Recently, I met with a man who worked his whole career at Wisconsin Electric a/k/a WE Energies. He worked at various power plants in Wisconsin, including the Oak Creek power plant, downtown Milwaukee plant, the valley power plant in Milwaukee, the Pleasant Prairie plant, and various other power plants and substations. A couple of the jobs he worked in around asbestos included electrical work, plumbing related work, and oil treatment work. The asbestos was in gaskets, insulating pipes, used around wire and joints, etc. Sadly, he was living a nice life in Florida enjoying retirement when he was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, a deadly disease, related only to asbestos exposure. He had been suffering from shortness of breath when his doctor discovered fluid on his lungs. Eventually, a thoracic surgeon was seen and he did a biopsy, which led to the definitive diagnosis of asbestos-related mesothelioma.
Posts Tagged ‘malignant mesothelioma’
Recent Milwaukee Mesothelioma Case
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010Wisconsin mesothelioma car brakes case
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009Wisconsin’s Court of Appeals today released Tatera v. FMC Corp., 2008AP170. This asbestos lawsuit relates to the wrongful death of the plaintiff’s decedent who died of malignant mesothelioma. The widow asserted that the malignant mesothelioma was caused by exposure to asbestos that took place while the decedent worked in a machine shop. The decedent had worked with friction brake materials and his job had involved grinding brake linings made with asbestos.
FMC Corp. was a supplier of asbestos brake linings and though it did not manufacture asbestos brake linings, it was alleged to have sent over 18,000 friction lining parts to the decedent’s employer. The lawsuit asserted that FMC and asbestos brake lining manufacturers were liable for the decedent’s wrongful death from mesothelioma based on Wisconsin strict liability and negligence law. Essentially, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that a such supplier of asbestos products could not be held strictly liable, but could be found negligent in causing the death from mesothelioma.
Frequency of Malignant Mesothelioma
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009Wisconsin, when compared to other states, ranks in the upper 1/3 of states with malignant mesothelioma asbestos deaths. Waukesha County, Wisconsin, where my law firm is located, had the highest age-adjusted mortality rate of malignant mesothelioma deaths in Wisconsin.
Asbestos Shipyards
Monday, February 2nd, 2009I also previously mentioned that my client had worked with asbestos at shipyards throughout the U.S. Even though he lived in Wisconsin, we made a claim against the entities involved with asbestos at those shipyards causing his mesothelioma. Some shipyards include: Alabama Drydock/Shipping Company, Avondale Shipyards, Brooklyn Shipyard, Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Pearl Harbor Shipyard, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, and San Diego Naval Shipyard.
Symptoms & Diagnosis of Mesothelioma
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009Symptoms of mesothelioma are not easily diagnosed especially in the early stage. In fact, typically after mesothelioma is diagnosed, patients often relate symptoms to their doctor that have been present for many months. Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma (mesothelioma of chest) include low back pain, chest pain beneath arms, shortness of breath, trouble swallowing, cough, fever, fatigue, weight loss, hoarseness, facial swelling or swelling in the arms, and muscle weakness. Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include abdominal pain, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal fluid or mass. Certainly, if you have such symptoms visit a physician immediately, especially if you know you were exposed to asbestos.
Those having symptoms will undergo a physical to determine whether there are additional signs of mesothelioma or asbestos lung cancer. Patients with pleural mesothelioma will often have pleural effusion (fluid in lungs). Some may have ascites (fluid in abdomine) in cases of peritoneal mesothelioma, or pericardial effusion (fluid in pericardium) in cases of pericardial mesothelioma. If the foregoing shows the potential for a diagnosis of mesothelioma, then other tests will be done, including imaging tests like x-rays, CT scans, MRI scans, and PET scans. Tests may reveal irregular thickening of pleura, calcium deposits or fluid in pleural space. Tests may also allow the doctor to begin determining the extent of cancer (staging). If a pleural effusion, ascites or pericardial effusion is found, the doctor may sample fluid for diagnosing cancer by a pathologist. Also, tissue samples may be taken via thoracoscopy, laparoscopy, mediastinoscopy or bronchoscopy, or sometimes surgery, thoracotomy or laparotomy, may be done by a surgeon.
Mesothelioma is generally very difficult to diagnose and in all cases, I always recommend a biopsy. In case of death, I also recommend an autopsy. A great place for information on the symptoms and diagnosis of mesothelioma is the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes for Health MedlinePlus: Mesothelioma page, which I used along with the American Cancer Society website in writing this.
Mesothelioma cases
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009Mesothelioma caused by asbestos is a typical case handled by my Wisconsin personal injury law firm. So for my first post, I thought I’d describe one to give readers a general idea of what type of case I handle involving asbestos.
We will call the client Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith lived in Wisconsin and was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. It was discovered via biopsy and he had other medical tests including a PET Scan and lung tap. Mr. Smith was 65 years old. Out of high school, he joined the U.S. Navy where he served as an auxiliaryman working with asbestos in HVAC and mechanical systems. While in the Navy Reserves, he also worked with asbestos in various shipyards. Ships he remembers serving on included submarines and a destroyer and the shipyards he worked in included Baimbridge, Charleston, Portsmith, Norfolk, Philadelphia, and Groton. After serving in the Navy, Mr. Smith worked at a Wisconsin Electric Power Plant in a boiler room, another area replete with asbestos. He then worked at a large medical center in Wisconsin doing mechanical work. He was frequently in areas with pipes, boilers, and insulation all replete with asbestos.
When I met him, Mr. Smith was suffering with breathing difficulties caused by his mesothelioma. He was somewhat angry with asbestos companies, but was more scared and worried about his family. Mr. Smith died within nine months of hiring me to help and though it’s of little consolation to his family, we worked to obtain more than $1,500,000.00 for them. Every case is handled based on the facts, and the facts in his tragic case warranted this. Though I could not do anything for Mr. Smith’s fear and anger, I take comfort in knowing that his family is being helped by my efforts.