Personal Injury Resources

What’s wrong with that? Well, Google is failing to promote authority sites over those that use underhand, spamming techniques. Worse still, do you think that SEOs who compete in the asbestos and mesothelioma market belong here? Let’s look at the details of who these spammers are and where they live.

Let’s take the legal system, a negative in both reports. It ought to be obvious to anyone who has followed the asbestos debacle or the medical malpractice issue that litigation has become an inefficient way to police the behavior of companies, executives and service professionals. But the only realistic alternative is regulation by government, which the business community opposes. You can’t have it both ways.

The only known cause of mesothelioma in the U.S. is previous exposure to asbestos fibers. Asbestos manufacturers knew about the hazards of asbestos seventy years ago - but they kept this knowledge to themselves. The first warnings to workers exposed to asbestos were given in the mid-1960s, and they were terribly inadequate.

Working with asbestos is the major risk factor for mesothelioma. A history of asbestos exposure at work is reported in about 70 percent to 80 percent of all cases. However, mesothelioma has been reported in some individuals without any known exposure to asbestos.

But I don’t think those ads are going to get you that 0.5% of CTR because it’s not the kind of stuff 1 person in 200 is looking for. It’s more likely to be 1 in 1000 or less. Well, maybe for the mesothelioma terms. The loan and mortgage terms would get more results, but your page/website would have to target this subject in order to attract people looking for this stuff and like I stated above, you’d need to be a reference in the domain.

Mesothelioma lawyers charge their clients only after the successful completion of a case. This fee plan is called a contingent fee plan wherein a percentage of the compensation received goes to the lawyer as the fee and the lawyers do not charge a fee if the victim does not get a compensation. Normally the lawyers first identify the offending party, and then file the lawsuit in the state where the laws are more pro-employees. This increases the chances of securing a positive verdict. However, in cases of companies are granted immunity under bankruptcy laws, mesothelioma lawyers are there again to assist in arranging out of court settlements.

Mesothelioma is the most serious of several asbestos-related diseases detected so far. This is because of the carcinogenic effect of asbestos particles. Asbestos can cause cancer of the lungs, esophagus, colon, rectum, stomach, vocal chords, and kidneys. About 70 percent to 80 percent of all cases of asbestos disease mesothelioma - a rare type of cancer of the mesothelium, the membrane that covers and protects most of the body internal organs – are the result of asbestos exposure at work.

This is where the competition change comes in. The competition used to be other lawyers looking for people with mesothelioma. Now, the search engine results pages are filled with these mesothelioma sites designed solely to get Adsense clicks. Technically, this is against the Adsense Terms of Service, but Google does very little to police it. After all, every click brings more money to Google!

Over half a million asbestos and mesothelioma injury claims have been filed to date. Over 50,000 were filed in 1998 alone.

Lewis and Sholnick have announced the publication of some simple precautionary steps can be taken to avoid high risk situations in regards to asbestos and mesothelioma.

The Department of Health and Human Services, the World Health Organization, and the Environmental Protection Agency have determined that asbestos is a human carcinogen. It is well documented that breathing asbestos fibers can increase the risk of cancer in people. Exposure to asbestos has been considered a major occupational health hazard since the first adverse effects were noted in the mid-20th century. At that time, there appeared to be an association between asbestos and lung cancer. Subsequently, it was noted that asbestos also caused pleural...

Understandably, sufferers and their families want to see some form of compensation for the pain, suffering, and misery caused by asbestos and mesothelioma. Although no amount of money can make up for the damage done by unprotected asbestos exposure, it can help to pay for medical costs, and can also provide the sufferer’s family with a more financially secure future.

Chest pain and dyspnea are the most common symptoms of pleural mesothelioma.(15,16) The chest pain is characteristically nonpleuritic and varies in intensity from mild to incapacitating. Constitutional symptoms such as fever, weight loss and weakness are not uncommon. Despite the proven link between asbestos and mesothelioma, fewer than 50 percent of studied patients relate a definite history of asbestos exposure. This low figure may simply be a matter of inaccurate histories in persons with a disease that has a 20- to 50-year latency period or may reflect exposure to various dusts or chemicals presently unrecognized as etiologic factors, unrecognized incidental exposure or other etiologic mechanisms.

