Articles About Health

The California mesothelioma attorneys at Kazan Law have been a pioneering force in the asbestos litigation field in the United States and in California since the early 1970s. As experienced California mesothelioma attorneys, we understand the many obstacles asbestos victims and their families face. The first challenge you face is choosing the best law firm for your situation. How do you go about this due diligence process? Let us help identify important factors when choosing your mesothelioma attorneys.

Why the Best California Mesothelioma Attorneys Are the Most Experienced

You need the best mesothelioma attorneys for your case. Mesothelioma is caused by only one thing – asbestos exposure.  It is a merciless swift-moving disease once the symptoms become evident.  But because the exposure may have happened years or even decades ago, it can be challenging to pinpoint the source of asbestos exposure and the culprit or culprits responsible.  You need mesothelioma attorneys who have the skills cultivated from decades of experience to know exactly how to locate facts and evidence needed to win your lawsuit.

Kazan Law’s 22 mesothelioma attorneys work exclusively with lawsuits stemming from exposure to asbestos. Experience, as they say, is the best teacher. Kazan Law attorneys won some of the very first pioneering cases in California asbestos law. We helped establish the designation “mesothelioma attorneys” as a special category of trial lawyers.  We have represented thousands of mesothelioma victims and won some of the largest awards in asbestos litigation.  It is important to work with attorneys who have this kind of experience and who know how to get you the best possible outcome.

The California Mesothelioma Attorneys Who Launched Asbestos Justice

“Mesothelioma attorneys” did not exist when the first wave of asbestos cases hit the U.S. courts in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  A few attorneys in Texas first started fighting for asbestos victims in 1966. They started filing lawsuits against major producers of asbestos-containing insulation products including Johns-Manville and Owens Corning Fiberglass.  Talk about a situation of David going up against Goliath.  These were tragic situations of loyal hard-working employees fatally sickened by major corporations. By 1973, after legal setbacks and appeals, the first U.S. legal victory for an asbestos victim was finally achieved.

In 1974, Steven Kazan, the founding partner of Kazan Law, had just started his law practice in Oakland, California.  With a growing reputation for expertise in complicated medical issues, he was sought out to work on the first California asbestos lawsuits being filed against a Johns-Manville plant in nearby Pittsburg, CA.  Soon Mr. Kazan was representing over 100 workers from  Manville plants. Eventually that number grew to nearly 400.  In 1983, Steven Kazan won a major victory against Johns-Manville.

Over the next decades, Steven Kazan welcomed into the growing firm brilliant passionate attorneys who had fought for justice for California farm workers and factory workers.  Together they all became Kazan Law. Today over 40 years later, Kazan Law is still considered the top mesothelioma law firm in California.

Kazan Law’s Mesothelioma Attorneys Win Major Cases

Kazan Law’s dedicated mesothelioma attorneys continue to win major cases resulting in large monetary awards and settlements for clients.  Our entire firm regularly receives top professional honors from the legal profession for legal and financial victories.

Kazan Law won an $11 million verdict in 2014 for the Bankhead family in a wrongful death suit.  It was a complicated case involving several trials but we doggedly fought for our clients.  Gordon Bankhead’s mesothelioma was caused by his work with brake linings produced by the Pneumo Abex company and others.

Prior to the Bankhead case, our mesothelioma attorneys had won a $5 million verdict for client James Hellam and his family.  He had worked as a teenager during the summers for his grandfather’s boiler company. As part of his job, he mixed cement purchased in powder form from Crane Co. That was a very long time ago. Yet, Kazan Law attorneys were able to successfully establish this as the source of Mr. Hellam’s asbestos exposure.  Crane Co. tried to deny that they were the ones who had exposed Mr. Hellam to asbestos.  But the California mesothelioma attorneys at Kazan Law proved that Crane Co. executives were fully aware of the dangers presented by asbestos in their products and were negligent in not warning their customers.

In a recent precedent setting case, the California Supreme Court upheld a Kazan Law victory over the Ford Motor Company.  Ford had sought immunity from the case because their headquarters are in Michigan where punitive damages are not permitted.  But the courts ruled that what mattered was that the asbestos exposure occurred in California, where punitive damages stand.  Kazan Law clients Patrick and Sharon Scotts were awarded $1.5 million dollars in punitive damages for Mr. Scott’s mesothelioma.  Our mesothelioma attorneys helped prove that Mr. Scott’s work with automotive brakes had caused his illness.

California Mesothelioma Attorneys Who Make a Difference

Some mesothelioma law firms have been scrutinized and criticized for their conduct. Not Kazan Law. We will not take your case unless we believe we can win it. That is because we work only on contingency. We never charge any fees upfront or take any money from our clients until we achieve a financial award for them.  We also make sure that you are not charged by your healthcare providers for your medical expenses while your case is underway.  If necessary, we will arrange for a lien so that your expenses can be paid from your award after your case is successfully completed.  The last thing you need when you are coping with the tragedy of mesothelioma is to have that tragedy compounded by debt from the costs of mesothelioma treatment.  We will also review all your medical bills to make sure you are not being overcharged. As mesothelioma attorneys, we are also detectives.  Most people can’t remember what they ate for breakfast last month let alone what product they might have been exposed to 30 years ago that may have contained asbestos.  Because of our decades of experience as mesothelioma attorneys, we know very well all the possible asbestos-containing products you may have been exposed to and which companies produced them. We will do most of the work for you so that you can focus on what is most important – your health and your family.  As California mesothelioma attorneys, defending your rights and your family’s well- being is job-one, our passion, and our pride.

Mesothelioma lawyers want to obtain compensation for you and your family for the wrongs done to you that caused your mesothelioma.  If you are suffering from mesothelioma it is because you were exposed to lethal asbestos dust without your permission.  In nearly all cases, the asbestos exposure occurred on the job – either at work or in the military.

Even though mesothelioma emerges decades after the exposure, which it typically does, skilled mesothelioma lawyers know how to investigate and discover what products and product manufacturers, distributors and other companies may be to blame.

Mesothelioma lawyers will then file a lawsuit on your behalf.  The lawsuit will result in either a verdict or a settlement.

How Mesothelioma Lawyers View Verdicts vs. Settlements

You may have heard of “settlements” or “verdicts” in lawsuits where one party has suffered great harm and injury because of another party. But what is the difference between the two, and how do mesothelioma lawyers decide which outcome will be in your best interests?

A settlement is an out-of-court agreement. It means that two parties in a lawsuit have reached an agreement without completing all the legal proceedings of a full trial. In some cases when all the parties settle, that means no trial.

Mesothelioma lawyers seek to file a lawsuit on behalf of a client with mesothelioma against the persons and/or businesses that caused their mesothelioma due to negligence or deliberate wrongdoing. The plaintiff is the person suffering from mesothelioma and the defendants are the parties accused of causing this harm to the plaintiff. If the plaintiff’s mesothelioma lawyer files a lawsuit against defendants but the lawyers for both sides are able to reach a negotiated compensation agreement before or during civil court proceedings, this is considered a settlement.  It generally involves an agreed upon sum of money to be paid to the plaintiff.

Either the plaintiff or the defendant may make the offer of a certain amount to be paid to the plaintiff to settle the case. The other side can choose to accept, counter or reject the offer.

Mesothelioma Lawyers and Trial Verdicts

A verdict or judgment is the final decision reached by a judge and/or jury in court proceedings. If your mesothelioma lawyers take your mesothelioma lawsuit to trial, both sides of the case will be heard. Then evidence will be evaluated in order to determine whether your opponents are guilty or not guilty. Unlike criminal court, where guilt must be proven “beyond a reasonable doubt,” the proof needed in a mesothelioma lawsuit is a “preponderance of evidence” in your favor. Preponderance is defined as most of the evidence.

If the defendant is found guilty, the jury may have the task of determining what amount of financial compensation the defendant will pay to the plaintiff. Mesothelioma lawyers will typically show evidence of the amount of compensation that should be awarded by reviewing current and future medical expenses, lost earnings and also the emotional impact that mesothelioma has had. Verdicts reached in civil court typically result in higher payouts to plaintiffs than settlements, but this can vary depending on specific factors in the case.

