asbestosis. Like mesothelioma, these diseases are normally serious and often untreatable.
As mentioned, the exposure source might be hard to pinpoint. Additionally, a reckless lifestyle or pre-existing condition, like smoking, might contribute to mesothelioma. Maximum compensation is usually available in these cases as long as an attorney proves that asbestos exposure substantially caused the victim’s illness.
Contact a Indianapolis Mesothelioma Attorney
Asbestos hotspots abound in an industrial center like the Midwest. For a free consultation with an experienced Indianapolis mesothelioma lawyer, contact the Throneberry Law Group. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.
