Hawaii Mesothelioma Attorney

If you or your loved one suffers from mesothelioma due to exposure to asbestos at an asbestos contaminated job site, you should contact a Hawaii mesothelioma attorney to file a case against these companies. An experienced mesothelioma lawyer can help you seek retribution for the pain and suffering that you are going through. Mesothelioma takes decades to get diagnosed and if you have worked or live around the below mentioned job sites, you should get a mesothelioma screening done to make sure that you don’t suffer from an asbestos related condition like mesothelioma, asbestosis or lung cancer.

Hawaii has many shipyards and oil refineries that have utilized asbestos in their structure. Asbestos is a known cause of mesothelioma and other asbestos related lung diseases. Unlike many other states in the United States of America, there are no naturally occurring deposits of asbestos in Hawaii. Hawaii does however have major Navy bases and also two huge oil refineries. All of these units have been listed as sites where asbestos contamination is high, and are sources of major asbestos exposure over the years, posing various health hazards to the workers, employees as well as residents of the area.  Most of the workers did not know about their exposure to asbestos while they were working at these job sites.

Asbestos related worksites:

All previous workers in the industrial or chemical plants of cities with factories, oil refineries and ship yards, as well as people residing near the industrial areas may, at some point in time, have been exposed to air borne asbestos and hence have chances of developing a rare lung cancer caused by asbestos exposure known as mesothelioma. The cities containing asbestos related job sites in Hawaii are Hilo, Ohao and Honolulu.

According to various studies and surveys conducted at different locations in the state, it has been proven that people living or working close to natural sites of asbestos deposits, or industrial sectors that use asbestos as construction or raw material, are at a greater risk of developing mesothelioma and other disorders associated to asbestos exposure, in contrast to the rest of the population at large.

Pearl Harbor and asbestos exposure:

In the case of Pearl Harbor, the asbestos exposure was not only caused as a result of ship repairing facilities, but also mainly due to the presence of the on-base oil refineries that exposed workers to significant amounts of asbestos in the form of airborne fibers and particles [1]. During World War II, ship tremendous amounts of building lead to tones of asbestos being utilized on ships and in other structures in Pearl Harbor. Most workers at these facilities got diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma decades after the initial exposure.

Shipyards: What is ironic is the fact that mesothelioma is known to be a rare form of cancer, and asbestosis is found in people more commonly than the former.  But in Hawaii, as well as many other states in America, more deaths resulted from the development of mesothelioma than any other disease caused by asbestos exposure. This may be explained by the fact that the insulation used in most sea vessels and ships is made using the needle-like fibers of amphibole asbestos which is an especially good heat resistant material. This variety of asbestos is known to cause cancer by cell mutation [2] more readily and rapidly than any other form of asbestos known. All workers at shipbuilding sites may at some point have been exposed to asbestos either directly and physically, or via inhalation of airborne fibers of asbestos insulting materials and products being used for the construction of ships and other heavy machinery. This is why it is important to get a mesothelioma screening done if you have worked at such a site. Mesothelioma is a painful and expensive condition to treat; an experienced Hawaii mesothelioma attorney can help you file a claim against the companies that used asbestos in their job sites exposing their employees to this deadly mineral.

Protective Clothing: the most number of people affected with mesothelioma and other diseases caused by asbestos exposure were those that wore fire suits and helmets inside oil refineries and power plants. This is because these suits were designed to repel heat and chemical attacks, which was facilitated by the use of asbestos in the inner lining of these specialized suits. As a result of this, the workers were immediately exposed to asbestos particles and fibers which may either have been inhaled or ingested and caused many fatalities as well as other non-fatal asbestos-related disorders.

Oil refineries: oil refineries also used asbestos abundantly for insulation purposes as it is a cheap material and was readily available during the 1960’s and 70’s.

Hawaii mesothelioma attorney: Mesothelioma and asbestos-related deaths

From the 1970’s till the twenty-first century, almost 140 deaths were reported from Hawaii. Out of these, more than half of the fatalities resulted from the development of mesothelioma. From every three victims of asbestos-related disorders, two were mesothelioma victims which the remaining suffered from another dangerous disease called asbestosis, which is not fatal. The treatment of mesothelioma is also very costly and the condition itself is very painful and fatal. If you have lost a loved one to mesothelioma, you can file a case against the companies that exposed your loved one to asbestos at their job site by contacting a Hawaii mesothelioma lawyer.