Mesothelioma is diagnosed 30 years or more after the first exposure to asbestos. That’s a long time to be able to remember all the job sites, different products and the companies that made them.

There are so many potential sources of asbestos exposure that it's impossible to remember all of them. Many private firms including Weitz & Luxenberg have developed internal databases of asbestos products and asbestos exposure sites.  Thousands of witnesses have given all of the information they can about  job sites, the working conditions at those sites, names and locations of buildings (including new construction, renovation and demolition sites), co-workers at job sites, the companies that made or distributed asbestos products and the brand and trade names of asbestos products.

Their willingness to talk about their own exposure paves the way for future men and women. The more information available, the more likely the chance that the source of exposure can be pinpointed and the companies that knowingly exposed their employees to asbestos can be brought to justice.

Read on for some commonly asked questions about exposure, getting tested and diagnosis.

Will my doctor be able to tell me if my diagnosis came from asbestos exposure?

Virtually everyone who is diagnosed with mesothelioma got sick because of their exposure to asbestos. The only way to contract asbestosis is from inhaling asbestos dust and fibers over a long period of time.

For asbestos-related lung cancer, your doctor will carefully review your job history and perform medical tests to confirm that your asbestos exposure caused you to develop lung cancer.

Your smoking history is not a factor in proving that a diagnosis of mesothelioma or asbestosis came from asbestos exposure.

I worked with asbestos all my life and I know I’m sick. I don’t have the money to be tested. Can you help?

Weitz & Luxenberg spends plenty of time evaluating your case, and this requires the review of all of your medical records. We often send clients for a medical examination and testing performed by a doctor who specializes in pulmonary medicine, and your x-rays will be reviewed by a specially-qualified radiologist. These exams and tests are performed at no cost to you.

My husband worked with asbestos and now I’m sick. How did this happen?

“This risk from limited exposure was recognized many decades ago when reports of mesothelioma, from household exposures of spouses and children and neighborhood exposures from proximity to asbestos plants, appeared in the medical and scientific literature. We have represented many such asbestos victims and the current findings bear out the extent of the continuing asbestos disaster.” -- Jerry Kristal, Weitz & Luxenberg asbestos trial attorney

In such cases, they were exposed by their husband, father, or other family member. Family members would come home “covered in dust” or had dust inside their cars. Men, women and children breathed in the dangerous asbestos dust brought into their homes when washing work clothes, or even riding in the car.

For more information about asbestos exposure fill out the form above for our free information booklet.