Cosmetics Companies Pay Damages To South Carolina Woman Who Developed Mesothelioma From Exposure To Talc Products
Inhaling dust is not good for you; this is obvious as soon as it happens. In the short term, all you need is to get away from the dust and be exposed to some fresh air; you usually start feeling better almost immediately. Prolonged and frequent exposure to certain types of aerosols can cause serious illnesses, though. For example, the hazards of working with coal are well known. The dangers of asbestos dust are so great that its uses are now severely restricted. Likewise, many women who developed ovarian cancer and other cancers after exposure to talcum powder have collected damages through lawsuit settlements and court judgments. Regulations limiting the exposure of consumers and workers to disease-causing types of dust can prevent these illnesses, but in many cases, patients do not begin showing symptoms until many years of prolonged exposure have passed and until their diseases are serious. For example, most mesothelioma cases are only diagnosed when the disease is so advanced that the patient has a life expectancy of less than two years. If you have been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, but you do not fit the usual profile of a mesothelioma patient, contact a Columbia asbestos and mesothelioma lawyer.
An Unusual Mesothelioma Case
Almost all known cases of malignant mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the chest wall, result from prolonged exposure to asbestos dust, and the present case is no exception. Mesothelioma is most prevalent in people who worked in the construction and shipbuilding industries before 1978, when most industrial use of asbestos was banned; many of these patients did not get diagnosed until decades later. Some family members of these workers also developed mesothelioma, because the dust residue on the worker’s clothes or shoes entered the household’s air supply.
The plaintiff in a recently decided case got mesothelioma a different way, though. Sarah Plant, 36, has used cosmetics and personal care products that contain talc for most of her life, as have many millions of Americans. She was diagnosed with mesothelioma at age 35, however, and her doctors determined that it was due to exposure to talc products contaminated with asbestos.
Plant filed lawsuits against several companies involved in the manufacture and distribution of the talc products that led to her asbestos exposure and eventually to her case of malignant mesothelioma. Most of the defendants settled, but one of them, a U.S. subsidiary of an Italian company, went to trial. At the trial, the court ordered the defendant to pay $29.14 million in damages to the plaintiff.
Let Us Help You Today
Not all mesothelioma patients are elderly men who worked in the construction industry in the 1970s. The lawyers at the Stanley Law Group can help you if you were diagnosed with mesothelioma as a result of preventable exposure to asbestos dust. Contact The Stanley Law Group in Columbia, South Carolina or call (803)799-4700 for a free initial consultation.
Source:
finance.yahoo.com/news/talc-supplier-hit-29-mln-193857078.html
