You could be eligible to file an asbestos lung cancer lawsuit if you’ve experienced asbestos exposure prior to your diagnosis.

Asbestos exposure causes about four percent of all lung cancers. More than 6,000 people in the U.S. will die of asbestos-related lung cancer this year, according to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program of the National Cancer Institute.

Researchers began questioning whether there was a link between asbestos and lung cancer back in 1928 when F. W. Simson, MD wrote a paper regarding the effects of asbestosis in South African mine workers. His article was published in the British American Journal.

In 1930, E.R.A. Merewether, M.D. wrote the “Report on Effects of Asbestos Dust on the Lungs and Dust Suppression in the Asbestos Industry”, detailing the health issues related to asbestos exposure.

Despite knowing for decades of the risks of asbestos fibers, many employers allegedly disregarded safety precautions to protect workers who were exposed to asbestos dust.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 1986 said that lung cancer was the greatest risk for workers who are exposed to asbestos.

Basis for Asbestos Lung Cancer Lawsuit

An asbestos lung cancer lawsuit may provide you with compensation if you worked in different jobs that exposed you to asbestos fibers. Workers employed in mining, construction, railroad, shipbuilding, automotive manufacturing and firefighting are apt to have come into contact with asbestos.

Asbestos was mined from the 1800s to the 1980s in the United States. Because it takes possibly decades for asbestos-related diseases to become symptomatic, most cases diagnosed today are the result of asbestos exposure that occurred before regulations were enacted.

Workers who inhaled microscopic asbestos fibers years ago were never able to cough the material out of the their lungs because the fibers become embedded immediately. When the fibers burrow into the deep tissue of the lungs, the fibers irritate the tissue for years, damaging cellular structures. Damaged cells eventually produce cancer cells.

An asbestos lung cancer lawsuit can hold the employers or former employers responsible for allowing workers to be exposed to asbestos without proper safety equipment. Companies also can be held responsible for not warning their employees of the inherent dangers and risks of working with asbestos-containing products.

Anyone who has worked around asbestos and smokes cigarettes should be especially wary of developing asbestos lung cancer. And even if you have smoked over the years in addition to being exposed to asbestos, you could still be eligible to qualify to participate in an asbestos lung cancer lawsuit.

If you or someone you love has grounds for an asbestos lung cancer lawsuit, you could receive compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other compensation.