Sunday, 15 May 2011

Increasing Awarness of Asbestos Cancer Spurs Mesothelioma (Class Action) Lawsuits


Mesothelioma lawsuits seem to be becoming more and more prevalent as the disease and its causes become more well-known. You may have seen commercials for attorneys advertising their services in this specialized area. Due to the fact that decades can pass before the disease rears its ugly head, it has become apparent that the companies responsible for exposing their workers to asbestos so many years ago may no longer be in business. But there is something you can do.
Mesothelioma, commonly known as Asbestos Cancer, is a rare form of cancer that is most frequently known to occur when the affected person has come in contact with asbestos and inhaled its particles. It does, however, emerge in some individuals without ever having made contact with asbestos and occurs more in men than women, but can affect both genders. The name Mesothelioma is derived from mesothelium, which is the membrane that covers and protects most of the internal organs of the body. When cancer cells are active in the mesothelium, that membrane begins to deteriorate and the cancer can continue spreading to other parts of the body.
During the 1940s, millions of Americans were exposed to asbestos, but at that time, the dangers were not known. The symptoms of Mesothelioma many times do not appear for up to 30 to 50 years after exposure. Depending on your age, you may have relatives who have unfortunately, contracted this disease while working with asbestos or simply from being exposed to it in other ways.
If you or someone you know or are related to have been diagnosed with Mesothelioma, there are steps you can take to receive compensation. Although a monetary settlement will not cure the disease, its benefits may help to make the sick individual live more comfortably and possibly ease their suffering somewhat.
Although there are individual cases, many Mesothelioma lawsuits are filed as class action suits due to the fact that so many people were affected at the same time at the same place. Even if the responsible company is no longer in business, the attorneys can still obtain monetary settlements through other means as there have been billions of dollars set aside for disbursements regarding Mesothelioma lawsuits.
If you or someone you love has contracted Mesothelioma, do an online search for lawyers in your area who handle these types of cases. A settlement made to you through a Mesothelioma lawsuit can offer a degree of support in more ways than one. The compensation received can assist in alleviating some of the burden of medical treatment costs, especially for those who are uninsured, and also possibly give an individual a chance to live in a more comfortable atmosphere, overall.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/201539

Friday, 15 April 2011

Class Action Lawsuits - What Are Class Action Lawsuits?


Class action lawsuits have been going on for decades. These are civil suits that are against large companies that have in some way offended the rights of many people. Civil law regulates disputes in which harm may have come to others. You may have seen commercials that are looking for people that have used particular drugs or who have been around asbestos. People can come into a great deal of money from these types of lawsuits.
Typically, class-action lawsuits are different from criminal trials because it is not discussing whether or not someone has broken the law, but whether one or more people have been harmed in some way by a corporation. If a group of people have experienced similar circumstances, and the common issues they have shared are the most critical focal points of the lawsuit, then the group can participate together in this legal action.
A very common example in which many consumers have been hurt in a similar manner is through a defective product. There have been recalls that have affected people in this way. Drawstrings on window blinds is an example of a defective product that has actually killed several children. The parents of the children could be gathered together to form a class-action lawsuit against the manufacturer of this product.
Other examples are people that work for asbestos removal companies that been exposed to asbestos for decades. The fibers from this material lodged in their lungs has created mesothelioma cancer within their systems. These people can band together in order to seek monetary reward for damages done to their bodies because of their job.
There was a particular case in which a fertility doctor had taken the eggs of hundreds of women that he had helped through his fertilization procedures. He was selling the eggs on the black market for millions of dollars without telling the women what he had done. This created a multimillion dollar lawsuit in which hundreds of women received hundreds of thousands of dollars for their losses. Some of these women had children somewhere in the world that they would never meet because this doctor had sold their eggs.
In this particular case, it was not only about a physical illegality, but also an emotional one to. The trauma that these women went through in order to have children was a large enough ordeal. The amount of money that they spend caused them financial hardship to conceive children. But then to find out that they had been used for incubators for eggs to be sold on the black market, was too much of an emotional scar to bear.
In the end, the court determines how badly each party was injured and what reparations can be made in order to rectify the injustice. These types of lawsuits can also be used in regard to security claims, contracts, and employers that falsify information. Some of the largest lawsuits involve millions of people that receive small amounts of compensation for their participation.
Any person may unknowingly be eligible to participate in a class action lawsuit. There are many websites available online that can help you assess your situation and see if you are entitled to some sort of compensation for any wrongdoing that has happened to you.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3538652