According to a recent YA study, doctors, nurses and other health care workers seem to be missing the chance to counsel patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma about legal options and potential compensation for their cancer. The study, conducted by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System and Stanford University, was published in a recent edition of The American Journal of the Medical Sciences.
Malignant pleural mesothelioma, a rare cancer that affects the lining of the chest cavity, is typically linked to on-the-job exposure to asbestos. In the United States, asbestos use is highly regulated by both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration —but it is not banned.
Because of the possibility of a survival time is usually short (though there are exceptions), patients need to learn quickly about potential legal action and compensation options. Yet, since malignant pleural mesothelioma is an uncommon cancer, many health care providers might not understand the situation's urgency, the researchers noted.
In the new study, the scientists determined whether health care providers in the Palo Alto VA system were recording the work histories of malignant pleural mesothelioma patients, and whether the patients or their caregivers were receiving important information about the medical and legal implications of the disease.
The study, covering an 11-year window, looked at 16 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma, 15 of them men. For a period beginning a year before the mesothelioma diagnosis was recorded and ending a year after, patients' electronic medical records were checked for:
- Any job titles from the patients' past
- Specific job duties
- Histories of exposure to asbestos
- Education or information provided to the patients about the link between asbestos and malignant pleural mesothelioma
- Referrals to a claims board or for legal counsel
- Education that patients might qualify for compensation related to their mesothelioma diagnosis
Occupational exposure to asbestos was documented in 12 of the patients' records (two other patients were thought to have been exposed to asbestos "second hand," with the fibers carried home by family members who had on-the-job exposure). Education and counseling about potential legal action or compensation was found in the record of only one patient. In the records of the other 15 people, the study found no mention of patient education about mesothelioma as an occupational cancer or as a condition that could warrant legal action and compensation. Yet, it's possible that patients may have received some counseling on these topics that was not documented, the researchers added.
Up to 90 percent of pleural mesothelioma cases in men likely stem from occupational asbestos exposure, the study said, while fewer cases are related to bystander exposure or exposure from the environment.
"Timely discussion of management options, including opportunities for compensation, is critical," the researchers wrote.
We would also warn you that there is a limited amount of time to file a lawsuit, as short as just two years after diagnosis in some states –so don't wait to learn more about your legal options.
Contact the law firm of Baron and Budd, the sponsor of Mesothelioma News, to speak to an attorney about your legal options at 1.866.855.1229 or fill out the contact form here.
