Detroit Asbestos Attorney

If there is one city known for its blue collar roots more than any other city in the United States, that city is arguably Detroit. Its historical importance to the country’s auto manufacturing is the city’s claim to fame for good reason, but the city has long been an industrial and manufacturing hub.

Due to Detroit’s proud blue collar tradition, the city of more than 700,000 residents has suffered greatly from the harms of asbestos exposure.

Why Is Asbestos Exposure Dangerous?

Many older homes, industrial jobsites and military bases used asbestos during construction until the use of asbestos was banned in the 1970s. This ban was issued only after overwhelming evidence demonstrated that asbestos was harmful to human health once ingested or swallowed.

Asbestos is highly durable, which is what made the material desirable for industrial applications in the first place. Unfortunately, this durable nature ensures that once asbestos is disturbed and the microscopic fibers are swallowed or inhaled, the fibers may never leave the body.

Industrial workers at construction sites or factories are at high-risk for developing the illnesses caused by swallowing or inhaling these fibers, and the illnesses caused by asbestos exposure are:

• Mesothelioma
• Asbestosis
• Asbestos-related lung cancer

Each of these diseases can be fatal, and mesothelioma in particular is extremely difficult to diagnose. Since it can take decades for asbestos in the body to mutate the cells into cancerous mesothelioma, an exposure decades ago can lead to a diagnosis today.

This reality helps explain why adults who are diagnosed after the age of 65 have approximately a 40% chance to survive one year after diagnosis. Even patients who are under fifty have little more than a 50% chance of surviving to the one-year mark after a mesothelioma diagnosis.

It is not solely blue collar workers and veterans who are affected by mesothelioma, however. Ordinary Michigan residents may be at risk of asbestos exposure from older, dilapidated homes.

Detroit has a potential public safety issue due to many abandoned and older home that were built with asbestos. The University of Michigan School of Public Health, for example, recognizes that many older buildings and abandoned homes contain asbestos that can be dangerous for the Detroit area, and the department has taken steps to improve the air quality of the city while decreasing public health risk.

Detroit Asbestos Exposure

Given Detroit’s industrial history, it may come as little surprise that Detroit’s Wayne County has suffered more asbestos-related deaths than any other Michigan county. That said, the figures are still shocking. An estimated 1,061 residents have passed away from an asbestos-related disease from 1999 to 2013.

Known jobsites that exposed Detroit workers include, but are far from limited to:

• Acme Equipment Company
• American Bar and Foundry Company
• Brooks & Perkins
• Chrysler Corporation
• Chevrolet Motor Plant
• City of Detroit Department of Public Works
• Detroit Diesel Engine
• Dow Chemical Corp.
• Ford Motor Company
• Madison Park
• Mercy College
• Michigan Lumber Company
• Plymouth Motor Car Company

Talk to a Detroit mesothelioma lawyer if you or a loved one has received a mesothelioma diagnosis that may have been caused by asbestos exposure.

Talk to a Detroit Mesothelioma Lawyer

The Ledger Law Firm provides dedicated representation and legal counsel to victims of mesothelioma whose lives were permanently altered by a wrongful asbestos exposure. You deserve legal compensation and justice that holds responsible parties accountable. Our team builds a strong case on your behalf to make sure this happens.

Contact us online today to discuss your legal options if you are suffering from mesothelioma after being wrongly exposed to asbestos in Detroit.