Why Mesothelioma Cases Settle

Mesothelioma lawyers sometimes advise their plaintiffs to settle mesothelioma cases out of court. This could be in your best interests so you can avoid a long courtroom battle. Whether your particular case goes to court and results in a verdict will depend on the circumstances, such as the defendants  willingness to pay fair settlements and your determination to seek maximum compensation even if it means going to trial. Your mesothelioma lawyers should discuss your options ahead of time to determine whether settling out of court or going to trial will be best for you , and regularly revisit this subject as the trial continues.

Mesothelioma Lawyers Who Win Multimillion Dollar Verdicts

When mesothelioma lawyers are among the best at what they do, they often win large multi-million dollar verdicts for their clients.  These clients are people who were wrongfully exposed to asbestos and are facing the tragic consequences.

Kazan Law in Oakland, California is a firm of mesothelioma lawyers who are rated as one of the premier mesothelioma law firms in the U.S.  Kazan Law won some of the first major victories for victims of asbestos exposure in the U.S. since it started over forty years ago.  Kazan Law helped establish asbestos litigation as a legal specialty and went on to win some of the biggest monetary verdicts for their clients.

Today well into the 21^st century, Kazan Law’s dedication to legal excellence and justice for asbestos victims continues to result in major verdicts.  These verdicts gain Kazan Law recognition in the legal profession among their peers in the United States and throughout the world.

• $32,800,000 – In 2016, Kazan Law won a California jury verdict for their client, a foundry worker for American Optical Corporation in Los Angeles, California, of $22.8 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages for marketing a faulty respirator. Our client used a faulty American Optical respirator for 17 years expecting that it would protect him from breathing asbestos dust.
• $6,951,000 – In 2015, a California jury returned a verdict, after a six-week trial, in favor of Kazan Law’s client a boilermaker by trade. The jury found Union Pacific Railroad Company responsible for the suffering and wrongful death of our client who worked as a boilermaker at the Southern Pacific Railroad from 1971 to 1995. The award consisted of $6,500,000 in pain and suffering damages in the mesothelioma lawsuit. The court had already determined that Mr. Emerson’s economic damages totaled $451,265 bringing the total of the verdict to $6,951,000.
• $29,270,000 – In 2014, Kazan Law received first place ranking for highest wrongful death verdict amount in California. The recognition was bestowed by the legal profession’s leading publication The Recorder in its review of top verdicts. The $11,800,000 wrongful death verdict followed a two-phase trial verdict Kazan Law won on behalf of the family in previous years. In December 2010, the jury awarded $3,00,000 million in compensatory damages. In January 2011, Kazan Law obtained $13,500,000 in punitive damages. The verdict total amounted to $29,270,000.
• $27,342,500 – In another recent case, the $27, 342,500 verdict won by Kazan Law for a client made the National Law Journal’s exclusive list of Top 100 Verdicts for 2013. The verdict covered damages for pain and suffering, loss of companionship and economic damages.

An important article epublished today in Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) reports that for every four to five reported cases of mesothelioma worldwide, at least one case goes unreported. This is the first study to provide an estimate of unreported cases of mesothelioma, and to show the true cost of asbestos use in the global enviornment.

Authors Eun-Kee Park, Ken Takahashi Tsutomu Hoshuyama,Tsun-Jen Cheng, Vanya Delgermaa, Giang Vinh Le and Tom Sorahan examined the relationship between asbestos use by country from 1920 through 1970 and mesothelioma deaths reported between 1994 and 08. Cumulative asbestos use in 89 countries, which accounted for more than 82 percent of the global population in the year 00, totaled more than 65 million metric tons during 1920–1970. The United States, Russia, United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan led the group in asbestos use. For the 56 countries also reporting mesothelioma data, there were approximately 174,300 such deaths during 1994–08.

A country’s cumulative use of asbestos in prior years was found to reliably predict mesothelioma deaths in the countries reporting mortality data. In this study, these statistics are extrapolated to the 33 countries not reporting mesothelioma data. It is estimated 38,00 additional cases may have occurred in these countries during that same 15-year period. These countries, including Russia, Kazakhastan, China, India and Thailand have quintupled asbestos use during this period.

Developed countries must share experience and technology to enable developing countries to promote accurate diagnosis, reporting and management of asbestos related diseases including mesothelioma. But that in itself is insufficient. As the authors of this study emphasis, “political will is essential to ensure that asbestos use ceases globally”

Having mesothelioma or lung cancer can be exhausting at times, and so is caring for a family member who has either one. Still, you can rest easy knowing that you have untiring patient advocates waiting for you at Kazan, McClain, Lyons, Greenwood and Harley.

In our nearly 40 years of experience helping people make informed legal and medical choices, we have learned that there are many ways to approach cancer care. Whether you’re a patient or a concerned caretaker, one thing that can help keep your body strong and your spirits high is good nutrition.

When someone is diagnosed with mesothelioma or lung cancer, it is easy to let their (and your) diet go out the window. Here are some of the things we’ve learned over the years about keeping up the nutritional end of care.

For caretakers:

If you’re going to care for a friend or loved one, you’ll need to take care of yourself too. Eat three square meals a day. You may want to eat slightly more than usual (especially extra fruits, vegetables, whole grains or protein) since you’re probably burning more energy now. If you spend long hours in the hospital, skip the snack machines in favor of a good half-hour in the cafeteria. You might be surprised how refreshing it is to eat a real meal.

For patients:

In a way, our advice for you is almost no different. Dealing with illness is taxing on your body and mind, so eating wholesome foods can help you stay optimistic and energetic.

However, keep in mind that having mesothelioma or lung cancer can change your body’s needs.

To start, being diagnosed with the condition may leave you feeling sad or stunned. For a while, your appetite may drop off. During this time, lean on your friends a little. They may bring you hot meals or casseroles to show you that they love you. Try eating some. You’ll probably find that you’re hungrier than you thought.

Mesothelioma and lung cancer can also hit your appetite hard even before your diagnosis. These illnesses sometimes cause what’s called “cachexia,” which is loss of appetite, thinness and exhaustion, all rolled up into one. Cachexia can be a early sign of mesothelioma or lung cancer.

While you’re being treated for your illness, your appetite will probably stay low for a while. This is because chemotherapy, radiation treatment and recuperation from surgery can all make it hard to want to eat anything.

Tips for getting nutrition during treatment

• Eat many small meals instead of three big ones.
• Take little bites. This can help you digest food and keep it down.
• If you’re nauseated, wait a while before trying to eat.
• Drink plenty of water, but don’t overdo it. If you fill up on fluids, you’ll have little room for any food.

Related articles:

Strategies for Coping with a Mesothelioma Diagnosis

Mesothelioma and Pain: What to Expect and How to Manage It

Mesothelioma and Exercise: What Patients Should Know About Physical Activity

Hugo Chavez

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez skipped the Summit of the Americas and headed to Cuba for medical treatment after he was recently diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma, according to reports.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro made the announcement from Colombia, where he was in attendance for the meeting in place of Chavez, according to the Washington Post. Maduro told a local television station that the president was advised by doctors not to attend the summit.

The Post reports that the decision for Chavez not to attend the meeting with President Barack Obama and other world leaders could spark questions about the Venezuelan president’s political future.

“For more than a dozen years he has been at the center of attention at these hemispheric gatherings,” Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington, D.C., told the news source. “His cancer, coupled with political problems at home, constrains his regional and global role.”

Venezuela’s asbestos consumption put in spotlight

President Chavez’s diagnosis of mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer, puts Venezuela’s use of asbestos under the microscope. The country, which was one of the earliest adopters of asbestos in South America, was the second-largest importer in 1960.

Between 1960 and 1975, Venezuela’s asbestos imports grew six-fold, and in 2010 the country consumed an estimated 910 metric tons, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Though that number pales in comparison with countries like India and China, the simple fact that asbestos use has not been banned in Venezuela raises major questions.

Chavez, who is running for re-election in October, recently told a group of supporters that his strength has been impacted by the radiation therapy he’s received, but added that he was “doing well,” according to the Post.

Asbestos-related illnesses remain prevalent around the world

While countries like Venezuela have not banned the use of asbestos, a number of others have done so. Still, asbestos-related diseases such as malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer continue to be diagnosed around the world.

A mesothelioma diagnosis for a major public figure like Hugo Chavez sheds light on the reality that asbestos exposure remains a significant crisis. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 107,000 individuals around the world succumb to asbestos-related diseases each year.

