Preventing fires is important for public safety, but some efforts at doing so are better than others. For example, asbestos was once widely used in homes and other buildings as a form of fire retardant. While asbestos might be effective at resisting and preventing fires, it is also extremely dangerous to human health. The toxic substance causes mesothelioma, a fatal cancer that affects victims’ lungs and various other organs.

Asbestos is no longer used in new construction, but it can still be found in many older buildings and homes. Also, many companies and manufacturers still use asbestos in other types of products. Because of these and other factors, most people in South Carolina will be exposed to asbestos at some point. It is important to understand that even minimal exposure can lead to serious health outcomes.

In the United States, 3,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year. Tracking down asbestos exposure can be difficult, but the vast majority of mesothelioma diagnoses can be directly traced to exposure to the substance. For the average patient suffering from this cancer, many decades pass between the time of exposure and the development of the cancer. Some people do not even realize they were exposed to asbestos until they are diagnosed with mesothelioma.

The average mesothelioma diagnosis comes sometime between 20 and 50 years after exposure to asbestos. This means that some people in South Carolina could soon be diagnosed with a disease from a job they worked nearly half a century ago. However, just because a significant period of time passes between exposure and diagnosis does not mean that a victim has to shoulder the burden by his or herself. For many victims, achieving compensation through a successful civil suit can help address damages for pain and suffering, medical bills and much more.