Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
You've been given a diagnosis of mesothelioma and you've learned that mesothelioma is caused
by exposure to asbestos. It's important to learn about the different ways people can
be exposed to asbestos. Hi. I'm Joe Williams. I'm a mesothelioma trial attorney in New York
City. And I can answer this question by telling you that there are four widely accepted exposures
to asbestos. And when I say 'widely accepted' I mean by occupational medical doctors and
scientists who review these types of exposures to determine whether an exposure was caused
by asbestos. So the first of these types of exposures is simply direct exposure. And I
think we all know that is. That means that a worker -- himself or herself -- with their
own hands was working with an asbestos product and working with that asbestos product caused
asbestos dust in their breathing zone (meaning their nose and their mouth). They breathe
that dust into their lungs, deep into their lungs, these asbestos fibers and we know that
eventually that exposure causes mesothelioma. That's a direct exposure to asbestos. The
next type of exposure -- equally important -- is a bystander exposure. And what that
means is that someone is standing by (they're a bystander) to that directly exposed person.
So one person is working with an asbestos product, creating asbestos dust; another person
is in the same area nearby breathing in the same dust that the directly exposed worker
is creating. And we see this often in industry. Every construction worker or a person who
worked at a construction site knows that there are many trades doing their work at once.
And while there is a progression of the work, all the trades are somewhat on top of each
other. And one trade could be within arm's length of another and they're all working
within the same breathing zone. The next type of exposure I want to talk to you about is
household exposures. And by household exposures, we mean the exposures of a family member who's
exposed to asbestos dust from an industry's workers clothing. That's basically the main
form of household exposure. So an example is a dad comes home from work and he's working
in a powerhouse, he's a steam fitter. And he comes home with asbestos dust -- as well
as other dust on his clothes -- and his kids give him a hug at the door. While they breathe
in the dust from the clothing, those children who just hugged their dad and breathed in
that dust could get mesothelioma from those exposures to the asbestos dust. Additionally,
the spouse in this hypothetical -- his wife -- from breathing in the dust from doing the
laundry could get mesothelioma. These are just a couple examples of classic household
exposures. The fourth and last type of exposures I want to talk to you about is environmental
exposures. I sometimes call these 'geographic exposures' because it means that you live
near a place that asbestos dust is being created. A good example is someone who lives next door
to a manufacturing plant where asbestos product is being made (or a product that contains
asbestos is being made) and that asbestos dust is generally in the environment in the
air that that person is breathing in every day. So that's an environmental exposure.
Now you may have many more questions -- I'm sure you do -- about the many more ways people
can be exposed to asbestos and I can answer those questions. I'm Joe Williams. And at
our firm, we handle mesothelioma cases every day. We do this every day. It's who we are
and we can answer your questions. So you should pick up the phone and call the number you
see on your screen below (that's my office number) and we'll answer your questions. I
hope you found this video informative and thank you very much for watching.