|
|
|
 |
| |
 |
|
 |
| |
Mesothelioma law includes laws that regulate employee exposure to asbestos, mesothelioma law that allows people with mesothelioma to seek compensation for their illness, and new laws that Congress is currently debating with regards to how mesothelioma victims, or their decedents can be compensated for their medical expenses, pain and suffering, and possible loss of future income.
All mesothelioma law involves the risk or actual development of mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that affects the mesothelium in the body. Mesothelium is the lining that surrounds most organs. Pleural mesothelioma is cancer of the lung's mesothelium. Peritoneal mesothelioma involves the lining of the abdomen. These cancers develop almost exclusively as a result of exposure to harmful levels of asbestos.
Over 1.3 million people are exposed to asbestos in their work environment each year. Building, construction, railroad, factory, automotive, and shipyard industry employees are all potential victims of asbestos related illness and are the people protected by mesothelioma law. Construction workers have the highest risk of exposure to asbestos.
OSHA has created a body of mesothelioma law outlining the levels of asbestos control that is required of employers. Mesothelioma law states that an employee cannot be exposed to levels of asbestos that exceed 0.1 fiber per cubic centimeter (f/cc) during an eight hour work day or one f/cc in any given thirty minute period. OSHA has also implemented mesothelioma law that requires employers to conduct exposure monitoring, create regulated work areas, and provide adequate respiratory protection, clothing protection, hygiene facilities, and proper training for people who work with asbestos.
Another area of mesothelioma law involves personal injury law, which allows victims who are damaged by another party's negligence to seek compensation for their losses. In mesothelioma law a person who develops mesothelioma because of asbestos exposure has the legal right to recover damages for their pain and suffering, medical expenses, and loss of income from the manufacturers of asbestos containing products. Under mesothelioma law, the best way for a person to discover their legal rights and options in a mesothelioma legal case is to contact a qualified attorney.
In 2004 Congress debated, but has not passed, a new mesothelioma law called the Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act. This mesothelioma law would prohibit lawsuits against the manufacturers of asbestos containing products and instead allow the victims of mesothelioma compensation through a trust fund. Who contributes money to this fund and who is eligible for the aid are two areas of this proposed mesothelioma law that is still being debated in our federal legal system.
Source |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
By Katherine Danks
19 April 2005 - AUSTRALIAN researchers have developed a world-first blood test which could help in the early detection of mesothelioma, a deadly asbestos-related cancer of the lung lining.
About 700 people every year are diagnosed with the disease in Australia, which has the highest reported incidence in the world.
It can take up to 30 years for symptoms of the condition to develop so most sufferers are identified at an advanced stage and die within a year.
The non-invasive blood test developed by University of Western Australia Professor Bruce Robinson and a team of researchers is a breakthrough in the early detection of mesothelioma.
Under existing arrangements, diagnosis is a long process which includes blood tests, chest x-rays, CT scans, drainage and laboratory analysis of the pleural fluid to help differentiate mesothelioma from other similar conditions.
The new blood test, named MESOMARK, was originally developed for cervical cancer at the Pacific Northwest Research Institute in the US, but Professor Robinson has adapted it for testing mesothelioma.
Dr Nick Pavlakis, a leading mesothelioma researcher in Sydney, said the blood test would be a valuable diagnostic aid for doctors.
"The test is a breakthrough because it's a simple blood test, it could therefore be applied to patients who are at risk, those who have a history of exposure or symptoms of the disease," he said.
The blood test measures the amount of protein in the blood, and a patient who returned a low reading would register a negative result.
But if the patient returned a high reading they would be sent for a second test to confirm the result.
Former painting contractor Erl Carlsson, who has mesothelioma, said the test would be valuable in monitoring the health of his family.
Mr Carlsson, 59, who lives in Narrabeen, on Sydney's northern beaches, was diagnosed with the disease in October last year after 30 years of sanding back asbestos fibro in his work as a painter.
He is now concerned for the health of his wife Barbara, who washed his clothes with asbestos dust on them, and children Andrew, 31, and Jenny, 32, who often worked with him when they were younger.
"It would really help the treatment, it's usually 20 or 30 years before you find out you have it ... it could have helped me too," Mr Carlsson said.
Dr Pavlakis said the amount of people diagnosed with the disease was expected to peak between 2010 and 2020 when the symptoms had fully developed.
"What we are seeing today is a product of exposure decades ago, so even though the legislation changed to reduce occupational exposure to asbestos fibres we have a decade lag time between the exposure and the disease," he said.
Symptoms for mesothelioma include breathlessness and chest pain.
Treatment, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, aims to prolong life and keep the person as comfortable as possible.
Source |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
