This Veterans Day, We Should Also Honor Those Who Were Injured by Asbestos
Each year in November we get the chance to pay tribute to the brave men and women who have served in the armed forces. While all veterans should be honored and thanked 365 days a year, Veterans Day provides us with a special opportunity to thank those who have served our country.
Many of our firm’s clients are veterans who are suffering from asbestos-related diseases, such as mesothelioma and lung cancer. Because of this, I have had the opportunity to work with those who have served in virtually every branch of the military. I always enjoy hearing stories about the things our clients encountered while defending our country, some clients even share old photo albums from their military service. While it is an honor to help these veterans and their families work through the process of litigating asbestos claims, it is also disheartening to know that because of their dedication and service, many veterans will continue to develop asbestos-related diseases every year.
Veteran’s Exposure to Asbestos
Asbestos was commonly used in various roles by the armed forces for many years. Asbestos was found in the equipment in the engine and boiler rooms on Naval vessels, as well as in the brakes and engines of Air Force and Naval aircraft, and in many other products. These products had to be maintained and repaired on a regular basis. That maintenance and repair work released asbestos fibers into the atmosphere, which could have been breathed in by anyone working in the nearby area.
Earlier this year, several attorneys from our firm took a trip to Battleship Cove in Fall River, MA (http://www.battleshipcove.org). We were treated to a tour of the USS Massachusetts and the USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. During this remarkable experience we explored every aspect of these vessels, including the engine and boiler rooms – which have remained largely intact from when the ships were operational. It was a particularly poignant experience since many of our clients worked in these engine and boiler rooms as either:
- Machinist Mates
- Boiler Technicians
- Electricians
- Firemen
- Engineers
In fact, asbestos was so prevalent among these positions that the military website miltary.com reported that:
‘Virtually every ship commissioned by the United States Navy between 1930 and about 1970 contained several tons of asbestos insulation in the engine room, along the miles of pipe aboard ship and in the walls and doors that required fireproofing.’
Although the engine and boiler rooms we saw were clean of asbestos, this was not the case when these vessels were operational and it was easy enough to image what the working conditions would have actually been like aboard a Naval vessel during the mid-20th century. At that time, those engine and boiler rooms would have been packed with servicemen, whose work on the equipment would have created a dusty and dirty atmosphere. It was that dust, inhaled by unsuspecting men and women which decades later has caused so many veterans to suffer from asbestos-related illnesses.
Protecting Your Legal Rights
Our office has represented hundreds of veterans in asbestos cases over the years so we understand how and where asbestos was used in military applications. Often, our clients were not even aware that they had come into contact with asbestos until they received a diagnosis of mesothelioma. If you or a loved one is a veteran that has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you may qualify for additional benefits. Please call us for free, confidential consultation (617) 451-9191.
What You May Not Know About Lung Cancer
November is lung cancer awareness month and with good reason. According to the American Lung Association, “Lung cancer causes more deaths than colorectal, breast and prostate cancers combined. An estimated 158,040 Americans are expected to die from lung cancer in 2015, accounting for approximately 27 percent of all cancer deaths.”
What causes lung cancer?
Most people know that smoking is a major cause of lung cancer and if you’re a man the risk is even higher. In a recent study conducted by the US Surgeon General, it was reported that that male smokers are twenty-five times more likely to develop lung cancer than non-smoking males. Many of us also know that occupational exposure to asbestos is another risk factor that increases your chances of developing lung cancer. However, the general public is not as aware of the synergetic effect that occurs when smoking and exposure to asbestos are combined. For these individual, the risk of developing lung cancer doesn’t just increase – it multiples.
Combining smoking and asbestos exposure multiplies risk
For reasons that are not yet completely understood, asbestos poses a greater risk for lung cancer in individuals who smoke cigarettes. It is generally accepted that smoking and asbestos exposure have a synergistic effect. This means that smoking and asbestos combines in the lungs in a way that multiplies the risks that either would have on its own, although studies differ as to the extent of the multiplying effect.
This multiplying of risks is of great significance because the vast majority of individuals who worked with or around asbestos-containing products were also smokers. Consider the occupations that are most often associated with asbestos exposure:
- Shipyard workers
- Navy veterans, particular those who worked in the engine and boiler rooms
- Insulators, pipecoverers and laggers
- Pipefitters and plumbers
- Boilermakers
- Machinists and millwrights
- Plasterers and drywall installers
- Auto mechanics
Men who worked in these occupations were extremely likely to have smoked. In over twenty years of representing victims of asbestos exposure, I can count on two hands the number of lung cancer cases where my client was a lifelong non-smoker and we can understand why. These trades occurred in environments where smoking was not only allowed, it was socially encouraged. Most construction crews were given smoking breaks during the day.
“I have had clients tell me that they weren’t really interested in smoking, but they started doing it because they didn’t want to be left out of the smoking breaks that their buddies were allowed to take.”
—Mike Shepard
US military veterans were practically told to smoke – until 1975 cigarettes were included in K-rations and C-rations. A machinist mate in the United States Navy worked in an engine room that was loaded with asbestos insulation, gaskets and packing, while regularly smoking cigarettes. It is no wonder that so many of my clients are former Navy firemen, machinist mates, electricians and the like. They spent their working hours in a windowless compartment surrounded by boilers, turbines, pumps, valves and a multitude of other equipment that incorporated asbestos insulation, gaskets and packing. That equipment was in constant need of service and repair, creating daily exposures to asbestos. All the while, these veterans were smoking cigarettes as a way to deal with the stress and monotony of life on board a Navy ship. Now, decades later, those two carcinogens have combined in their lungs to cause cancer.
What can you do?
Throughout this month please join us – advocates, survivors, caregivers and family members – as we show support for the lung cancer community and recognize the toll that both smoking and exposure to asbestos has taken, and continues to take, on the men and women who built this country and the service men and women who have protected it.
We want you to know your rights. If you or a loved one suffers from Mesothelioma or lung cancer, call for information on how we can help. Time is of the essence, so call us today (617) 451-9191.
