A 39-year-old Florida resident claims that his life and the lives of his family members have been upended by his asbestos mesothelioma cancer diagnosis.

Kris P. was diagnosed with asbestos cancer on Sept. 25, 2014. According to Kris, his life went from completely normal to suddenly having a conversation where his surgeon “pretty much told [him] to get [his] affairs in order, right there on the spot.”

The cancer he was diagnosed with was peritoneal mesothelioma. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare kind of cancer that lines the abdomen, and is almost always linked with asbestos exposure.

After learning that this cancer was generally caused by asbestos exposure, Kris and his lawyer concluded that the exposure had occurred about a decade previously. At that time, he was installing fiber-optic cable underground, and claims that he had inhaled asbestos fibers during the job. After coming to this conclusion, Kris filed an asbestos cancer lawsuit against AT&T.

While Kris claims that he didn’t know the dust from the cable’s piping contained asbestos, AT&T disputes this claim.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken some action against asbestos products, banning some of them entirely. Though “the consumption’s gone down by over a thousand-fold” since the 1970s, “the problem is the asbestos is still there.” This means that, even though new products are not being manufactured with asbestos any longer, many workers can still be exposed to asbestos fibers today.

Though many people diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer were exposed to asbestos for long periods of time, even brief asbestos exposure can lead to mesothelioma diagnosis. About 2,700 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year in the U.S.

According to the asbestos cancer lawsuit, Kris says that BellSouth (the company that hired him to work on the fiber-optic cables and is now part of AT&T) never told him or the other workers that they were working with materials that contained asbestos.

However, AT&T has responded, claiming that Kris and the other workers “knew and understood the risks and hazards of asbestos and voluntarily exposed himself to these risks.” The company also stated that his “injuries, if any, were caused by his own negligent conduct, or by the negligent conduct of others.”

Asbestos mesothelioma cancer comes with a bleak prognosis. Most people who are diagnosed with mesothelioma have only a year or two left to live. Kris has a wife and four children.

The survival rate for mesothelioma is low, even amongst other cancers. While asbestos cancer typically takes decades to develop, it spreads quickly to distant organs, making successful treatment near to impossible.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral used for commercial purposes such as electrical or building insulation, as well as countless other uses. Asbestos’ microscopic fibers can accumulate in the lungs and cause several critical health problems, the worst of which is lung cancer.

Asbestos Mesothelioma Lawsuits

Most asbestos mesothelioma lawsuits are linked with workers who have been exposed to large amounts of asbestos over time. Asbestos dust and fibers became airborne on a regular basis, and could enter a worker’s lungs.

According to many asbestos mesothelioma lawsuits, the companies that allow their workers to be exposed to asbestos should have been aware of the dangerous nature of their asbestos-containing materials. Companies should also be aware of its ability to cause disease and even death. There are many asbestos regulations in place to prevent these kinds of issues.

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with or died from an asbestos-related disease, and have been exposed to asbestos, you may be able to file an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit.