The multiple types of cancer make funding research difficult, said former AACR president Judy E. Garber.

“Cancer research is not a linear thing,” Garber said. “It’s not a process with a pathway you can predict.”

Garber said that the three biggest obstacles facing cancer research today are:

• Lack of funding
• Broad area of research
• Resource availability

Currently, lung cancer (including mesothelioma) receives more funding than any other kind of cancer. If you wish to support cancer research, here are two ways you can help:

1. Donate

If you are able to, many organizations like the American Cancer Society accept monetary donations. You can donate to a specific area of research like lung cancer or colon cancer, or you can let the organization decide where the money goes.

1. Volunteer

No matter your health history, cancer research organizations are always looking for more test subjects. You can volunteer some of your time to a cancer research study that could lead to medical breakthroughs.

We hope National Cancer Research Month brings some assistance to cancer researchers. Diseases like mesothelioma have claimed too many lives already.

Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP – mesothelioma attorneys

Claude Tomplait and his attorney Ward Stephenson filed America’s first asbestos lawsuit in Beaumont, Texas, on December 10, 1966. Tomplait, who worked with asbestos in Lake Charles, Louisiana, suffered from asbestosis. He sought damages from 11 manufacturers of asbestos products. The lawsuit claimed that the manufacturers knew how dangerous asbestos was to human lungs and yet they did nothing to let Tomplait or other asbestos workers know about the potential health risks.

During the litigation process, six of the 11 defendants were dropped from the case and the remaining five offered a settlement. Not exactly a landmark victory, but it paved the way for another lawsuit that would change the legal landscape forever. Three years later, attorney Stephenson went on to win a case for Tomplait’s coworker, Clarence Borel – a verdict for the plaintiff in the amount of $79,436.24. Adjusted for inflation: $385 million.

Asbestos lawsuits continue to flood the courts, and have netted somewhere between $200 and $250 billion for plaintiffs in over 600,000 asbestos lawsuits. After determining that exposure to asbestos can cause asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer, manufacturers have nearly phased out its use. Since symptoms of asbestos illnesses do not appear until long after the initial exposure, lawsuits are still commonplace in today’s courts.

Cappolino Dodd Krebs, LLP – asbestos attorneys

His family believes that the defense lawyers may have been partially responsible for Johnson’s passing. His doctor, mindful of his fragile condition, advised him to spend no more than 12 hours a week testifying in court.

When the defense attorneys asked for more time, the Los Angeles Superior Court gave it to them. Johnson spent a total of 25 hours in court that week. According to an article in the LA Times, Johnson’s face “contorted in pain” as he “gasped out answers to questions from the last of the dozens of defense attorneys in attendance.” He collapsed 40 minutes after the last question, and died the next day.

Johnson’s family believes that the defense lawyers had sinister motives behind their extended hours. When Johnson died, the defendants would no longer be liable for claims of suffering, mental anguish and bodily disfigurement.

In other words, the defense saved a lot of money when Johnson died – nearly 70 percent of their potential damages.

The questions they asked during these extended hours were not exactly hard-hitting. For example:

• “Is the VA hospital in West, LA?”
• “What are your sons’ names?”
• “What are your sons’ ages?”
• “What is your wife’s name?”

“You can tell when a lawyer is smelling death – they were pounding him with the same questions over and over again,” said Robert B. Cameron, Johnson’s thoracic surgeon.

If these allegations of intentional stalling have even a kernel of truth, the defense lawyers should be deeply ashamed. While they have a right to defend themselves, they showed no decency in how they approached the litigation.

Cappolino Dodd Krebs, LLP – mesothelioma attorneys

• Public School 29 – Brooklyn, NY

An asbestos abatement procedure set to begin Monday, April 23, while class was still in session, upset the family members of students who attend Public School 29 in Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens neighborhood. Concerned parents drafted a petition asking for a stop work order.

“Given the cancer risks associated with airborne asbestos fibers, it is absolutely beyond me why anyone would allow this to take place while school was in session,” said one concerned parent. In response, Coucilmember Brad Lander sent a note to the NYC School Construction Authority calling for construction to halt until the school year has finished.

• Chapin High School – Chapin, SC

According to a South Carolina blogger, workers were caught removing asbestos from a high school while school was in session. A member of the school board called the district, and after being told that asbestos was not being removed, the spokesman later corrected this mistake and said that asbestos was indeed being removed while students were in the building.

• Meadowbrook Farms Elementary – East Greenwich, RI

A petition facing the East Greenwich Town Counsel would alter the asbestos remodeling schedule of the Meadowbrook Farms Elementary School. The remodeling is currently scheduled to take place during the 2012-2013 school year – while children are present. Even though the construction company assures that accommodations will be made to prevent exposure to asbestos, parents have repeatedly voiced their concerns about their children’s health.

These concerns are more than valid – asbestos abatements should not occur when children are present. If you believe you or your child has been exposed to asbestos, you have a right to seek legal action.

Cappolino Dodd Krebs, LLP – mesothelioma attorneys

One major difference between the two is that asbestosis is not cancerous. It is instead a chronic lung condition with no known cure. As asbestos fibers enter the lungs, the body produces cells to combat the asbestos. The cells encapsulate the fibers and secrete a fluid that sometimes leaks onto the lung tissue. This causes inflammation, and eventually scar tissue. As more scare tissue builds up, the lung stiffens. Breathing and expanding the lungs becomes a challenge. This is an early warning sign of asbestosis. Asbestosis can lead to the development of heart failure or lung cancers, including mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that usually affects the lungs or stomach. It occurs when asbestos fibers become lodged in the lining of the lungs or stomach. The body produces cells to neutralize the asbestos, and the cells end up growing out of control. Surgery or radiation can succeed in halting or removing the growth of malignant cells, but the outlook for both mesothelioma and asbestosis is poor.

