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The latest statistics show that between 1980 and 2000, over 8,000 men and over 1,000 women died from Mesothelioma. If someone in your family has been affected by this grave disease, you may be legally entitled to financial compensation to help cover your losses.
Hospital workers fall under numerous positions within the healthcare industry including nurses, physicians, administrative personnel, and other support workers. There are approximately 6,000 hospitals in the United States treating an array of people and conditions ranging from emergency room situations to mental illness. Approximately 1 million beds are staffed in hospitals throughout our country ready to help people of all illnesses and conditions.
Hospitals in the United States are some of the most sanitary medical facilities in the world. Hospital workers depend on this sanitary environment to effectively treat patients with all types of conditions and illnesses. However, numerous hospitals in this country made a critical error in the safety of its actual construction by including asbestos containing building materials. Unfortunately, asbestos, the contaminant causing mesothelioma, asbestosis, and other lung diseases, was not recognized as a contaminant and danger to human beings until the late 20th century. Up until this time, asbestos was used in many construction projects due to its insulation and heat resistant capabilities. Asbestos containing machines and equipment were also installed inside the hospitals including boilers and furnaces.
In the early 1980s, New York identified a number of municipal hospitals that contained asbestos. The asbestos found in these hospitals was in the form of insulation found around boilers. In the past few years, asbestos was also found in hospitals throughout the country including Missouri, Illinois, Texas, and our own backyard of New Jersey.
Asbestos abatement projects have been performed on many of these hospitals containing asbestos. In Point Pleasant, New Jersey, the former Point Pleasant Hospital was the site of a major asbestos abatement project which included 200,000 square feet of asbestos containing floor tile and 6,000 square feet of linear piping also containing asbestos. This asbestos abatement project was aggressively scheduled so the developer could prepare the site for new condominiums to be constructed at the former hospital site.
Hospital workers including technicians, engineers, maintenance workers, nurses, and even physicians could have been exposed to asbestos containing building products and equipment inside hospital facilities throughout the country. If disrupted, asbestos fibers and dust could become airborne and inhaled by the unsuspecting hospital worker. Asbestos fibers could also become entangled in the worker’s clothing and transported to unknowing patients who are already ill or hurt. These asbestos fibers could also be transported back to the hospital worker’s home where family and friends could be exposed to the contaminant.
If you or someone you know is a hospital worker that has been exposed to asbestos, please seek immediate medical attention and then contact an experienced asbestos and mesothelioma lawyer to understand your legal rights.