I have told hundreds of asbestos victims about the process of a mesothelioma lawsuit, yet nothing can prepare a client for the experience like the following excerpt. Thanks to Kazan Law client, Dr. Ron Gersten, for sharing his story in his book, Where the Mountain Takes Me, which he wrote with Gerry Mandel after his mesothelioma diagnosis in June of 08.

The Courtyard by Marriott became the scene for a critical confrontation between the plaintiff Dr. Ron Gersten and a long list of defendants. The attorneys at Kazan Law sensed they had a strong case. They tried to cover every base, even bases that Ron was unaware of–his entire history, his grades in college, his affiliations and friends. Anything that might pertain to his condition, as remote as it might be, was examined inside and out.

Kazan’s team of investigators probed into every aspect of his case, from the companies responsible for the products and their lack of safety at the site, to the use of the asbestos in the products themselves. Thousands of pages of information were reviewed and potential witnesses contacted. The resources of this experienced law firm had been cranked into overdrive to move into the deposition quickly and effectively.

This phase of the hearings promised to put tremendous pressure on Ron. His sense of detail, his memory of events long past, his specific job functions, who, where and what the projects were, what kind of materials were used and who specified them—Kazan was a tremendous help.

Ron entered the room at the Marriott where fourteen attorneys were prepared to begin the deposition. Kazan Law partner Gordon Greenwood helped Ron to a chair. The process began after opening formalities. Ron’s lead attorney was a beautiful blonde woman with a perky attitude. More important, she was one hell of a lawyer. Her name was Andrea Huston and she ran the meeting with an iron fist.

The deposition lasted four days. Ron was in pain much of the time, and coughed frequently, a persistent attempt to clear his air passages. When he appeared to be tiring, Andrea halted the proceedings with a no-nonsense “Dr. Gersten is not in shape to continue. We will take a break.”

At the end of the four days, Ron went home and waited. He kept his cell phone near him throughout the day and night. They had sued fourteen entities. Gordon called occasionally to reassure him. Andrea kept him informed of where things stood. Ron’s wife, Martha, waited as breathlessly as Ron.

Andrea called one day not long after. “Good news, Ron. We’ve just settled one of the cases.” She told Ron a number and he almost dropped the phone. He had never seen that number before, not with a dollar sign attached to it anyway. Little by little, thirteen out of fourteen settled.

The size of the final awards ensured that all medical costs and living expenses for Ron and Martha would be taken care of.

An early diagnosis is one of the first steps toward overcoming a potentially fatal disease. When it comes to malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), there are few reliable methods of detecting this illness, particularly while it is in its early stages. This makes medical research all the more important.

Recently, a team of scientists from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) conducted a study with help from the Estate of Robert Griffiths; the Jeffrey and Karen Peterson Family Foundation; and Paul and Michelle Zygielbaum, all of whom provided funds via The Kazan, McClain, Abrams, Fernandez, Lyons, Greenwood, Oberman, Satterley & Bosl Foundation, Inc, which gave additional support, as well. For the experiment, the researchers evaluated the utility of three different proteins as potential biomarkers of malignant mesothelioma.

A pressing need for better detection
The median survival time following diagnosis of mesothelioma is 16 months, according to the National Cancer Institute. This disease is usually a consequence of identifiable asbestos exposure. However, because the latency period between contact with the material and the development of symptoms can take upward of 20 years, the incidences of asbestos-related illnesses will continue to rise for at least the next decade as the population of senior citizens increases, according to the Environmental Working Group.

Doctors are usually able to treat diseases effectively if they identify them early. This has proved to be a rather difficult goal for MPM. According to the American Cancer Society, most patients do not even know they are sick until they develop symptoms. Some physicians try to diagnose these individuals with the help of chest X-rays or computed tomography. However, it is not clear whether these tools are useful.

Signs of disease in the cells
One active area of research into the diagnosis of MPM is biomarkers, which are substances in the body that indicate the presence of disease. Based on previous studies, scientists from UCSF decided to investigate whether the proteins dishevelled-3 (Dvl3), excitatory amino acid transporter 1 (EAAT1) and glutamine synthetase (GS) could help identify MPM.

In their experiment, the researchers collected tissue samples from 39 MPM patients. They also obtained cell samples from both MPM and healthy mesothelial tissue. Among the various laboratory tests that they performed was cell staining to reveal the biomarkers.

“According to the results in this study, our findings indicate that MPM cells express more EAAT1 than normal cells. Moreover, the survival time of MPM patients was inversely correlated with the degree of EAAT1 staining: the stronger the staining, the shorter the survival time,” the researchers wrote in the Journal of Clinical Pathology.

Other results showed that both Dvl3 and GS staining were associated with EAAT1 staining, but only Dvl3 was linked to survival time. Further studies are needed to verify these findings.

If you are a baseball fan, you may be aware of the official 2012 World Series Champions Film. If not, you may be interested to learn that a special component of the DVD featured Hollywood stars and baseball fans Steve Carrell, Ken Jeong and Colin Hanks speaking in a video for the Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) campaign. The plug is just one of many examples of how Major League Baseball (MLB) has dedicated itself to supporting Americans who are fighting against malignant diseases, including mesothelioma.

This kind of vocal support goes hand in hand with the solidarity shown by some of the athletes and coaches themselves, including Giants first base coach Roberto Kelley, a good friend of mesothelioma patient Ron Nelson. The latter individual is one of the many clients we at Kazan, McClain, Satterley, Lyons, Greenwood & Oberman proudly represent.

Taking a stand for years

Professional athletes often find themselves in very privileged positions. Not only do they represent their teams’ respective cities, but they also earn the attention and admiration of adoring fans. This may be why so many baseball players decide to use their celebrity for a good cause.

For years, MLB athletes have supported cancer charities. Efforts have been localized to individual teams, such as the bowling and golf tournaments hosted by the Minnesota Twins to benefit a treatment center. There have also been projects supported by the entire league, like the Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer project.

But the real game changer happened in 08, when baseball commissioner Bud Selig, a skin cancer survivor, announced that MLB would contribute $10 million to SU2C. This made MLB the first major sponsor to support the organization, which works to advance cancer research.

Boosting visibility in 2012

After that initial contribution in 08, MLB has shown a real commitment to promoting the work of SU2C. During Game 1 of the 2012 World Series between the Giants and Tigers, there was a moment at AT&T Park where players on both teams, joined by more than 40,000 fans, held up a placard inscribed with the name of a loved one who had fought a battle with cancer. Among those taking a stand was Giants first base coach Kelley, whose placard bore Nelson’s name. The dedication was broadcast live to baseball fans all over the world, reminding them of the importance of supporting the research of such malignant diseases.

But the generosity of the MLB didn’t end after the World Series. During early December, the league and all 30 ball clubs participated in a charity auction to raise money for SU2C. Prizes included breakfast with Giants outfielder Hunter Pence, a private baseball lesson with San Diego Padre first base coach Dave Roberts and a Washington Nationals Draft day experience.

At closing, the auction raised more than $150,000. Since 2012, MLB’s efforts brought SU2C more than $30 million.

Other partners join MLB

Nearly all people will be touched by cancer at some point in their lives. Even if a person never develops a form of the disease, odds are he or she will know someone who is affected by malignant mesothelioma, breast cancer, leukemia and other conditions.

This may be why SU2C has no shortage of corporate partners who want to help, including Safeway, Mastercard and the Island Def Jam Music Group, which includes artists such as Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Rihanna, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Ethridge, LeAnn Rimes and Carrie Underwood.

At Kazan Law, we also believe in standing up with our clients and their loved ones. This is why we have contributed funds to the work of prestigious scientists around the world who are developing new approaches to mesothelioma.

After you have been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, it is important to have a thorough conversation with your healthcare team about all of the possible treatment options. Such a discussion will highlight the different treatment options and experimental therapies available for cancer patients today.

At Kazan Law, we like to keep track of all of the various possibilities for patients, including multimodal therapies that administer more than one treatment, and newer options that scientists are still studying. In Japan, one team of researchers is exploring the effects of hyperthermia.

Treatment heats cancer cells to death
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) describes hyperthermia as a form of cancer therapy that applies temperatures as high as 113 degrees Fahrenheit (F) to parts of the body that are affected by a malignancy. Doctors who use hyperthermia often combine it with radiation or chemotherapy.

