You’ve come to the right place. If you have been exposed to asbestos in consumer products, the environment, or from working in an industry likely to be exposed to asbestos — like construction, mining, manufacturing, longshore — and have developed health issues resulting from asbestos exposure, an asbestos and mesothelioma lawyer can help.
Use FindLaw to hire a local asbestos lawyer to seek compensation for medical expenses resulting from asbestos exposure or mesothelioma cancer.
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California is currently ranked No. 1 in the United States for mesothelioma andasbestosis deaths. It is estimated that 2,276 to 3,795 malignant mesotheliomadeaths occur every year due to prolonged exposure to asbestos. In many instances,asbestos exposure came directly from working at job sites that used the toxic mineral for its affordability and resistance to heat and fire. Consequently, numerous people have turned to a experienced California mesothelioma lawyer to help them fight against the manufacturers that exposed them to asbestos.
There is currently more than $30 billion available in trusts funds for those who have been affected by an asbestos-related illness. If you’ve been diagnosed withmesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, or asbestosis, you may be entitled to significant compensation. We invite you to use our Asbestos Attorney Locator Tool to find a top mesothelioma lawyer in your area.
We are happy to offer assistance to families in all California cities and towns, such as:
Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach, Oakland, Bakersfield, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Riverside, Stockton, Chula Vista, Irvine, Fremont, San Bernardino, Modesto, Oxnard, Fontana, Moreno, Valley, Huntington Beach, Glendale, Santa Clarita, Garden Grove, Oceanside, Santa Rosa, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Elk Grove, Lancaster, Corona, Palmdale, Salinas, Hayward, Pomona, Escondido, Sunnyvale, Torrance, Orange, Pasadena, Fullerton, Thousand Oaks, Visalia, Roseville, Simi Valley, Concord, Victorville, Santa Clara, Vallejo, Berkeley, El Monte, Downey, Costa Mesa, Inglewood, Carlsbad, Fairfield, Ventura, West Covina, Richmond, Murrieta, Antioch, Temecula, Norwalk, Daly City, Burbank, Santa Maria, El Cajon, Rialto, San Mateo, Clovis, Jurupa Valley, Compton, Vista, Mission Viejo, South Gate, Vacaville, Carson, Santa Monica, Hesperia, Westminster, Redding, Santa Barbara, San Marcos, Chico, San Leandro, Newport Beach, Whittier, Hawthorne, Citrus Heights, Livermore, Tracy Alhambra, Indio, Menifee, Buena Park, Hemet, Lakewood, Merced, Chino, and more.
ASBESTOS EXPOSURE IN CALIFORNIA
Asbestos materials were used in the U.S. from the early 1900s until the 1970s in construction, shipbuilding, automobile manufacturing, electronics, and national defense applications. After the the early 1970s, when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) first linked asbestos exposure to lung cancer, asbestosis, and mesothelioma, U.S. mining of asbestos gradually stopped.
However, asbestos’ carcinogenic effects continue to affect millions of individuals, mostly men who served in the military or in any industry which used asbestos between its peak years of use. Due to the prevalence of asbestos used by civilian industries and military facilities in California, everyone in the state is potentially at risk of being exposed to asbestos.
California is particularly vulnerable to a marked increase in mesothelioma deaths for several reasons. The state is home to many types of industries which at one time were large-scale users of asbestos. For instance, during World War II, California contained aircraft factories, manufacturers of radar and radio equipment, shipyards, and automobile plants.
All of these industrial complexes used asbestos for various purposes. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, electricians, pipefitters, plumbers, shipbuilders, and steamfitters were the civilian and military workers who were most exposed to asbestos between the late 1930s and the end of the war.
Furthermore, military personnel who served between World War II and the mid-1970s were exposed to asbestos for long periods of time while on active duty. This is the principal reason why mesothelioma is diagnosed mainly in white males aged 65 and older.
Women and children in California are at risk of increased exposure to asbestos fibers in the near future. Because the state’s population boom coincided with the prosperity of the post-Depression recovery of the late 1940s and early ‘50s, thousands of asbestos-laden homes and residential developments still exist in California. With the popularity of home makeover shows on television, it is possible that many homeowners will carry out do-it-yourself renovation projects and stir asbestos dust into the air as a consequence.
