For decades, asbestos was considered almost a super-product. It was incredibly versatile, strong and resistant to heat yet strong for insulation, and was used throughout the construction industry and mandated for use by all branches of the United States military. Then in 1973, a shipper named Clarence Borel filed a claim against an asbestos manufacturer citing injuries as a result of the product.
Initially, he was diagnosed with asbestosis, and subsequently mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer. Shortly thereafter, lawsuits piled up against companies, going from about one thousand in 1982 to about 730,000 twenty years later in 2002. Companies involved in lawsuits went from 300 to about 8,400 to over 10,000 by 2013. Currently, according to figures by the World Health Organization, as many as 107,000 workers are linked to asbestos-related illnesses each year.
A big part of the hazards of asbestos is its frequency of use in many older materials, combined with the ease in which it can affect a victim. It can be found in a variety of household materials, ranging from floor tiles to fireplaces and window caulking, to appliances and roofs and plumbing as well. Once airborne, it can be easily inhaled and even latch on to a victim’s clothes and shared to others second-hand.
As you can see, this deadly product has left quite a path of destruction for those who were exposed and, each day, more and more cases come out. Mesothelioma is a form of cancer, and cancers are covered under Social Security’s disability benefits for illness. The sooner you apply, the sooner your application could be approved.