At Matthews & Associates in Houston, we represent clients in lawsuits for damages resulting from mesothelioma of the lining of the lung, or pleura, caused by exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that usually develops decades after exposure to asbestos, not uncommonly with lag times of forty years between exposure and diagnosis. If you or someone in your family has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, contact a knowledgeable attorneys at our firm for a free consultation about your legal options.

Pleural mesothelioma, the most common form of the disease, is usually diagnosed too late to give its victims a reasonable chance of treatment and recovery. Few pleural mesothelioma patients survive beyond one year following diagnosis, but some physicians have developed treatment techniques that can extend survival to five years and longer for qualified patients fortunate enough to have been diagnosed at an early stage.

The symptoms of the form of mesothelioma that attacks the lining of the lung are similar to the signs of viral pneumonia--shortness of breath, chest pain, and a dry cough. Some victims show no symptoms at all. The most common symptom that leads to an effective diagnosis of mesothelioma is pleural effusion, or an accumulation of fluid between the two layers of pleural lining that separate the lungs themselves from the chest wall. This can be detected on a chest x-ray or CT scan, but the tumor itself might not appear. The only known cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos fibers in industry, at home or school, or in the environment.

Pleural mesothelioma is a different disease from asbestosis or asbestos-related lung cancer, which itself can spread to the pleura. Similarly, mesothelioma can spread in an advanced stage from the pleura to the lung itself, the heart, or the lymph nodes. Although smoking is a well known risk factor for asbestos-related lung cancer and diseases of many kinds, smoking has little or no effect on the risk of mesothelioma.

 

Causes

 

• Most mesothelioma victims were exposed to asbestos from ten to forty years ago, with most of the cases diagnosed today reflecting exposure to asbestos in shipyards, industrial plants, construction sites, or schools before the general public was aware of the risks of asbestos ingestion. Mesothelioma is a cancer that develops slowly and is hard to diagnose. Many patients have had the cancer for ten years or more before the diagnosis is made.

   

  Because of the long lag time between exposure and manifestation of the cancer, one of the main challenges in mesothelioma litigation is to trace the source of the asbestos to one or more particular defendants or their successor corporations twenty to forty years after the fact. At Matthews & Associates, our familiarity with the asbestos industry and the proof of mesothelioma claims can give your case for damages a significant advantage. For more information about our ability to help you and your family, contact us in Houston for a free consultation