The idea is that the high temperatures either kill the diseased cells directly or make them more sensitive to other forms of treatment.

Hyperthermia can be administered to a small and local area or applied to a larger region. For the former, applicators or probes may be used on the skin, inside a cavity or directly on the tumor. When it comes to regional hyperthermia, external applicators may be placed over large surface areas of the body, heated chemotherapy drugs can be administered, or a patient’s blood is removed in order to be heated by a device before being circulated throughout the body again.

The NCI notes that the effectiveness of hyperthermia depends on a combination of the temperature, the characteristics of the cancer cells and the length of therapy.

Doctors discuss hyperthermia for mesothelioma
So far, scientists have explored the use of hyperthermia for the treatment of malignancies of skin, brain, lung, breast, liver, bladder, rectum and peritoneum. In Japan, one team of doctors published a case report in which they discussed treating a mesothelioma patient with hyperthermia.

They diagnosed the 61-year-old man with stage III malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). The American Cancer Society describes this stage as involving the pleural lining of one side of the chest, one of several tissue layers around the chest or heart, possible disease in the lymph nodes and a lack of spreading to distant areas of the body.

The man in the case report did not wish to undergo invasive treatments, such as surgery or radiation. In light of his preferences, the doctors decided to treat him with a combination of chemotherapy – using cisplatin and irinotecan – and hyperthermia. After the physicians administered the irinotecan, they applied 30-centimeter wide electrodes to the front and back of the patient’s thorax. Radiofrequency waves heated the target tissues to 42.5 degrees Celsius, or approximately 108.5 degrees F. Each hyperthermia session lasted 60 minutes.

After one course of chemotherapy and three hyperthermia treatments, CT scans of the chest revealed that the thickening of the pleura had been significantly reduced. Afterward, the patient remained disease-free for more than seven years.

“The combination of hyperthermia and chemotherapy may be a novel and safe therapeutic option for MPM and can be considered in cases ineligible for radical treatment,” the scientists wrote in the Journal of Medical Case Reports. “Further clinical studies of the hyperthermia-chemotherapy combination are required to confirm its effects on MPM.”

What does the future hold?
So far, hyperthermia is not a standard treatment for any cancer. However, there are several clinical trials going on, as noted by the NCI.

If these trials continue to show promise, hyperthermia may prove invaluable to individuals affected by cancer related to asbestos exposure.

In the fight against malignant diseases caused by asbestos exposure, doctors may take several approaches. While surgery can physically remove the abnormal tissue, radiation and chemotherapy may be more common for patients whose conditions are advanced. These different treatments often work together.

At Kazan Law, we are very familiar with the side effects of chemotherapy. We are also excited about the fact that scientists are constantly developing new drugs while figuring out more effective ways to administer the existing ones. However, Reuters Health recently reported on a disturbing trend in which researchers seem to be downplaying the side effects of the drugs that they study.

Research finds surprising results
Ian Tannock, a scientist from Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, investigated how forthcoming researchers were in the presentation of 164 individual studies. He made some shocking discoveries:

• Two-thirds of the papers did not list the serious side effects of chemotherapy, radiation or surgery in the introductory abstract of the publication.
• One-fifth of the authors did not include the toxicities within their studies’ results tables.
• One-third of the scientific articles did not discuss toxicities in either their papers’ abstracts or discussion sections.
• One-third of the studies shifted the focus of their papers during the research if the authors found that they were not getting the results they hoped for. This can mean the difference between reporting lifespan without cancer and lifespan with relapsing disease.

These trends are important to note because doctors sometimes read only the paper’s abstract, increasing the chances that they can miss important information. Tannock also discovered that these behaviors were not limited to cancer studies.

“Investigators want to go overboard to make their studies look positive,” Tannock told Reuters Health.

Altering the way an experiment’s results are reported can increase the chances of publication, which in turn boosts the authors’ likelihood of receiving grants and tenure.

Tannock suggested that scientific journals can discourage these practices by requiring authors to talk about side effects and other problems within their abstracts. Furthermore, those who read journal articles need to learn how to be more critical.

Chemo side effects and asbestos-induced diseases
The National Cancer Institute lists the most common side effects of chemotherapy as nausea, vomiting, fatigue, hair loss, oral sores, pain and decreased blood cell counts. These complications occur because medications for cancer usually target cells that have a high rate of growth, including healthy ones.

Not all patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer or other diseases experience the same chemotherapy side effects. This tends to depend on the type of treatment a patient is undergoing, as well as his or her overall health before the course begins.

If you experience any side effects from your cancer treatment, it is important to discuss them with your medical team. Sometimes these side effects can curb your motivation to adhere to your regimen, which can only lead to more problems. Instead, ask you physician about how you can cope.

For example, the American Cancer Society has several tips on how you can deal with changes in your appetite caused by nausea or problems in the mouth. Eating a balanced diet is still important during cancer therapy because it will help you maintain your strength and stay healthy.

To help increase your desire to eat, try walking before meals or eating with loved ones. Additionally, you should try to add variety to different aspects of your mealtime, such as the setting or the types of food that you consume.

Sitting down to three average-sized meals a day may seem daunting if you have a low appetite. Instead, consider eating several smaller meals throughout the day. This may make it easier to keep food down.

Mesothelioma patients and their families confront the malignant asbestos-caused cancer every day but yesterday all across the US many people got their first introduction to the often fatal illness, including those in a position to do something about it.  These included everyone from Congressional representatives in Washington DC to college students in Florida and Arizona who participated in fundraising runs to support mesothelioma patients.

Started by the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF) in 04, Meso Awareness Day event organizers have steadily scaled up their efforts to familiarize the general public about this deadly type of cancer caused by asbestos exposure primarily in the workplace or asbestos-containing products in the home.  About 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year.

MARF is the only national non-profit organization entirely dedicated to ending mesothelioma by funding research, providing education and support for patients and their families, and by advocating for federal funding of mesothelioma research.

With dozens of events occurring around the nation and more scheduled for this weekend, here are a few highlights of Meso Awareness Day 2013 thus far:

• MARF members held a Congressional Briefing at 10 a.m. yesterday in the Rayburn Office Building. Their presentation was called “Mesothelioma: Unknown, Underfunded and Incurable.”
• A large group of MARF supporters gathered at New York City’s Rockefeller Center for the taping of the Today Show were visible in their bright yellow shirts. Today Show Al Roker briefly spoke with the group .
• The Baltimore Orioles, during their game against the Toronto Blue Jays, recognized Meso Awareness Day by featuring information about the Meso Foundation on the jumbotron screen.

Kazan Law is proud to be listed on the Annual Donors page on MARF’s website.  We are pleased to know that through donations from the Kazan, McClain, Abrams, Fernandez, Lyons, Greenwood, Oberman, Satterly & Bosl Foundation, Inc., we are part of who MARF is talking about when they state:

“Because of your support, the Foundation funds the highest-quality, peer-reviewed research, provides education and support to patients and their loved ones and leads advocacy efforts to increase federal funding for research and increase awareness of mesothelioma.”

We believe that thanks to MARF’s efforts like Meso Awareness Day, mesothelioma will not be unknown, underfunded and maybe not even incurable in the future.

Doctor’s office forms, hospital test forms, insurance forms. When you have malignant mesothelioma, you get handed lots of clipboards and wind up filling out lots of forms.  But there is one form you need to make your sure you fill out.  That’s the Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment known as the POLST.

As a patient with malignant mesothelioma, there are many things in your life that are not in your control.  But the POLST helps give you control over one very important thing – your medical care.  The POLST also helps you talk with your healthcare team and your loved ones about your choices.  It can help prevent you from receiving unwanted or ineffective medical treatment.  In this way, the POLST can help spare your family the anguish of not knowing what type of medical procedures to say yes or no to. It makes sure that your wishes are known and honored.

The decisions documented on the POLST form include whether to:

• Attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation,
• Administer antibiotics and IV fluids,
• Use a ventilator to help with breathing, and
• Provide artificial nutrition by tube

Where can I get a POLST form?

You can request the form from your doctor. The form can also be found at www.caPOLST.org

Is the POLST required by law?

Filling out a POLST form is entirely voluntary, but as of 09, California law requires that the physician orders in a POLST be followed by health care providers.

