In Tennessee, occupational lung diseases generate at least twenty percent of all personal injury cases each year. While the risk of asbestos was discovered many decades ago, this threat remains in older properties such as shipyards and mills. Business owners who fail to address these detrimental conditions are accountable for any emerging cases of related illnesses. If you developed mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases, you should contact an Accident Attorney in Murfreesboro TN to file a claim.
Identifying Occupational Disease Risk Factors:
1. Symptoms: The most common signs of occupational lung diseases are as follows: coughing; shortness of breath, chest pain and tightness, and abnormal breathing patterns. While these symptoms could present the possibility of other medical conditions, anyone working with factories, mills, shipyards, or similar workplaces should visit their doctor immediately.
2. Diagnosis: Tests used to diagnose occupational diseases include microscopic examination, respiratory exchange measurements, biochemical or cellular tests for fluids in the lungs, and pulmonary function evaluation. The results of these tests indicate whether the individual has a lung disease; more advance testing may be necessary to identify the specific type of disease.
3. Asbestos: Properties built before 1978 contain asbestos. According to OSHA requirements, owners who these properties were required to replace all asbestos materials to prevent contamination. Common places in which this material is found is furnaces, cement sheet insulation, vinyl sheet flooring, and any patching and jointing in walls and ceilings.
4. Mesothelioma: This condition is a cancer related to exposure to asbestos. In cases where exposure was reported, the victim had inhaled dust within unsafe work environments that contained asbestos. The organic dust produced from the building material became airborne do to disturbances in the walls or ceilings leading to mass exposure to workers. While cancer-related treatments are available for this condition; it is most often fatal.
If you were exposed to asbestos or have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another cancer related to exposure, you should contact an Accident Attorney in Murfreesboro TN today. An attorney can help you to file a class-action lawsuit if more victims are discovered. If you are ready to take legal action contact the Law Office of Gritton & Gritton PLLC now.