If you have ever been exposed to asbestos at any point in your life, seek medical attention if you develop any coughing, breathing problems or chest tightness. These are common asbestosis and mesothelioma symptoms. Both asbestosis and  mesothelioma stay invisible for several years.

Cappolino Dodd Krebs, LLP – mesothelioma lawyers

Similar incarnations of the bill, pushed through by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), have passed in Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. ALEC is a group of mostly conservative senators and influential corporate sponsors. The controversial group has been under scrutiny recently since its Senate members began introducing bills that benefit the group’s corporate members.

Corporate member Crown, Cork and Seal, which has operations in Minnesota, stood to benefit from the passing of the bill. The packaging company acquired a business that used asbestos in 1996. Under the new bill, Crown would bear very little liability if an employee were to file a lawsuit due to asbestos exposure.

ALEC helped the company shape the bill and push it through state legislatures. This is the seventh piece of legislation with ties to ALEC that Gov. Dayton has vetoed.

“The true impact of this legislation should not go without comment,” Dayton said in a letter accompanying the returned bill. “Over 100,000 Americans have fallen victim to asbestosis and mesothelioma. The cancer causing nature of asbestos has long been known, and it will continue to claim lives across Minnesota and the country for years to come.”

Dayton is correct. It is shameful that four other states allowed this bill to sneak through the legislature. If someone has been exposed to asbestosis and develops a disease like asbestosis or mesothelioma, they have the right to seek justice.

Cappolino Dodd Krebs, LLP – asbestos attorneys

Researchers studied over 100,000 asbestos workers over a period of 19 years. They found that women were at higher risk than men. While men working with asbestos were 63 percent more likely to die of a stroke and 39 percent more likely to die of heart problems than other males, females who worked with asbestos were 100 percent and 89 percent more likely to die of these respective causes. For the most part, the males in the study specialized in asbestos removal and females held manufacturing positions.

When the study began, the workers were an average age of 35, and over half of them were smokers. By the end of the study, 1,000 workers had died of a stroke and 4,000 had died of heart disease.

Scientists have produced plenty of evidence that asbestos exposure can cause lung disease and respiratory complications. The links between asbestos and heart disease and stroke, however, have not been as established.

If your family has a history of stroke or heart disease, think twice before embarking on a career that might involve exposure to asbestos.

Cappolino Dodd Krebs, LLP – asbestos attorneys

Inspectors from J.C. Broderick and Associates of Hauppauge found asbestos in private stairwells and corridors, in an ice plant room and in a tunnel below the exhibition hall. All contaminated areas were immediately isolated, according to inspectors, and authorities have started on a remediation plan.

For many employees, the efforts of the inspectors may be too little too late. Attorneys suing for 75 Coliseum employees indicate that the problem is much more widespread than the initial inspection indicates. They point to a Zamboni driver, who has malignant mesothelioma after 30 years on the job, and a laborer who sweeps the floors, who has Stage 4 lung cancer.

Employees claim they have been trying to tell the owner of the Coliseum, Nassau County, of the potential asbestos problem for years.

If the employee claims turn out to be true, Nassau County could be facing a significant number of lawsuits. We hope more employees do not turn up with asbestos related diseases.

Cappolino Dodd Krebs, LLP – mesothelioma attorneys

Smith had finally become a full-time firefighter. It took working seven years as a volunteer, but he had finally acquired a full-time position with a fire department. Only a few months after starting his new job with the Augusta County Fire and Rescue, though, and a few weeks after the birth of his daughter, doctors diagnosed him with mesothelioma.

Exposure to asbestos fibers is the cause most often linked to mesothelioma. The disease typically takes between 10 and 50 years to develop, making it unlikely that Smith contracted the disease during his work in the fire department. Doctors think he must have been exposed to asbestos in his childhood.

Smith’s fellow firefighters have given up vacation time to allow him to stay on the organization’s payroll a little longer to keep his health insurance. The surrounding community is doing what it can to help as well by putting on benefits and fundraisers to help pay Smith’s medical bills.

Smith and his family say they will fight the disease and beat it. We hope that, with the help of his family, Smith is successful in fighting this deadly disease.

Cappolino Dodd Krebs, LLP – mesothelioma attorneys

In the case, insurance companies argued that the insurer covering the victim when the disease’s symptoms developed should be required to pay the claim. Mesothelioma cases are different from many other workplace related injuries; in most cases, the “accident” and the resulting injury occur in short succession. With asbestos exposure, the period between accidental exposure and the disease it causes is much longer. Mesothelioma often develops decades after asbestos exposure, and many victims do not notice the disease’s symptoms until treatment options are limited.

Unlike many, the head of at least one European insurance company was pleased with the court’s decision. Zurich U.K. General Insurance Co. CEO Stephen Lewis said he was glad victims might now have a better understanding of how to get the help they need.

“This Supreme Court judgment reinforces the point that polices we thought we were selling and what people thought they were buying are now to be upheld as such,” Lewis said.

This could be good news for victims suffering from mesothelioma in the United Kingdom. Hopefully, these new laws will hold insurers accountable to their customers and ensure that people get the help they need as soon as possible. In the United States, finding liability for each claim depends on the individual case, as there is no existing mandate over which insurance company must pay what.

If you have mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure, contact a mesothelioma attorney for help today.