Does the POLST form replace the Advance Care Directive?

The POLST form complements an Advance Directive and is not intended to replace that document. You still need an Advance Directive to appoint a legal health care decision-maker.

What happens to my POLST form after it is completed and signed?

The original POLST form should stay with you at all times.

• In a hospital, your POLST will be in your medical record or file.
• At home, place your POLST in a visible location so it can be found easily by emergency medical personnel – usually on a bedside table or on the refrigerator

Table of Contents for the series of papers that were the result of Biological Effects of Asbestos, a conference held by The New York Academy of Sciences on October 19, 20, and 21, 1964.

A conclave of leading scientists working in mesothelioma research happens this month under the auspices of the International Mesothelioma Interest Group (iMig). The 12th International Mesothelioma Interest Group Conference. The world’s premier medical congress on mesothelioma – will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, October 21 – 24. We are proud to be the major financial supporter and also a participant in this important symposium.

This year’s iMig conference comes at a special time in the history of mesothelioma research. It coincides with the 50^th anniversary of the first ever international asbestos conference held by the New York Academy of Sciences in October 1964.

That first conference and awareness of asbestos as a lethal health hazard came about primarily because of the pioneering efforts of one man, Dr. Irving Selikoff. His work is largely responsible for driving the regulation of asbestos today.

Although Dr. Selikoff was not the first to identify the connection between asbestos and cancer, he played a key role in publicizing the danger to workers.  The results of his epidemiological research were so startling to him that he felt he needed to take action. His research is credited with having pressured the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to limit workplace exposure to asbestos.

Asbestos was widely used by American industries even though its dangerous health effects were already known.  When a local asbestos workers union asked Dr. Selikoff to add their membership to his practice in Paterson, New Jersey, he noticed something that alarmed him. The asbestos workers were being diagnosed with lung disease and cancer at a much higher rate than his other patients and had cases of malignant pleural mesothelioma, a rare cancer. Dr. Selikoff did more mesothelioma research on this with other workers, including shipyard workers. The results convinced him that asbestos was causing the workers’ fatal illnesses and made him determined to make sure that the dangers of asbestos would not be ignored.

In October 1964, Dr. Selikoff organized a conference on the “Biological Effects of Asbestos” through the New York Academy of Sciences.  The conference was a turning point in public and scientific awareness of the hazards of asbestos.   The discussions even included presentations showing that wives could develop mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos dust on their husband’s work clothes.

The asbestos industry and its lawyers did not take this threat to their industry lightly and retaliated with full fury in attacking Dr. Selikoff and his work.  But he never backed down or gave up.  The momentum started by the 1964 conference helped lead to asbestos losing popularity as an industrial material and its being banned for many types of uses. I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Selikoff several times and I can tell you he was a nice guy.

Today as asbestos persists in the environment, we are proud to support both efforts to ban asbestos and research to cure mesothelioma.

Jennifer Bennett
Photo credit: Public Justice

Because of what we have learned in our practice as mesothelioma lawyers, we give back in the area of safeguarding public justice. It is one of our guiding principles at Kazan Law. We fund mesothelioma research to help find new treatments for this terrible disease.  But we also help fund nonprofit groups who are trying to help keep the scales of justice balanced.

One of the organizations that we support is aptly named Public Justice.  Based in Washington D.C. and Oakland, it is widely considered to be America’s leading public interest law firm. According to its mission statement, it:

• protects people and the environment
• holds the powerful accountable
• challenges government, corporate, and individual wrongdoing
• increases access to justice
• combats threats to our justice system
• inspires lawyers and others to serve the public interest

Kazan Law helps fund Public Justice by co-underwriting together with another firm a full-time position for one of their attorneys.

Jennifer Bennett is the Kazan Budd attorney for Public Justice.  She works in the organization’s Oakland, California office.

Jennifer graduated in 2010 from Yale, one of the top law schools in the country. While there, she was a senior editor of the Yale Law Journal, managing editor of the Yale Law & Policy Review and received honors from the Dean. She could have become a big corporate lawyer. But instead Jennifer chose the path of public justice and to defend the defenseless. While still at Yale, she was a member of the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic, which represents immigrants and low-wage workers in labor, immigration and civil rights cases.

Currently she is working on a public safety case involving Chrysler, the maker of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles. She is providing legal support for the Center for Auto Safety and drivers in several states in a class action suit alleging not only that certain Chrysler models are defective, but that the company has known about – and concealed – the defect for years.

“The public has a right to know whether (or not) there’s evidence that the cars they are driving might kill them,” Jennifer states in a recent post she wrote for the Public Justice blog.  With public safety at risk and lives possibly endangered because alleged corporate neglect, this sounds like our kind of fight. All of us mesothelioma lawyers and our support staff at Kazan Law are proud to sponsor this public-minded attorney in her important work.

As mesothelioma lawyers who seek justice for innocent people exposed to asbestos, we have seen many, many times the tragic results when corporations are unimpeded in their drive to place profits over people and basic decency. We as a people cannot trust these business entities with public safety any more than you can expect the proverbial fox to guard the chickens.

Mesothelioma clinical trial results were announced recently by the major American pharmaceutical company Merck and the news is good. Merck tested its new cancer-fighting drug Keytruda in 25 patients with advanced pleural mesothelioma, a fatal cancer that is caused by exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma typically affects the cells that line the lungs but can also occur in cell linings of the abdomen and other organs.

Mesothelioma Clinical Trial Key: Blocking Cell Death Protein

In this mesothelioma clinical trial, as with the clinical trials for the 20 other difficult types of cancer being tested with Keytruda treatments, the key mechanism involves Keytruda’s ability to block an immune-suppressing protein called PD-1.

Keytruda, Merck’s registered trademark name for pembrolizumab, is part of a new class of drugs that is proving to be effective at blocking PD-1. Blocking PD-1 gives the body’s own immune system the opportunity it needs to attack tumors and stop the spread of cancer.

Mesothelioma Clinical Trial Results

The early findings for Merck’s mesothelioma clinical trial with Keytruda showed an overall response rate (confirmed and unconfirmed) of 28 percent in patients with tumors that expressed PD-1. Additionally, 48 percent of patients had stable disease, resulting in an overall disease control rate of 76 percent. At the time of Merck’s report, 40 percent of patients – 10 out of 25 were still receiving the treatment.

These Keytruda mesothelioma clinical trial results are being presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting by Dr. Evan Alley, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, and also were highlighted in the AACR’s official press conference.

“This presentation at AACR marks the first time that data involving an anti-PD-1 therapy have been presented in pleural mesothelioma, which is a hard-to-treat cancer with very limited treatment options,” said Dr. Alley, clinical associate professor of medicine, Abramson Cancer Center. “While early, the disease control rates observed in this study are very encouraging, and indicate that further study is warranted to evaluate the potential role of Keytruda in the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma.”

It is worth noting that the mesothelioma clinical trial results reported that no mesothelioma patients discontinued Keytruda due to negative side effects, and there were no treatment-related deaths.

Mesothelioma Clinical Trial Ushers In New Era in Cancer Treatment

Mesothelioma clinical trial results until now have typically generated favorable or unfavorable scientific results that were limited only to the treatment of mesothelioma. With an innovative approach that recognizes that some of the basic processes for cancer are similar across all types of cancers and that a treatment for one cancer can be effective in many types, Merck has undertaken a new vast clinical trial program for Keytruda that includes more than 85 simultaneous clinical trials – encompassing over 30 tumor types and over 14,000 patients – both as the sole type of treatment and in combination with other therapies.

The results from the Keytruda mesothelioma clinical trial will not only help mesothelioma patients but will contribute to an important new body of vital knowledge on the treatment of all types of cancer through the PD-1 inhibitor mechanism.

PD-1 pathway inhibitors show the potential to “change the landscape of cancer immunotherapy,” an article in the journal Cancer Control stated just in the last year. “The PD-1/PD-L1 pathway in cancer is implicated in tumors escaping immune destruction and is a promising therapeutic target. The development of anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 agents marks a new era in the treatment of cancer with immunotherapies,” the article predicted.

Now with the promising results shown in the Keytruda mesothelioma clinical trial and also in a Keytruda melanoma clinical trial, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, that new era in cancer treatment may at long last finally be here.

