What you can do after your diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis from asbestos

After your diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis from asbestos, you want to remember that you are not alone.  Like many other hard working Americans you were carelessly exposed to asbestos on your job site by companies who neglected to follow proper safety procedures or blatantly ignored them. Sadly, these cases of occupational asbestos exposure go back many decades. A report by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit organization that specializes in environmental research, revealed that by the 1950s and 1960s, many American companies were already fully aware of the potentially fatal consequences of working with and around asbestos, yet millions of workers were exposed to the deadly carcinogen at their workplaces with virtually no health protections.

According to the EWG, in 1949, a major US corporation admitted in an official company document that it knew that asbestos caused pulmonary fibrosis and other diseases including lung cancer. “This relatively early admission…foretold literally hundreds of thousands of deaths from asbestos in subsequent decades, mortality that continues today in the United States at a rate of at least 5,000 deaths per year. In line with the policies of all asbestos users and manufacturers, this information was under the banner: "COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL: Not For Publication In Present Form."

As one of the nation’s leading personal injury law firms Weitz & Luxenberg has handled asbestos litigation cases for over two decades, securing over $3 billion in settlements and settlements for clients just like you. We believe in pursuing rightful compensation for the many Americans who, like you, were negligently and callously exposed to disease-causing asbestos.

Occupational asbestos exposure: a major cause of pulmonary fibrosis

About 140,000 Americans have been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis according to the Lung Association. Similar to you or your family member, it is people between the ages 50 to 75 who are most likely to be affected.

The disease is also known by many different names such as interstitial pulmonary fibrosis, which is perhaps the most common, but other terms often used include: "fibrosing alveolitis", "interstitial pneumonitis" and "Hamman-Rich syndrome."

Although pulmonary fibrosis can develop from several causes, the most frequent cases are related to occupational diseases, particularly those that involve working with asbestos.

In these cases, small needle-like asbestos particles are inhaled, and they damage the alveoli and cause fibrosis. This scarring of the lung from pulmonary fibrosis can also lead to lung cancer reported the Lung Association. Related to this connection between the two diseases, the lung disease organization also added that “cigarette smoking has an interactive relationship with asbestos — the asbestos worker who smokes has a much higher chance of developing lung cancer than does the non-smoker.”

Let us help you seek compensation for your illness

Weitz & Luxenberg understands the asbestos problem. We understand the sense of betrayal and shock a person feels when they realize that it was asbestos that caused his or her illness. Asbestos was a substance that many workers like you handled with bare hands and no proper safety equipment because they were never informed of the danger.

Weitz & Luxenberg can help you seek compensation. We have a team of skilled attorneys with a wealth of knowledge concerning asbestos-related diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis.

Let us help you can receive compensation for injuries that can go to help with medical bills and other expenses related to your illness. You can hold the companies who got you sick accountable. To get started, simply fill out the form on this page. A representative from our firm will review your case and get in touch with shortly you for your free legal consultation. There is no need to wait – contact Weitz & Luxenberg today. 

Sources:

http://www.ewg.org/sites/asbestos/facts/fact3.php

http://www.lungusa.org/lung-disease/pulmonary-fibrosis/understanding-pulmonary.html