Filing an asbestos lawsuit is not as difficult as it seems to be. If one carefully selects an experienced and expert asbestos lawyer, he/she can easily get a justifiable compensation to meet medical and other expenses related to asbestos diseases. Many asbestos and mesothelioma victims have received large amount of money as compensation from their employer with the help of mesothelioma attorneys. In most of the cases, the asbestos attorneys work on a contingent fee plan for asbestos lawsuits. Herein you have to pay a part of compensation as fee and do not have to pay any fee if you do not get compensation.

Chest pain and dyspnea are the most common symptoms of pleural mesothelioma.(15,16) The chest pain is characteristically nonpleuritic and varies in intensity from mild to incapacitating. Constitutional symptoms such as fever, weight loss and weakness are not uncommon. Despite the proven link between asbestos and mesothelioma, fewer than 50 percent of studied patients relate a definite history of asbestos exposure. This low figure may simply be a matter of inaccurate histories in persons with a disease that has a 20- to 50-year latency period or may reflect exposure to various dusts or chemicals presently unrecognized as etiologic factors, unrecognized incidental exposure or other etiologic mechanisms.

1. Your attorney should handle asbestos and mesothelioma cases. Asbestos cases are very specialized, and an attorney who is not experienced in them will be at a great disadvantage. Heard, Robins, Cloud, Lubel & Greenwood, LLP has a proven track record of success in representing hundreds of victims of asbestos disease, including those diagnosed with mesothelioma.

Although the association between amphibole asbestos and mesothelioma is indisputable, fewer than 10% of the people exposed to asbestos develop mesothelioma, and fiarly large proportions (up to 50% according to some authors) of the reported cases have no documented exposure to asbestos.

Certified public accountant Mark M. Gleason spends much of his time helping clients, either buyers or sellers, value an asset to determine a fair price. But the Pittsburgh accountant also is gaining a national reputation for knowing how to make assets last.

Gleason, 54, is one of three court-appointed trustees overseeing a $2.5 billion fund established to pay asbestos victims who can link their problems to exposure to products made by subsidiaries of Halliburton, the Houston, energy, engineering and construction services company once chaired by Vice President Dick Cheney.

"Well over one million claims could be submitted ... anywhere from today to 30 or 40 years from now," Gleason says.

In an unholy alliance between a few opportunistic members of the medical community and a handful of super-wealthy asbestos lawyers, healthy people taking chest exams bought and paid for by law firms almost always receive positive indications of asbestos injury. Doctors and radiologists have even been paid more for positive results than negative results and some physicians have certified hundreds of people a day as positive for asbestos damage to the lungs without ever examining a single patient. Hundreds and sometimes thousands of these plaintiffs are then included in lawsuits against companies that have little if any relationship to asbestos or products containing asbestos.

The latest evidence of distorted legal evidence comes from scientists working for and with Johns Hopkins University, who were asked by beleaguered asbestos defendants to examine the legitimacy of radiology findings by plaintiffs' experts in asbestos cases. The results seem to indicate more than professional disagreement over ambiguous diagnoses. Independent radiologists were asked to review 492 chest films without being told the X-rays were evidence in asbestos lawsuits. They found only 4.5 percent positive for asbestos damage while radiologists employed by plaintiff lawyers found 96 percent positive for asbestos. These results mirror similar findings reached by the RAND Corp. in recent years. Serious questions of the validity of testing and suspicions of manufactured evidence also have emerged recently in a similar silica lawsuit being heard in a Corpus Christi federal courtroom.

A jury has awarded $2.1 million to a 60-year-old former Navy engineer and his wife for exposure to asbestos that left him with terminal lung cancer.

Anthony and Maxlyn Cadlo of Pine Haven, Wyo., won the verdict Tuesday against John Crane Inc. of Illinois and Metalclad Insulation Corp. of Anaheim after a six-week trial in San Francisco Superior Court.

Cadlo joined the Navy in 1964, at age 18, served four years and was in combat in Vietnam. He was exposed to asbestos from the equipment and insulation he installed and removed on the ship and from dust emitted by the destroyer's guns when fired in combat, his suit said.

