Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

Mesothelioma, a deadly form of cancer, develops due to exposure to asbestos, and more typically after prolonged periods of time or after significantly aggressive exposure to asbestos.  However, as the Enivronmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated on multiple occasions, no amount of asbestos exposure can ever be considered safe.  Roger Hammett’s case illustrates that fact all too clearly.  Hammett was recently awarded a $1.45 million settlement in his mesothelioma lawsuit.  He developed the disease after working in a contaminated area over 45 years ago.

While his victory in court is cause for celebration, like many mesothelioma cases, the win is overshadowed by the fact that Hammett won’t have long to live.  The average lifespan for patients diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma is just 9 months after diagnosis.  Hammett’s doctors estimate he may have a little longer than that but don’t think he’ll live for more than a year.

Hammett was exposed in 1966 while he was employed in the mess of a ship travelling from Seattle to Anchorage.  The USS Seattle was manufactured using copious amounts of asbestos products – which was common at the time – and therefore should have been classified as a hazardous working environment. 

Unfortunately, Hammett’s case is all too familiar to doctors and mesothelioma attorneys.  The shipbuilding and shipping industries are responsible for a great many cases of mesothelioma, explaining why so many US Veterans were injured by asbestos.  Working onboard ships was especially dangerous as workers were within close confines and in conditions where they were regularly exposed to temperature changes, wind, salt air, and other detrimental effects which allowed asbestos containing materials to rapidly degrade and release toxic fibers into the air. 

Once airborne, asbestos fibers can easily be inhaled or ingested.  The unique structure of the fibers makes them hard to remove from the body through expiration or coughing, therefore, they tend to burrow deeper into the soft tissues of the lung and abdominal cavities.

That is where they do the real damage.  Tumors form around these fibers because the body’s own immune system cannot combat them.  These tumors may take decades to mature – as in Hammett’s case:  45 years.

Unfortunately, unless patients find reason to be tested for mesothelioma, their first clue that something might be wrong comes too late.  By the time symptoms arise, the disease has already progressed too far to treat with any real success.  In Hammett’s case, he developed what he thought to be asthma, shortness of breath, chest pain and congestion.  The symptoms progressed until he collapsed while gardening one day and was taken to the hospital.  Tests revealed that he was suffering from advanced mesothelioma.

While short exposure mesothelioma cases are rare, a study by the Environmental Working Group found that up to 3 percent of all mesothelioma cases are a result of exposure periods under three months.  There are roughly 3000 deaths annually in the United States and over 200,000 worldwide. 

In combatting mesothelioma, prevention is the key.  Staying away from asbestos or using safety precautions and equipment when necessity dictates handling the materials is the only way to stay safe.