Asbestos Exposure Attorneys in St. Louis, Missouri and Illinois
Exposure to asbestos happens more than you might think in St. Louis City and County. Asbestos was commonly used in buildings and consumer products prior to 1989, after which time the government outlawed new applications of asbestos. Asbestos is any of several naturally occurring silicate mineral fibers that were valued because they were strong and fireproof. Asbestos is often found in items like insulation, patching compounds, cements, plastics, roofing shingles, texture paints, certain acoustic ceiling tiles, plumbing and electrical insulation, brake linings, vinyl flooring, heat creating appliances such as irons or hot plates, and a wide variety of building materials. Asbestos becomes brittle, or “friable” with age, breaking down into extremely fine particles that can cause serious, disabling and potentially fatal illnesses when inhaled.
Types of Asbestos Related Illnesses
• Mesothelioma – A form of cancer that is only caused by asbestos exposure which primarily affects the lining of the lungs.
• Asbestosis – A chronic, progressive lung disease causing scarring of the lung tissue.
• Asbestos Pleural Diseases (Pleural Thickening / Pleural Plaques) – a lung disease characterized by a scarring of the pleura, the thin membrane lining the lung and chest cavity.
• Asbestos Related Lung Cancer – Several types of lung cancer can be related to asbestos exposure, including bronchial carcinoma and adenocarcinoma.
Signs and Symptoms of Asbestos Exposure
The severity of an illness caused by exposure to asbestos can vary depending on how long the person was exposed and the amount he or she breathed in. It may take decades for symptoms to appear after asbestos exposure. Signs and symptoms may include shortness of breath, coughing and chest pain, and finger deformity (“clubbing”, where the tips of the fingers spread out and become rounder). Asbestos exposure can occur in many different ways, but workers in industries such as mining and milling, fireproofing, and especially construction, may be at a higher risk of exposure. Families of workers exposed to asbestos can also be affected by particles of asbestos brought home on the worker’s clothing.
If you are suffering from illness caused by exposure to asbestos, or you think you or your loved one may have been exposed to asbestos, you should talk to an experienced lawyer right away. The Attorneys at Sauter Sullivan are experts at handling Asbestos Exposure cases, and they can help you.
Contact us for a free consultation with one of our experienced Lawyers for free. There’s no obligation, and you’ll pay us no legal fees unless we win your case.