More than 50 US companies have declared bankruptcy to avoid the full costs of asbestos lawsuits. Those companies have set up asbestos trust funds to provide compensation for people who become ill with mesothelioma, now and into the future.

Mesothelioma Trust Fund Awards: Who Are They For?

If you have mesothelioma or other asbestos-related illness and you were exposed to asbestos by a company that has established an asbestos bankruptcy trust, you are entitled to an award from that company’s trust fund.

Asbestos trust funds have been established by companies that acknowledge their products contained harmful asbestos. These corporations have accepted liability for the fact that their negligence has led to asbestos disease. The trusts compensate people who have become ill with mesothelioma or other asbestos-related illness after working with or around those products. There are more than 115,000 sites and 19,000 ships in the US where these companies admitted they exposed people to asbestos.

If you have a diagnosis of mesothelioma or other asbestos disease, you may seek compensation from an asbestos trust fund. You will need to establish that you worked at one of the identified sites or elsewhere, what your job was there, and the time period during which you worked there.

A mesothelioma lawyer who understands the requirements of asbestos trust funds can gather and complete the documentation you need to make your claim. If you have been exposed to asbestos from multiple sources, your attorney can investigate to determine which corporations share responsibility for your injuries and help you receive all the compensation you are due.

Expected Mesothelioma Trust Fund Awards and Payouts

Payouts from mesothelioma trust funds depend on several factors, including the amount of funding left in the trust for future claimants, the severity of your illness, and the length of your exposure to asbestos at a particular site. Funds use a formula to calculate standard payout amounts.

Over the past three decades, asbestos trusts have paid more than $21 billion to claimants who have been injured by exposure to asbestos. Claimants with mesothelioma usually get the largest awards, averaging around $260,000. The trusts have remaining combined assets of more than $32 billion for compensating people who develop mesothelioma in the future.

You may submit your claim for expedited review, which can result in a quicker payout but the amount will be fixed and non-negotiable. Claimants must meet certain requirements to be eligible for expedited review. The individual review option gives you the opportunity to highlight all the circumstances of your claim. With help from an experienced asbestos lawyer, claimants often receive higher awards through the individual review process.

Once you have reached agreement with the mesothelioma trust fund on the amount of compensation you are due, your award may be reduced by something called the “payment percentage.” Few trusts pay the full amounts awarded, most pay only a fraction of the award amount, if trust funds are limited. This is done to insure that there will be enough money left to compensate all future claimants. The payment percentage can be 25 percent or less. The payment percentage may increase in the future, if there are fewer future claimants than expected. If this happens, you and your family could receive additional compensation at a later date.

How to Secure Your Mesothelioma Trust Fund Award

You can file claims against more than one mesothelioma trust fund, if you were exposed to asbestos from the product of more than one company. You may also file a lawsuit for damages against other corporations while seeking trust fund compensation.

If your asbestos exposure was due to a product you used at work, your claim may be against the manufacturer of that product. An asbestos lawyer can help you determine the appropriate party against which to file your claim.

Each asbestos trust has a website that outlines procedures for filing a claim and the proof required to support your claim. The claim procedures are standard for all these bankruptcy trusts and many allow you to submit your claim online.

Every mesothelioma trust is administered jointly by bankruptcy trustees, a Trust Advisory Committee made up of attorneys representing the interests of mesothelioma claimants, and a representative for future claimants. These parties determine the payment percentage and supervise The Trust’s compensation.

The process of receiving compensation from a mesothelioma trust is simpler than filing a lawsuit. You should still enlist the assistance of a mesothelioma lawyer to ensure that the process flows smoothly and that your best interests are represented.

$30 Billion has been set aside for mesothelioma victims. 

If you or someone in your family has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you will need to obtain the best medical treatment, pay for living expenses, and provide for your family in the future.

Act now. There’s no cost to file a claim.

Choosing a Lawyer to Handle Your Mesothelioma Lawsuit is the Most Important Financial Decision You’ll Ever Make

Choosing a lawyer to represent you in a mesothelioma lawsuit is a more important decision than even buying a home. Your home could potentially yield you a couple of hundred thousand dollars in return on investment if property values skyrocket in your neighborhood. But a mesothelioma lawsuit properly handled by a top quality mesothelioma lawyer from a reputable firm like Kazan Law that specializes in mesothelioma can be worth millions to you and your family.

Money cannot replace a person. But money can prevent additional unnecessary suffering on the part of your family by paying the bills. It also helps give you and your family a sense of justice. A great harm was done to you and a good mesothelioma lawyer can make sure that those responsible are held accountable, and that your family’s financial security is guaranteed.

Why You Should Look Beyond Your Community for Filing a Mesothelioma Lawsuit

Working with a highly regarded and experienced mesothelioma lawyer is more valuable than having one who is close by.  That is truer than ever today, with the expanded capabilities of internet and cell phone communications.  The top-quality mesothelioma lawyers at Kazan Law will take the time to come and meet with you to discuss your mesothelioma lawsuit no matter where you live.

Over 40 Years Experience

Since its founding in 1974, Kazan Law has handled lawsuits for thousands of people suffering from asbestos related illnesses, particularly mesothelioma. Our principals include pioneers in asbestos litigation and are among the most experienced mesothelioma lawyers in the country. We have unmatched experience in asbestos bankruptcy reorganizations and asbestos bankruptcy funds.

There are approximately 2,500 new cases of mesothelioma diagnosed each year in the United States. The laws and parameters regarding winning a mesothelioma lawsuit are complicated and vary from state to state. Attorneys at Kazan Law who focus intensively on asbestos law know the intricacies of asbestos litigation and have the experience to successfully take a case through the court system are a special breed.

What Our Clients Say

“You guys never cease to amaze me. Thank you for your consistent efforts on behalf of me and the boys. We appreciate the checks. The boys don’t have to worry about funds for college and I don’t have to worry about funds to live on as a single mom. You guys are fabulous. I know it’s a team and you all work together like a well-oiled machine.”– Debra Clemmons

Call 877-995-6372 or fill out the form to the right today to get your free information.

For those who have worked around asbestos without proper protection, mesothelioma is always a concern. You will need more than a history of asbestos exposure, however, before you file your mesothelioma lawsuit. Here are some important steps to get you started.

Your Mesothelioma Diagnosis

If you know you have been exposed to toxic asbestos at home or at work, you will probably want to keep tabs on your health. It makes sense to educate yourself about the signs and symptoms of this very serious cancer, as well as other asbestos-related diseases.

Most people who have worked or lived in environments with asbestos fibers in the air do not develop mesothelioma. If you develop symptoms common to mesothelioma, such as a persistent cough or hoarseness, however, you should consult your doctor immediately. An early diagnosis may prolong your life.

It can be important to get your mesothelioma diagnosis confirmed by an experienced mesothelioma doctor. After you have gotten your initial diagnosis, your lawyer can help you figure out if you need to visit a specialist before you file your mesothelioma lawsuit or apply for compensation from an asbestos trust fund.

Chart Your Work History

One key component of every mesothelioma lawsuit is your employment history or other asbestos exposure. You can help move the process forward by making a list of your employers and the dates where you worked at each place. This list should go back to your very first job, even if you started working many years ago. Mesothelioma always takes decades to appear. Your exposure on the job when you were in your 20s could lead to this disease when you are in your 60s or 70s.

Your work history should also include the different roles you filled at each job. If you remember any details about your worksites, this may also be useful. Were you installing asbestos insulation or ripping it out? Did you work around plumbing or in the boiler room of a ship in the Navy? All these details may be pertinent to your mesothelioma lawsuit.

You don’t have to complete this task alone. Your mesothelioma lawyer will help you by researching your former employers to find out which ones have a history of asbestos use. In addition, a good mesothelioma law firm employs investigators who can locate the records you need to prove your employment and to uncover where asbestos was used on your worksites.

Even if you don’t believe that you were exposed to asbestos at a particular jobsite, you should include it in your work history. Asbestos can sometimes be present in situations where you wouldn’t expect it or didn’t know about it.

What If You Didn’t Work Around Asbestos?

Some people have gotten mesothelioma through exposure to asbestos outside of a workplace. Many people have won mesothelioma lawsuits after they inhaled toxic asbestos dust from a spouse’s or parent’s work clothes. Some people come into contact with asbestos through renovations at your home or workplace.