Cadlo was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in 2002 and is near death, the couple's lawyer, Christopher Andreas, said.

Jurors assigned one-third of the fault to the Navy, but it is immune from damages, Andreas said.

The household use of products containing asbestos has spread through the years since the discovery of the special qualities this material posseses. Such properties make asbestos specially useful for certain tasks. Some of these uses are thermal and acoustical insulation, strengthening of other materials, fire proofing, flooring and roofing.

Asbestos is added to insulating materials, for example, papers, textiles and shingles that are found in roofs, walls and ceilings; pipes covering, household appliances, etc. The reason for this is the fact that asbestos is resistant to heat and cold.

Asbestos is also used to make floor coverings more resistant to humidity. Likewise, it is employed for thermal insulation in many household apliances, for example toasters, ovens, dishwashers, etc.

Not only has the prevalence of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) increased over the past 40 years, it is anticipated that the increase will continue because of the widespread use of asbestos from the 1940s to the end of the 1970s. MPM is a highly lethal neoplasm, and diagnosis is difficult because of the frequency of vague symptoms present over a long period of time. Chest radiography and computed tomographic (CT) scans can be helpful only in revealing the presence of pleural effusion. Enthusiasm for the use of pleural biopsy has waned, and other procedures such as percutaneous needle biopsy, fluoroscopy and CT biopsy have significant limitations. Heilo and associates assessed the clinical use of ultrasonographically (US)-guided core-needle biopsy performed with a one-hand automatic sampling technique in the diagnosis of MPM.

The term asbestosis refers to a chronic disease of the lungs produced by asbestos exposure. This lethal ailment can initiate permanent lung damage, it can enhance the risk of lung infections and trigger heart malfunction. The first signs and symbols of asbestosis are shortness of breath, coughing and breathing is accompanied by a dry sound. The person can also experience chest pains and in the long run becomes weak when doing physical efforts and even when resting.

Here’s a post at Kadachi’s blog which describes the online advertising game by way of the high payout for the keyword mesotheliomaTechnorati Tag. It’s actually pretty hilarious the way ambulance-chasing law firms are so desperate to find clients for their class action suits.

For those of you who aren’t aware, mesothelioma is a lung disease that sometimes results from exposure to loose asbestos fibers.

For anyone faced with a dire prognosis of cancer or any other disease, the following interview will inspire you. In the annals of cancer, mesothelioma is one of the worst possible types of cancer to have. In the words of oncologists it has a "dismal therapeutic outcome"� and is "an aggressive incurable tumor."� The median survival from diagnosis ranges from 6 to 18 months�. Despite this prognosis, Mr. Paul Kraus is alive nearly 8 years after he was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma. What is equally remarkable is that Mr. Kraus had no orthodox cancer therapies - he opted to say 'no' to chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation. Instead, Mr. Kraus made radical lifestyle changes, altering his diet, using intravenous and oral vitamins, herbs, amino acids and other immune boosting therapies and supplements, and tapping into the power of the mind-body connection.

Located at http://www.mesotheliomasite.com , the Mesothelioma Network web site discusses mesothelioma diagnosis and treatment, clinical trials, and medical breakthroughs. It includes useful resources such as lists of physicians and medical centers that treat the disease. Because a diagnosis of mesothelioma can be so devastating, the site also contains a list of support groups for patients and their loved ones.

The developer of a new home subdivison in El Dorado Hills will warn prospective buyers that naturally-occurring asbestos may be found in their neighborhood. The move follows a News10 investigation last fall.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) results from neoplastic transformation of mesothelial cells (i.e. cancer). Past asbestos exposure represents the major risk factor for MPM, as the link between asbestos fibres and MPM has been largely proved by epidemiological and experimental studies.

Diagnosis of Mesothelioma

The diagnosis of epithelial type mesothelioma can be established in most cases. Several mesotheliomas, however, especially rare subtypes, and sarcomatoid, desmoplastic, and poorly differentiated mesotheliomas continue to present diagnostic challenges.

