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Home » Articles >> Why do patients with mesothelioma deserve compensation? |
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Why do patients with mesothelioma deserve compensation?
Reasons for Patients with mesothelioma deserving compensation
Causes of Mesothelioma
Studies have shown that asbestos is the major cause of mesothelioma. It accounts for about 75 to 80% of all mesothelioma cases in the United States. Asbestos is a naturally occurring substance mined from rocks and made up of tiny fibers used extensively in thousands of building and insulation products. Asbestos can be inhaled or swallowed without immediate or noticeable effect.
After a person is exposed to asbestos fibers in the air, it may be inhaled and become lodged in the lungs causing damage. People exposed to asbestos directly or indirectly are the ones involved in factory work, demolition, insulation, shipbuilding, carpentry, installation of brake linings in vehicles, and many other jobs. Causes of mesothelioma prove that the patient is a victim of circumstances and as such, he is entitled to compensation.
Nature of the disease
Prognosis is generally grim after a diagnosis is made. Median survival period is in the range of only 6 to 18 months and many afflicted are given only supportive treatment which attempts to control the symptoms of pain or shortness of breath. An astounding 50% of the patients who receive only supportive care will die of mesothelioma within 6 to 8 months. By definition, mesothelioma is a permanent disability that results in death. Moreover, there are very few doctors willing to treat the disease.
Many patients and family members retreat into isolation and hopelessness as they attempt to follow their doctor’s advice to get their affairs in order and prepare to die. Fatal nature of the disease highlights the fact that these victims need immediate compensation.
Symptoms and pain
Symptoms of mesothelioma include shortness of breath, pain in the chest or back, or pain or swelling in the abdomen. Minor symptoms include difficulty swallowing, cough, fever, sweating, fatigue, and weight loss. More severe symptoms of pleural mesothelioma include hoarseness, coughing up blood, swelling of the face and arms, muscle weakness, paralysis, and sensory loss.
The patient cannot take a deep breath due to the unrelenting pain as the tumor invades the chest wall and there is an inability to eat or swallow. The physical, medical, emotional, and financial hardship and eventual loss of life suffered by mesothelioma patients and their families is without parallel among diseases attributed to asbestos exposure. This extreme suffering and loss need to be recognized in considering a compensation formula for the victims. Mesothelioma patients experience severe physical suffering and an emotional trauma due to inadequate and uncertain therapies.
Expensive treatment
The best treatment approach is generally considered a tri-modal therapy consisting of surgery to control the disease locally, chemotherapy or other novel drug treatment, and possibly radiation. These intricate surgical procedures are performed by only a handful of surgical specialists in the United States. Unfortunate patients and desperate families must contend with geographical barriers that force them to find the closest institution with specialty care in mesothelioma, causing an immediate financial, psychological, and physical burden. Then there is the frightening question of whether the patient’s insurance carrier will pay for the out of state or out of group treatment necessitated by the lack of local experts. The financial and psychological burdens emphasize that a patient of mesothelioma needs to be compensated.
Accountability of the Government
Understanding the history of asbestos is central to understanding why a Mesothelioma victim is entitled to just compensation for damages. The dangers of asbestos were known as early as the 1930s. Many asbestos manufacturers and corporate users of asbestos materials ignored the scientific data proving the lethal nature of asbestos. In the end, workers who had to work with asbestos were the ones who suffered. Today, those workers have a right to fair compensation for their suffering and health bills.
Accountability of the corporations
Despite the scientific evidence, companies continue to use asbestos as building material and ignore the more expensive safer alternatives. The victims of mesothelioma are largely exploited workers who were unaware of the serious health risks they faced in their working environment. Companies are directly accountable for the incidence of mesothelioma and need to compensate any of their workers who might have contracted the disease while at work. |
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