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We know today that asbestos is anything but safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, asbestos production was once a multibillion-dollar industry. Companies across the United States used asbestos for a wide range of purposes. Asbestos was baked, caked, and woven into a variety of products, from vinyl floor tiles to Kent cigarette filters<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Nobody knows exactly how many workers\u2014in mines, on assembly lines, and in repair shops\u2014were exposed to asbestos. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, though, estimates that 27 million hardworking Americans<\/a> worked with or around asbestos between 1940 and 1979. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even now, decades after the E.P.A. proposed its first asbestos ban<\/a>, countless men, women, and children remain at-risk for asbestos-related disease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While courts have long since affirmed the rights of victims to obtain compensation from negligent asbestos companies, negotiating a fair settlement or securing a financial judgment is rarely easy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When asbestos companies and their attorneys refuse to negotiate in good faith, victims must often rely on expert testimony to assert their rights and begin reclaiming their lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Asbestos is a class of naturally-occurring mineral that can be found across the United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Every type of asbestos mineral<\/a> has its own unique characteristics, but they all share certain qualities. All asbestos minerals are, for instance, comprised of thin and separable fibers<\/a>. These fibers are strong, heat-resistant, and insulative<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, in spite of their strength, asbestos fibers are extraordinarily flexible. They can be woven into cloth, or combined with other compounds to produce a startling array of industrial goods and consumer products<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After the end of the Second World War, the United States began producing ever-growing quantities of asbestos. It was used to make items including, but not limited to, the following: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Asbestos-containing materials were, for decades, both prevalent and pervasive. They could be found anywhere and everywhere, from store shelves to office buildings and classrooms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, even after the federal government began taking action against the asbestos industry<\/a>, change was gradual and hard-won. Many American continued to work with asbestos for years, while many still live with and around it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Nobody knows exactly how many people were exposed to asbestos over the course of the 20th<\/sup> century, but the number is likely in the tens of millions<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Asbestos was so prized for its strength and resilience that it was once termed a \u201cmiracle mineral<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n While many asbestos-containing materials stay stable for years, many eventually crumble under the passage and pressure of time. Crumbled asbestos, or friable asbestos<\/em><\/a>, can aerosolize upon contact, potentially dispersing into the air and scattering across the surrounding environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Since aerosolized asbestos particles are microscopic, they are small enough to be inadvertently inhaled. Once inside the body, they can wreak havoc, embedding themselves deep within the lungs and gradually infiltrating other organs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Asbestos exposure has been associated with medical conditions including, but not limited to, the following: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Asbestosis<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Asbestosis is a respiratory disorder caused by exposure to high levels of asbestos fiber<\/a>. Over time, these fibers can become trapped in the alveoli, the small air sacs at the end of the airways. Asbestosis is not life-threatening, but it can cause serious symptoms including difficulty breathing, clubbed fingers and toes, and weight loss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cancer<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Asbestos fibers embedded in the lungs and other parts of the body can provoke an unnatural and ineffective immune system response. This response can cause both scarring and inflammation and, eventually, abnormal cellular replication. When cells divide uncontrollably, they can form tumors. Asbestos exposure has been linked to many different types of cancer, including cancers of the lungs<\/a>, esophagus<\/a>, and ovaries<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is a common long condition that causes restricted airflow and other breathing problems<\/a>. Researchers have found that people who have been exposed to asbestos are diagnosed with COPD at far higher rates<\/a> than the general population. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare and unusually aggressive cancer that is almost always caused by asbestos exposure. It affects the pleurae, the membranous lining around the lungs and most other major organs. According to the American Cancer Society, the overall 5-year survival rate for this disease is less than 12%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pleural disease refers to a set of disparate conditions, including pleural plaques and pleural effusions. These conditions can be physically painful and destroy patients\u2019 quality-of-life. While they are not usually life-threatening, they can forewarn more serious complications like mesothelioma. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The asbestos industry spent a better part of a century actively denying that its products were anything but safe. Even when confronted with evidence, asbestos companies refused to back down. Instead of reviewing reports, warning workers, or issuing recalls, they sought to suppress emerging research<\/a>, spending millions to influence Congress and corrupt federal regulators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, while the asbestos industry may have publicly maintained its innocence, its highest-level decision-makers had already investigated asbestos\u2019s dangers. They knew, long before their own employees, that asbestos could cause problems far exceeding an uncomfortable cough or difficulty breathing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Asbestos-related lawsuits became commonplace in the 1970s and 1980s, with courts quickly determining that asbestos companies had a duty to warn<\/a> the public of the risks of asbestos exposure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Since most asbestos companies abrogated this duty by actively suppressing evidence that asbestos was unsafe, courts began issuing rulings against the asbestos industry, saying that many companies must be held liable for the costs of asbestos-related injuries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Liability is typically enforced<\/a> through: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Courts across the country have long since affirmed that asbestos victims have a right to obtain compensation for their injuries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, securing compensation is rarely easy. Even asbestos trusts often demand that claimants submit compelling proof that their injuries were more likely than not caused by exposure to a certain asbestos product or in a particular asbestos-affected workplace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While different types of asbestos-related claims must satisfy different criteria to prevail, most victims must be able to establish<\/a> the following: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most asbestos-related claims that cannot be resolved through pre-trial negotiations<\/a> proceed to court. The success of a lawsuit is, in many cases, contingent on the quality and quantity of available evidence. This evidence often includes witness testimony. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, witness testimony can take either of the following forms: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Expert witness testimony is comparably common in asbestos claims, since experts\u2014like doctors, or industrial specialists\u2014can offer unique insight into how victims may have been exposed to asbestos<\/a>, and how their lives could change as a result. <\/p>\n\n\n\nDuring the asbestos industry\u2019s peak, companies extracted and processed nearly 300 million pounds of asbestos annually.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Understanding Asbestos<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The Medical Dangers of Asbestos <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
However, asbestos\u2019s strength is also its greatest weakness. <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Pleural Disease<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Asbestos Litigation in the United States <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Although these multimillion-dollar businesses escaped accountability for the better part of a century, revelations about asbestos\u2019s dangers brought many former asbestos workers to court. <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Various Ways to Obtain Compensation for Asbestos Claims<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Understanding the Different Types of Witnesses in an Asbestos Claim<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If an asbestos company or asbestos trust refuses to negotiate in good faith, victims may have to initiate litigation. <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The Role of Expert Witnesses in Asbestos Claims <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n