Current Mesothelioma Treatment

Malignant pleural mesothelioma continues to be a challenging clinical problem.

Armstrong World Industries filed for bankruptcy protection in 2000 as a result of a settlement of its asbestos personal injury suits. The company thought it had a viable workout plan in 2002, but it was denied reorganization plan approval again this week.

A federal bankruptcy judge Wednesday refused to confirm a reorganization plan filed by Armstrong World Industries.

In denying the Lancaster-based company's plan, Judge Eduardo C. Robreno said it violates a portion of bankruptcy law.

"Bluntly put, no amount of legal creativity or counsel's incantation to general notions of equity or to any supposed policy favoring reorganizations over liquidation supports judicial rewriting of the Bankruptcy Code," the judge wrote. "The plan, therefore, cannot be confirmed."

A new study shows mesothelioma deaths peaking in 2015 in the U.K.

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer in the lining of the lungs or the lining of the abdomen. It is thought that the majority of cases are the result of exposure to asbestos, but the disease can take up to sixty years to develop.

Mortality in Britain rose from 153 deaths in 1968 to 1,848 in 2001 and is still increasing, but the new study suggests the rate will begin to decline by 2015.

Researchers from the Health and Safety Executive ( HSE ), together with Professor Julian Peto of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and The Institute of Cancer Research, have improved on previous forecasts by taking account of the changing patterns of exposure to asbestos following the sharp reduction in asbestos use around 1980.

Professor Peto says: "The peak in mesothelioma deaths will be earlier and at a lower number than formerly thought. The abrupt reduction in asbestos exposure in 1980 has altered the lifelong patterns of exposure that people have experienced. This makes the previous age-related models inaccurate.

"Our new model for predicting mesothelioma mortality rates is more complex and takes account of the varying exposure to asbestos of different age groups at different times of their lives."

Asbestos awards have had no impact on debt ratings of The St. Paul Travelers Companies.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed the 'A-' long-term issuer and senior debt ratings of The St. Paul Travelers Companies, Inc. (STA), Travelers Property Casualty Corp. and Travelers Insurance Group Holdings. The 'AA-' insurer financial strength (IFS) ratings of the members of the Travelers Property Casualty Group (TPC) and St. Paul Fire and Marine Inter-company pool (SPC), which are rated on a group basis, have also been affirmed by Fitch. The Outlook for all ratings is Stable.

These actions follow today's announcement by STA that its fourth quarter 2004 earnings will include a $922 million pre-tax asbestos-related reserve charge and that the company is considering strategic alternatives to divest its 79% interest in Nuveen Investments (JNC).

The charge follows completion of the company's annual asbestos study and predominantly reflects increased loss cost projections due to elevated trial activity that has resulted in higher litigation costs in recent periods.

Here's good background information on mesothelioma and asbestos.

The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF) has started a petition to increase funding for mesothelioma research. Mesothelioma is a terminal cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. It kills 2,500 to 4,000 people each year. You can get more information about mesothelioma here.

With just a few notable exceptions, companies involved with asbestos have not taken responsibility to fund the search for a cure, and many now face bankruptcy. Law firms representing asbestos plaintiffs have earned handsome fees, but until now have not seen fit to give back by funding mesothelioma research. And even though many mesothelioma patients were exposed to asbestos while serving in the Navy, the Federal Government has not funded mesothelioma research proportionately to other cancers. In 2001, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) -- the single largest provider of cancer research money, with a budget of over $3 billion -- allocated only $1.6 million for research on mesothelioma. The NCI operates potentially life-saving clinical trials for many cancers, but does not currently offer adequate clinical trial options for mesothelioma patients.

Asbestos exposure can take as long as 30 years to cause cancer. It is important to find out what companies knew about asbestos and when.

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Asbestos Indictments Are Called a First Step," by Andrew Schneider--

The federal indictment announced Monday against W.R. Grace & Co. should be used as a blueprint for criminal investigations in at least 40 other states - including Missouri - where Grace operated, public health and worker safety leaders said.

Grace and seven of its current and former officials were accused of knowing that the asbestos-contaminated vermiculite being mined in Libby, Mont., was endangering workers and residents.