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Practice Area Attorneys

Lawrence R. Cohan

Thomas Anapol

Miriam Benton Barish

Asbestos Exposure Lawyers

Contact us today for a free legal consultation about your asbestos case.

More than 100 years ago, asbestos was seen as the ideal building material; it was fireproof, cheap and easy to use. During the last century, it is estimated that more than 25 million tons of asbestos were used to construct factories, offices, schools, shipyards and homes. It was used for fireproofing and insulation on industrial equipment, and used to insulate millions of miles of piping. Even the most common household items contained asbestos. But, shortly after the turn of the 20th century, the medical field began to recognize that a large number of people were dying from pulmonary and lung diseases in areas where asbestos mines and asbestos fabrication plants were located. By 1940, studies were showing a suggested link between asbestos exposure and cancer; finally, by 1955, scientists confirmed a distinctive correlation between ingestion of asbestos fibers and mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer. It has now been well-documented that the asbestos industry was well aware of these problems, and acted overtly to prevent the public, and victims, from learning of the dangers of asbestos.

Four diseases have been directly related to asbestos exposure. Duration and exposure directly affects the chances of contracting these diseases:

• Pleural Plaque/Thickening: a scarring of the lining of the lung, but not a cancerous condition. Plaques or thickening impairs lung function by restricting breathing capacity.
• Asbestosis: a non-cancerous fibrous hardening and scarring of the functional tissues of the lungs. Scarring causes lung impairment and can contribute to heart disease. Symptoms include shortness of breath, coughing and a dry, crackling sound upon inhalation. Advanced chronic asbestosis has been thought to contribute to or cause cardiac failure. A slow and progressive disease, asbestosis has a latency period of 15 to 30 years or more.
• Lung Cancer: The most common type of cancer found in individuals with prolonged exposure to asbestos, it develops through the lung tissue, obstructing air passages. Lung cancer found in the lower lobes of the lungs are most typically associated with asbestos exposure. Latency period can range from 20 to 30 years or more, and cigarette smoking, along with asbestos exposure, puts individuals at a much higher risk of lung cancer.
• Mesothelioma: An unusual type of cancer within the thin tissue membranes lining the thoracic and abdominal cavities and surrounding internal organs, it is most commonly associated with asbestos exposure. Symptoms include shortness of breath, pain in the lower back or side of the chest, coughing and weight loss. This is the most dangerous of the asbestos-related diseases, because it can affect those who have only low or intermittent levels of asbestos exposure.

The Philadelphia Asbestos lawyers at Anapol Schwartz have represented thousands of workers who have developed lung disease and cancer from asbestos exposure at job sites throughout the Delaware Valley.

If you or someone you know has suffered an injury from asbestos, we can assist you in evaluating your case. Click here to contact us for a free case evaluation.