Mesothelioma Lawsuit Preparations

To prepare for your mesothelioma lawsuit, write down your employment history even if you don’t think that’s where your asbestos exposure originated. In addition, list other places and times where you think you might have been exposed to asbestos. If your spouse worked around asbestos, include his or her work history as well.

It is important to be as thorough in this process as possible. This task may seem hard when you are also feeling the effects of mesothelioma on your health. Again, this is a good time to lean on your mesothelioma lawyer for help.

Choose the Right Lawyer for Your Mesothelioma Lawsuit

After your mesothelioma diagnosis has been confirmed, you will need to think about finding the best lawyer for your mesothelioma lawsuit. You want someone who is experienced in asbestos litigation and who is relentless in pursuing justice for his or her clients.

The process of choosing your mesothelioma lawyer may go against the grain. It is important to hire one of the best firms in the field. This is one instance where you can have access to the best lawyers no matter your economic situation or where you live.

This is because top-notch mesothelioma attorneys will work with you on a contingency fee basis, which means that you don’t need to put out any money up front. Your lawyer will take a percentage of any award or settlement you get. You are in no danger of going into debt over legal fees; if you don’t receive any compensation, neither does your asbestos attorney.

Choosing an experienced mesothelioma attorney is important because it can mean a difference of millions of dollars in compensation for your claim. This is money that you and your family can use to cover expenses during your illness and beyond.

You don’t have to pick a lawyer in your hometown or even your home state. You can seek legal representation from the best mesothelioma lawyers in the United States. You won’t be out of pocket for travel, either: your attorneys will come to visit you in your home.

Kazan Law is one of the pioneering firms in asbestos litigation. We are proud to have helped thousands of clients file mesothelioma lawsuits for more than 40 years. If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, we are happy to evaluate your case for free and tell you honestly how, where, and with who you can best get the justice and compensation you deserve.

Did you know that you can file a California mesothelioma lawsuit in any state in the country? You don’t have to file in the state where you live. You don’t have to file in the state where a corporation you are suing is headquartered (which would be impractical in any event, since many mesothelioma cases involve multiple corporations from different states). People can file a California mesothelioma lawsuit from any state in the US. If the facts are right, at Kazan Law we think that is just what you should do.

Advantages of a California Mesothelioma Lawsuit

California is one of several states with higher than average levels of asbestos exposure. In fact, there are more deaths due to mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses each year in California than in any other state. In addition to heavy industries and shipping, where asbestos was commonly used, Californians face an added threat from asbestos mines.

Not surprisingly, California is also one of the states with the largest number of asbestos lawsuits. This is partly historical: when people with mesothelioma first began to file lawsuits in the 1970s, many of the plaintiffs were based in California because of the state’s high rate of asbestos disease.

That isn’t the only reason so many people file asbestos lawsuits in California. Mesothelioma lawsuits are in a special category in California courts. The judicial system in the state has different rules governing asbestos litigation, including a faster route to trial for plaintiffs with mesothelioma.

In addition, California’s laws are more favorable to mesothelioma plaintiffs than the laws of some other states. Some of the other states with the largest number of asbestos lawsuits have passed legislation to restrict access to the judicial system for people who have been injured by exposure to toxic asbestos fibers,  or limit the damages they can recover or make suing more difficult.

For example, after Texas defendants lost lots of mesothelioma lawsuits in the late 190s, the state passed laws that limit the legal liability of the corporations responsible for negligently exposing people to asbestos. When one of these corporations merges with another company or is sold, their responsibility for paying the damages they owe is reduced in Texas.

Who Can File a California Mesothelioma Lawsuit

Among the restrictions placed on asbestos litigation by some states are laws that limit or bar out-of-state residents from filing mesothelioma lawsuits. There are no such restrictions in California. Anyone can file a California mesothelioma lawsuit if the facts are right.

Your location and the expense of travel should not stop you from filing a California mesothelioma lawsuit. When you work with a top-notch asbestos law firm, your lawyer will travel to your location to meet with you. Kazan Law lawyers regularly meet with clients outside California, sometimes traveling across the country to work with people who have mesothelioma. We believe you can contribute more to the success of your mesothelioma lawsuit if you are able to rest in the comfort of your own home.

The bottom line is that California mesothelioma lawsuits are often more successful and usually deliver larger verdicts. California juries really understand the claims of plaintiffs who are terminally ill because of the negligent actions of corporations who valued corporate profits over workers’ health.

Even if your California mesothelioma lawsuit settles before going to trial, your settlement may be larger in California. Defendants know that a trial in a California court is likely to go against them. This gives them an incentive to agree to a more favorable settlement.

In addition, some of the top asbestos law firms in the country like Kazan Law are based in California. When you choose a lawyer to represent you in your California mesothelioma lawsuit, you can choose from among the best.

Your mesothelioma lawsuit can provide the financial stability to comfort you during your illness and provide for your family once you are gone. Where you file – and what law firm you choose to represent you – can make the difference of millions of dollars in the settlement or jury verdict you receive. Picking a law firm can be the most important financial decision of your life. That is yet another reason to file a California mesothelioma lawsuit.

Justice in California

There is one more good reason to file a California mesothelioma lawsuit. It’s not about money – although your compensation is important. It’s about right and wrong and justice for the next generation of mesothelioma sufferers.

When you bring a corporation to trial in California, you make it more expensive for that corporation to do the wrong thing. There are certainly still plenty of bad corporations in the world. There are some that are actively poisoning and harming people with toxic chemicals at this moment. But the more we hold those corporations to account for their actions, the less economic incentive they have to cut corners on safety.

When you file a California mesothelioma lawsuit, you aren’t just asking for compensation for your own injuries and money to replace the income your family is losing. You are standing up for the next generations so they have safer workplaces with better protections from asbestos and other toxic substances. Your lawsuit might just save someone else’s life!

Filing a mesothelioma lawsuit should be a priority for you and your family if you are reading this.  When you receive a mesothelioma diagnosis, it is because you worked with asbestos or because you lived with someone who worked with asbestos. That means you’ve got a good chance of winning a large amount of money in damages in a mesothelioma lawsuit.  Timing is critical. Mesothelioma is a fast-moving disease. Court systems can move slowly. You will need an experienced asbestos lawyer to help you get compensation from the companies that manufactured or installed the asbestos materials you were exposed to.

Best Mesothelioma Lawsuit Timing Improves Chances of Winning

Filing a mesothelioma lawsuit should be done as soon as a mesothelioma diagnosis can be verified.  A mesothelioma diagnosis, verifying the fact that you or a loved one has mesothelioma, is the key piece of evidence of harm from asbestos exposure.  Without it, you might risk wasting your time and possibly your money for unnecessary court fees. Knowing that you have been exposed to asbestos is upsetting but it is not sufficient grounds to file an asbestos lawsuit. A lawyer who tells you otherwise is not telling you the truth.

If you have been exposed to asbestos, but have not been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos disease, we recommend that you:

• Monitor your health carefully
• Tell your doctor that you have been exposed to asbestos
• Seek medical attention promptly if you feel unwell
• Be aware that mesothelioma symptoms can seem like flu symptoms
• Find out more about asbestos-related diseases and their symptoms

A Mesothelioma Lawsuit Requires a Medical Diagnosis

To help you win a mesothelioma lawsuit as quickly as possible, even the best attorney needs solid evidence on your behalf.  A lawsuit cannot be filed without vital information that only you can provide.  Getting this information pulled together ahead of time will help a good mesothelioma lawyer know you have a solid case and enable them to move swiftly on your behalf.

Because mesothelioma symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath and coughing can be similar to symptoms of other illnesses such as a flu or bronchitis, it is important to be persistent in seeking a diagnosis. If your doctor is dismissive of you, seek another opinion as soon as possible.  A firm mesothelioma diagnosis that will stand up in court will require lab test results. You need to see a physician who knows what lab tests are needed and will order them for you.

You need to provide several pieces of information to verify that you are suffering from mesothelioma. Be prepared to provide the:

• Date and place of your diagnosis
• Name and number of physician who diagnosed you Pathology report, chest X-ray reports, CT-chest reports which your physician can give you

This is the cornerstone you need to start a mesothelioma lawsuit. And if you can’t have these reports a good mesothelioma lawyer can get them with your permission, but that takes extra time. The information below is also necessary but it is information your mesothelioma lawyer can help acquire after you have filed a mesothelioma lawsuit.

