The family of a mesothelioma victim is awarded $3.5 million in a recent asbestos lung cancer lawsuit.

Plaintiff Barbara B. contracted mesothelioma from second-hand exposure to asbestos allegedly caused by washing her husband’s work clothes. Barbara claimed she would regularly wash his clothes for his next shift at Brown’s Ferry Nuclear Plant in Limestone County.

She was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2011 and claimed that it had been directly caused by the asbestos fibers on her husband’s clothes. The plaintiff’s husband died from asbestosis in 1997, while Barbara died from mesothelioma on Sept. 7, 2013.

Before her death, Barbara filed an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit against Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) which was then carried out by her daughters after her demise.

According to the mesothelioma lawsuit, TVA should have provided James B., the decedent’s husband, proper safety equipment and protection masks when working with the hazardous material.

Additionally, the asbestos lung cancer lawsuit claims that TVA should have warned employees of the possible health risks associated with working with the cheap material.

The presiding judge agreed with the allegations and awarded the decedent’s family $3.5 million judgment against TVA, which owns and operates Brown’s Ferry.

Asbestos Exposure Complications

One of the most prominent problems plaguing elderly citizens in America is contending with the long-term consequences of asbestos exposure. In particular, it is estimated that 4,800 people die from asbestos lung cancer per year in the United States, which represents 4 percent of all fatalities in the country related to lung cancer.

Since the late 1800s, manufacturing companies have used asbestos for construction and insulation purposes. It was cheap and easy to use and soon become a popular construction material for its fire and chemical resistant qualities. While it is harmless in a dormant state, problems start arising when the asbestos sites are disturbed, which are then released.

After experts had officially linked asbestos exposure to lung cancer in the 1940s, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proclaimed that asbestos lung cancer was a prominent risk to workers who were exposed to asbestos.  Asbestos lung cancer attacks the mucus lining of the lungs rather than the actual organs, this condition is typically diagnosed at a latent stage due to how long it takes symptoms to show.

Asbestos Mesothelioma

Asbestos lung cancer can take years for victims to experience any symptoms leaving few treatment options and short life survival expectancies for patients. Experts warn that it can take up to 50 years before any signs of asbestos cancer to show, as the fibers can sit generations in the lungs before festering. Asbestos fibers are often inhaled accidentally, through either the nose or mouth, which then lodge themselves in either the victims’ lungs or stomach.

After enough time has passed, these fibers cause cancerous cells to develop and cause devastating health conditions. Both mesothelioma and asbestos lung cancer have similar diagnostic and treatment options but feature different physical characteristics.

Furthermore, these conditions leave patients in a desolate state with little to no hope of long-term survival. As mentioned before, the popular use of asbestos has lead to major litigation movement in the United States, with plaintiffs claiming that manufacturing companies knew about the health risks for years.

Many of these victims have filed lawsuits against their former employers or manufacturing companies for failing to protect them against asbestos exposure.