Mesothelioma

Overview

Mesothelioma is a fatal cancer that develops in the mesothelium, the lining of the lungs, heart and abdomen. Like other cancers, mesothelioma can spread everywhere in the body.

About 3,000 new cases of malignant mesothelioma are diagnosed each year in the United States, with incidences of the disease on the rise over the course of the past 20 years.

Asbestos is the killer that causes malignant mesothelioma. Asbestos was very commonly used by many industries in the last century. Workers involved in the manufacture of products that had asbestos in them are at risk today for asbestos-caused diseases, including mesothelioma, as are those workers who worked with asbestos itself.

High-risk jobs for asbestos exposure include boilermakers, industrial plant workers, auto workers and mechanics, drywall installers, machinists, roofers, plasterers, refinery workers and shipbuilders.

Sadly, worker's families were often exposed to asbestos simply by coming into contact with their loved one. Clothes contaminated with asbestos came through the door on the workers back, and were a prime source of secondary exposure, similar to the way people are exposed to second-hand cigarette smoke in the home environment.

The lungs are the place where air exchange takes place.  To do their job properly, the lungs must be able to easily contract and expand. Pleural mesothelioma, which impacts the pleural lining of the lung, causes symptoms similar to slow strangulation, because the lungs progressively become thickened and leathery, losing their ability to allow oxygen to get into the bloodstream. Over time the afflicted person develops progressive shortness of breath, and often a feeling that they just can't breathe or catch their breath

Mesothelioma of the abdominal cavity, called peritoneal mesothelioma, accounts for most of the cases. As the peritoneal lining thickens, fluid, called ascites, begins to build up, causing difficulty breathing.

Pericardial mesothelioma, the third type, works the same way as pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma, but in these cases it is the lining of the heart that thickens and acts as a leathery vice preventing the heart from properly pumping. Pericardial mesothelioma can lead to heart failure.

While there is treatment for all types of mesothelioma, the tragedy is there is no cure. Mesothelioma is a fatal disease without any survival rate in the long term.

The New York medical malpractice lawyers at Simonson Hess Leibowitz & Goodman have been representing victims of medical malpractice for more than three decades. We have recovered money for our clients in 98% of the cases we have handled. The total dollars we have recovered for our clients who have been victims of medical malpractice has exceeded $200 million dollars.

Collectively our partners have well more than one hundred years of experience representing victims of asbestos exposure. Simonson Hess Leibowitz & Goodman is one of only seven law firms in New York City to be ranked by US News & World Report as a New York Tier 1 law firm in the category of Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs in 2010. One of our lawyers has been recognized in Best Lawyers in America, and three of our partners have been recognized in Super Lawyers.