Mesothelioma Lawsuit Needs Employment History to Move Forward

If you have received a diagnosis of mesothelioma, it is time to call a lawyer. Mesothelioma is not genetic.  It is not caused by risky behavior like smoking.  You receive a mesothelioma diagnosis because someone else chose to put you and your family at risk by exposing you to asbestos.

In your mesothelioma lawsuit, you need to prove that you developed mesothelioma because you or someone in your family was exposed to asbestos at work or in the military.  Below is work history information that will be needed. If you cannot provide this information, don’t worry.  Part of what a good mesothelioma attorney can do is all of the investigative work needed to find out this information. It is called the “discovery” part of a lawsuit. However it will help your mesothelioma lawsuit proceed more quickly if you can provide:

• The name of the company or companies you worked for. If any company has been sold to another company, try to find out that name, too.
• The dates you worked for each company – when you started and when you stopped. Try to find and make copies of tax returns or W2 forms that support those dates.
• The names of products and materials you handled as part of your job.
• Your job title and specific job duties and job site locations.

If you do not remember the names of the products or have your old tax returns, your mesothelioma lawyer can put together this information for you.  But even the best mesothelioma lawyers like the best detectives, need clues to work with, so gather up these documents if you can:

• Marriage, death, birth certificates
• Health insurance cards, Medicare cards
• Social Security records (detailed earnings with employer names)
• Job resumes or job summary/timeline
• Military: DD214, other documents

Statute of Limitations and Mesothelioma Lawsuit Timing

A statute of limitations sets legal deadlines for filing a lawsuit. Most lawsuits need to be filed within a certain amount of time. Once the period allowed for a statute of limitations passes, your time is up and you no longer have a valid legal claim.

In California time is critical so get the best mesothelioma lawyer you can find, as quickly as you can; you normally have one year to file a mesothelioma lawsuit from the date of your diagnosis. However, unlike in other states you do not need to know at the time you file your mesothelioma lawsuit who is responsible.  This can help you move forward with a mesothelioma lawsuits before the statute of limitations time period ends.

Mesothelioma patients are often treated with the chemotherapy drug, yet with a disease as strong as mesothelioma, many people take stomach medications as well, which blocks the absorption of anti-cancers medicines. A new study shows that simply drinking soda can help dramatically with absorbing these medications.

According to Erasmus MC Cancer Institute in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, a class of regular soda, not diet soda, can temporarily produce more acid in the stomach, which increase the stomach’s absorption up to 40%. A study conducted on soda and cancer medications, including 28 patients with lung cancer. The group took anti-cancer medications and water for a week. The next week, the group took the medication again, but this time, with 250 ml of Coke (Coca-Cola in no way endorsed the study).

The results showed that sipping soda with the medication helped the patients absorb the medicine better. Other drinks that are high in pH value, such as orange juice, and acidic drinks such as tonic, don’t work as well as regular Coke. Diet Coke and Coke Zero also didn’t help. Although Coke contains high amounts of sugar, the researchers stated that the benefits of having the medications absorb faster outweighs the cons of drinking soda. In addition, the patients only drank a small amount (0.25l cans) of soda. The researchers stated,

“Cola intake led to a clinically relevant and statistically significant increase in the bioavailability of erlotinib during esomeprazole treatment.”

Dr. Alan Mensch of Northwell Health’s Plainview Hospital also stated that Coke seems to work better than any other brand, because it’s more acidic.

“Coca-Cola Classic was chosen because it increased stomach acid temporarily and was more acidic than other beverages, such as orange juice, 7-Up and Dr. Pepper.”

The researchers also indicated that Coke may work with future anti-cancer medications, as well as current tablets that are absorbed better with acid. Prior to the study, anti-cancer medications were primarily administered intravenously, but in some cases, the drugs weren’t successful. In turn, scientists have been looking for more practical ways to help patients, which resulted in the Coke study.

Currently, the medical guidelines committee is reviewing the study, and if it passes the review, Coke may be added to the treatment plan for people taking erlotinie.

Erlotinie, also known as Tarceva, is an anti-cancer medication that helps block the growth of blood vessels that cancerous tumors use to thrive on. The drug depends on the pH levels of the stomach. Higher pH numbers lower the medication’s absorption rate, and since many cancer patients also take heartburn medication, their pH levels are raised to alkaline levels, making the medication hard to absorb. According to Dr. Alan Mensch of Northwell Health’s Plainview Hospital,

“Unfortunately, many patients requiring Tarceva also need proton pump inhibitors to decrease stomach acidity caused by gastritis” — an irritation of the stomach lining — or by the drugs they are taking, such as certain painkillers.”

The new study shows a lot of promise for mesothelioma patients who have trouble absorbing medications. Nearly 3,000 people in the U.S. alone are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year, and although there has been significant advancements recently with treatment options and extending survival rates, scientists continuously seek out additional ways to help treatment become more effective.

Help and Resources for Mesothelioma Victims

If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or asbestos-related lung cancer, you may be eligible for substantial compensation. There is currently over $30 billion in asbestos trust funds, set up for those who are victims to asbestos-related diseases. Use our free Asbestos Attorney Locator Tool today to find a leading mesothelioma attorney in your area. If you need additional assistance, contact us at 800-694-4856.

A team of British scientists are hopeful that a new breakthrough treatment will show promise to mesothelioma victims and help take treatment options to the next level.

According to the research published in the BioMed Central (BMC) journal, scientists from the U.K.’s Universities of Bradford and Surrey reported that after administering the novel drug HRX9 into mesothelioma cells, it helped trigger cell death. HRX9 targets the HOX gene family, and after three weeks of treatment, the scientists notated that mesothelioma tumors in mice died after losing their blood vessels. The body has a natural response when shutting down cells, yet the new treatment works by ensuring cancer cells can’t get around this process.

While trying to find an effective method to target the HOX gene , scientists noticed that the gene has a strain called HOXB4, which they believe gives them an accurate prediction of how aggressive the mesothelioma will be, according to each patient. Professor Richard Morgan of Bradford’s Institute of Cancer Therapeutics, who led the research, stated that the patients with a higher level HOXB4 would more than likely have a shorter survival time.

“We examined the amount of HOXB4 protein in tumours of 21 mesothelioma patients and compared it with their length of survival. There was a clear link: the more HOXB4 we found, the shorter time the patient survived, so we may also have found a way to predict which patients have the most aggressive form of this cancer.”

He also explained how HRX9 targets and kills off cancerous cells. So far, it’s the first of its kind to prove effective on mesothelioma.

“Both the immune system and nearby healthy cells send signals instructing damaged and unhealthy cells to undergo apoptosis, which is like programmed ‘cell suicide’. But cancer cells have developed a wide range of strategies to ignore these instructions. There’s a range of drugs which try to force apoptosis in different cancers, but this is the first one to work in mesothelioma.”

More studies are still needed to determine the effectiveness of the new treatment, but in the meantime, Morgan states that as more medical options become available, the Western part of the world may begin to see a decline in asbestos-related diagnoses. However, for continents such as Africa and some areas of Asia, Morgan feels that there is still a major problem, especially in areas where asbestos is still used heavily in ship-building.

“Mesothelioma may become much less of a problem in the West, but it’s still going to be a significant public health problem in many parts of the world. We already know that it’s resistant to available drugs, which is why we need entirely new treatments.”

In the meantime, Ian Jarrold, head of research at the British Lung Foundation, the charity organization that helped to fund Morgan’s research, stated that this is a promising breakthrough that can potentially bring hope to mesothelioma patients, who always want to know right away what their treatment options are.

“People living with mesothelioma often tell us that among their first reactions to diagnosis is despair at the lack of treatment available. We hope that the progress being made in research we fund will soon provide new treatments and new hope for patients.”

Assistance and Resources for Mesothelioma Victims

If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or asbestos-related lung cancer, you may be eligible for substantial compensation. There is currently over $30 billion in asbestos trust funds, set up for those who are victims to asbestos-related diseases. Use our free Asbestos Attorney Locator Tool today to find a leading mesothelioma attorney in your area. For additional assistance, contact us at 800-694-4856.