Washington State: Ranked No. 8 For Asbestos-Related Deaths

Washington state has the eighth highest rate of asbestos-related deaths of all states in the country, according to health statistics recorded between 1979 and 2001.

At least 1,730 people in Washington were killed by asbestos poisoning during this 22-year period. The number could be as high as 2,311, say government sources. Seattle, and four counties around this urban center, recorded the most incidences of asbestos-related deaths. In fact, all four counties adjacent to Seattle are on the government’s list of the Top 100 U.S. counties reporting fatalities from asbestos. They are: King County (ranked No. 4 in the nation), Kitsap County (No. 24), Pierce County (No. 28) and Snohomish County (No. 52).

Mesothelioma is the most serious form of asbestos cancers, affecting the lining of the lungs and often leading to death within months of being diagnosed. In the state of Washington, at least 806 persons died of mesothelioma between 1979 and 2001, but that figure could be as high as 1,387, say health experts.

In Seattle and the area around it (specifically the four counties cited above), at least 498 persons died from mesothelioma – a low estimate, say government sources, which figured the number was closer to 865. That means more than half of the mesothelioma deaths in Washington between 1979 and 2001 were clustered around Seattle.

Mesothelioma has a 20- to 50-year latency period, meaning that industrial workers exposed to asbestos in the 1960s and 1970s are just now being diagnosed positive. Shipyard workers, construction workers, auto mechanics and military veterans are at the greatest risk for asbestos poisoning, as these are the occupations in which asbestos use has been most prevalent.

The government predicts that in the next decade more than 35,000 people nationwide will be diagnosed with mesothelioma, most often the result of industrial workplace exposure to asbestos – and usually contracted through employers’ blatant disregard for health and safety.

That’s why victims diagnosed with mesothelioma and their families have strong cases against their former employers. If you have a mesothelioma injury, contact Weitz & Luxenberg for a complete free evaluation of your legal rights. Litigating asbestos-related health injuries is the firm’s strongest practice area.