A 2002 study in the American Journal of Clinical Pathology by F. Mollo and others suggested that the number of cases of asbestos-related lung cancer is actually underreported. Asbestos exposure is a major cause of lung cancer, a serious, often-fatal disease.

Asbestos is a fibrous silicate mineral. Beginning with the Industrial Revolution, the mineral was widely used since it has a number of extremely useful properties. Asbestos makes an almost-ideal insulator against heat, sound, and electricity. Additionally, its melting point is hard to reach, even at industrial temperatures. This makes it practically fireproof. Unfortunately, asbestos has been linked to a number of serious diseases.

More than a century ago, the connection between lung diseases, cancer, and other serious health problems related to asbestos exposure had already been noted. The mineral is connected to a lung disease called asbestosis, a disease where microscopic asbestos fibers irritate and damage lung tissue, causing symptoms similar to emphysema. Additionally, asbestos has been linked to a radically-increased risk of several types of cancer, particularly lung cancer.

The study took place in Italy. In the study, researchers examined lung tissue removed from patients with lung cancer, which is closely linked to asbestos. Asbestos is a major cause of lung cancer, second only to tobacco use. The study looked for the presence of asbestos fibers in the lung tissue. The researchers found that roughly six percent of the observed lung tumors were probably caused by asbestos — significantly more than expected. This indicated to researchers that the amount of asbestos lung cancer caused is probably under-reported.

In the United States, asbestos lawsuits have been a major legal issue, setting records for settlements and setting important precedents. One issue that has come up in the litigation is that of statutes of limitations. Statutes of limitations are legal time limits that prevent a person from suing after a certain time. However, cancers linked to asbestos exposure can take decades to manifest. In recognition of this, many jurisdictions have special laws that “start the timer” for statute of limitations when a person realizes that they may have an asbestos-related cancer.

Many asbestos cancer lawsuits take the form of class action lawsuits. Class action lawsuits are a type of group lawsuit wherein a group of plaintiffs allege that they have suffered similar harms at the hands of the same defendant. For example, if a group of workers at a shipyard were all exposed to asbestos and went on to develop lung cancer, they could band together and file a single class action lawsuit instead of several individual lawsuits. Class action lawsuits are designed to help streamline the legal system by combining dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of potential individual lawsuits into a single lawsuit.