When you or a loved one receives a mesothelioma diagnosis, you should contact a mesothelioma attorney right away. Since the primary cause of mesothelioma is asbestos, you may be entitled to monetary compensation for the damages and the medical bills that you will soon be receiving - or have already received. Here is some information that will help you to understand what mesothelioma is and why you should not procrastinate in calling your mesothelioma lawyer.

Asbestos has been known for many decades to produce harmful effects on those who breathed it. The problem, though, is that the major industries that used asbestos, as a whole did nothing to protect their employees. Even though steps could have been taken - they were not. This is definite negligence, and in a court of law, it is often enough to be able to win a mesothelioma lawsuit.

The industries that were the main users of asbestos are the building materials industry, the shipping industry, the railroad industry, and the automotive industry. It needs to be pointed out that those who were exposed in the shipbuilding industry include both the shipbuilding laborers and the Navy and Marine personnel that were assigned to those ships for months at a time. Very little was done to ensure the continued health of the employees or servicemen until the mid-70´s. At that time, the industries began to be forced to provide protection for their employees. It was, however, too late for those already exposed.

Those people, who had already been exposed to the asbestos, would years later fall ill. No one really knew of mesothelioma cancer and everyone was about to find out. Mesothelioma is a cancer that lays low for a number of years. It isn't until years after the first exposure that the person would start to see symptoms of mesothelioma cancer appear.

Your mesothelioma lawyer will be able to talk you through what exactly is the process of taking the company or business to court for your exposure to the asbestos that has now caused mesothelioma cancer.

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with any type of mesothelioma, you are entitled to be compensated. This also extends to family members who have contacted the disease through contaminated clothing. Though amounts awarded vary from one case to another, you could be looking at an amount with six or seven figures.

Types of Information Needed

You will need to document the following in order for a mesothelioma claim to have a chance of being successful.

- Work history.

- Work locations

- Brands and types of asbestos that the victim was exposed to.

- Where and when exposure occurred.

- Co-workers names and contact information.