The asbestos companies knew their products were causing cancer but continued to use them.
Exposure to asbestos has spawned one of the worst public health crises in recent history. Countless men and women have struggled with diseases such as mesothelioma as a result of working with or near asbestos products. Many families across the nation and the globe have suffered unjustly due to the careless, self-serving actions of the asbestos companies.
The mesothelioma lawyers at Baron and Budd have a database of asbestos products and job sites that extends back more than 30 years. Our attorneys can generally determine which asbestos products you came in contact with and what may have ultimately led to your diagnosis of mesothelioma.
How the Asbestos Crisis Unfolded
Asbestos was once a popular product known for its heat-resistant properties and its cheap cost. Products containing the materials were primarily used in construction materials across the country. Asbestos includes chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite asbestos, anthophyllite asbestos, actinolite asbestos and any combination of these materials that have been chemically treated and/or altered.
The product was wildly popular and heavily used throughout the U.S in the 20th Century. Military vessels, construction sites, power plants and many other industrial sites were permeated with asbestos products. Workers in proximity to asbestos would also carry the fibers home on the clothing. A child’s hug or a wife’s housework then became the vehicle for distributing this dangerous dust.
Although health concerns associated with asbestos date back to the beginning of the century, medical reports on the deadly effects of asbestos exposure began to emerge in the mid-20th century. Reports noted that inhalation and subsequent ingestion of asbestos had cancer-causing effects. Asbestos companies were aware of the deadly nature of the product but continued to use asbestos products and hide the dangerous truth from the pubic.
The Latency of Asbestos Disease
Many people wonder just how the asbestos companies were able to get away with producing materials that were known to cause cancer. This question has much to do with the latency period of asbestos disease. Asbestos starts its deadly work when the fibers are inhaled or ingested. However, symptoms of asbestos-related diseases do not appear until decades later. As a result, many people do not automatically associate their illnesses with the asbestos exposure.
The mesothelioma lawyers at Baron and Budd have a database of asbestos products and job sites that extends back more than 30 years. Our attorneys can generally determine which asbestos products you came in contact with and what may have ultimately led to your diagnosis of mesothelioma.
