Do you worry about your mother or father being diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease like mesothelioma? Because of the long latency period of the illness, 75% of mesothelioma victims today are senior citizens. There are many factors that might contribute to a mesothelioma diagnosis. Let’s find out if either of your parents are at risk:
Blue Collar Workers
Men who worked in blue-collar trades are at the highest risk for developing mesothelioma. If you remember your father working as a construction worker, insulator, or in the military for years on end, there is a good chance he has been exposed to asbestos that could lead to a fatal disease.
Stay-at-Home Moms
The spouses of blue-collar workers often received doses of secondary asbestos exposure after long workdays. Asbestos fibers would actually come to rest on workers’ clothing, skin, and hair, which would follow them home and expose family members during greetings, car rides, as well as on laundry day, when clothes were shaken out and washed.
D-I-Yers
If your parents remodeled or renovated a home built before the 1990’s they could be at risk for asbestos-related disease. Old floor tiles, decorative ceilings, insulation, and more within homes contained deadly asbestos fibers. Many homeowners who decide to perform repairs and remodels themselves without properly handling asbestos products are at risk for a mesothelioma diagnosis.
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If you worry about your parent being diagnosed with mesothelioma, encourage them to alert their doctor to past asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma is often mistaken for other respiratory conditions, so an accurate work and health history might be necessary to diagnose the disease.
Do not hesitate to contact our offices today if one of your parents has been diagnosed with or passed away from an asbestos-related disease like mesothelioma. If they are living, they might be entitled to compensation for their disease. If they have passed, you might be eligible to file a wrongful death lawsuit against those responsible for your loss. While monetary compensation does not replace a loved one’s health or life, medical bills, loss of consortium, and more can seriously affect the family members of victims.