Medical studies: Pleural Mesothelioma

Pleural Mesothelioma: Introduction

About 2,000 people each year are diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is caused by preventable asbestos exposure due to the choices made by people in the asbestos industry. The vast majority of cases are due to employer neglect and the cover up of the dangers of asbestos that occurred during asbestos’ heyday during the 1940s-1970s.

Millions of people were exposed to asbestos for extended periods and are at risk of developing mesothelioma. For this reason the business of mesothelioma litigation has become a multibillion dollar industry. Many people come to know that their health was jeopardized by their employers just to profit off of what would become the victims’ suffering. The medical expenses to treat this incurable disease are so high, along with the physical pain and suffering, that people file lawsuits to be compensated and have their medical expenses handled by the companies that failed to protect them.

A military engineer was exposed to asbestos during his career as an officer aboard naval vessels. He was exposed to asbestos working in the engine rooms of ships (the boilers and insulation) and with the materials commonly used for the ships’ repairs. After years of service and asbestos exposure he retired and within a few years he started to develop serious health problems. He had trouble breathing and chest pain even though he’d never been a smoker. The doctors looked for evidence of lung disease but found nothing until he began to develop pleural effusion (fluid build up in the lung cavity).

When the fluid was tested and a biopsy was done he was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma and given a prognosis of 9-12 months to live. By this point treatment options were few and designed to keep him comfortable rather than trying to eradicate the disease. The expenses for treatment would exhaust his retirement savings and leave his widow with little to live on after he was gone.

He quickly filed a lawsuit against the company that produced the materials and won a 2 million dollar settlement and the coverage of his medical expenses.

About Pleural Mesothelioma

• Pleural mesothelioma is the most common form of mesothelioma.
• The latency period can be as few as 10 and up to 50 years so the exposure to asbestos which caused the disease may be long forgotten.
• It is often mistaken for any of a variety of diseases that have significantly lower mortality rates or may be benign. Pleural mesothelioma is often diagnosed after a build up of fluid in the lung cavity.
• Mesothelioma of any kind is always fatal; there is no known cure.
• The survival rate for mesothelioma is about 1 year from diagnosis, sometimes victims have only a few months to live when they find out they have the disease, and about 10% of patients survive 5 years.
• Treatment options include surgery to remove the affected tissue (in early diagnosis), radiation and chemotherapy.
• It is important to begin any litigation for pleural mesothelioma as soon as possible after diagnosis because the statute of limitations in most states is anywhere from 12 to 24 months.
• In case of death and a post mortem confirmation of pleural mesothelioma, close family members can sue on behalf of the deceased but must file within a year of the date of confirmation.