California is also one of the largest repositories of naturally occurring asbestos (NOA) thanks in part to its propensity for earthquake activity. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), asbestiform minerals occur in soil and rock as a result of natural geologic processes.
In California, NOAs lie in veins near fault lines on the coastal plains and the lower elevations of the Sierra Nevada. NOAs are harmless to humans if they remain undisturbed under the Earth’s surface. However, the effects of natural erosion and human activity stir up asbestos fibers and release them into the air.
CALIFORNIA MESOTHELIOMA CASES
The explosive increase of California’s population since the 1940s not only resulted in the state’s dynamic economic expansion, but also in an increase in mesothelioma diagnoses and deaths. As more people moved to the state to seek jobs or to live in California’s temperate climate after World War II, the resulting boom in construction resulted in widespread use of asbestos.
At the time, asbestos’ health dangers were not widely known. Instead, the mineral fibers’ heat- and fire-resistant properties made them attractive for the construction industry. As a result, millions of homes, schools, office buildings, and factories were built with materials filled with asbestos. Workers who handled drywall, insulation, roofing materials, steam pipes, plumbing materials, and electrical wiring exposed the most.
CALIFORNIA COMPANIES THAT USED ASBESTOS
Until the 1970s, when EPA researchers first made official links between asbestos and mesothelioma, many companies and government agencies used the minerals for various purposes. Asbestos-laden materials were used to either strengthen other construction materials or to resist high temperatures and fires. These properties were of useful in industries that were at high risk of fire or extreme heat because of the innate nature of their production methods.
In California, asbestos materials were used by many companies. Electric companies, including Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric used asbestos in power generating plants and powerhouses. Other major enterprises included automobile, aviation, electronics equipment, computer science and chemical industries. Examples includes Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, Boeing, North American Aviation, Rockwell, Honeywell International, Union Carbide, U.S. Steel, and Chevron. The asbestos industry itself also had presence in California, being represented by industrial companies such as Bell Asbestos Mines, Ltd. and Calaveras Asbestos, Ltd.
CALIFORNIA ASBESTOS LAWS
California’s initial response to the linkage of asbestos to mesothelioma was to enact laws that mandated lower exposure rates. According to the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), Title 8 sets specific guidelines for each industry for the reduction of asbestos exposure. Such guidelines include the use of HEPA vacuums for cleaning areas where asbestos dust is commonly found, sealing enclosures during the cleaning process, and alternative methods scientifically proven to be safe and efficient. In addition, Title 8 requires all employers in the state to provide adequate levels of air quality and to document all instances of asbestos exposure. The DIR’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health enforces California’s asbestos standards in various areas, including construction, shipbuilding, and more.
Under subchapter 7 of Title 8, Section 5208 of the California Code of Regulations, there are several laws pertaining to the abatement, handling, removal, and disposal of asbestos within the state, which includes the following:
Breathing air zone examples must be made available to all employees who work around asbestos. This will determine the not only the amount of asbestos that employees are around, but also help to limit the amount of time they are around it.
Employees who work around asbestos must be monitored at all times according to the time-weighted average limit (TWA)
Employees must be professionally trained on how to work around and handle asbestos.
Facility and building owners are responsible for determining where any asbestos is located as well as the amount. They must then inform both employees and their employers that are responsible for handling asbestos.
Warning signs and posting that clearly convey asbestos in the work area must always be posted around the vicinity of the workplace.
Protective clothing and respirators must be worn at all times by workers who are around asbestos. Tools and equipment must also be cleaned thoroughly before they can leave the area in which the asbestos project occurred.
For more detailed information, contact the California Department of Industrial Regulation’s at 510-286-7000.
CALIFORNIA STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON MESOTHELIOMA AND ASBESTOS CASES
The Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 mandates that asbestos-related cases in California are filed separately from personal injury cases as well as different statute of limitations. Plaintiffs filing an asbestos-related lawsuit must do so within one year after the victim suffered from the first signs of the condition or within one year after the victim knew or should have reasonably known about the condition. Wrongful deaths lawsuits must also be filed within one year of the victim’s death date.