Delaware Mesothelioma Lawyers
Delaware Asbestos Lawyers
The mesothelioma lawyers at the Simmons firm represent victims of mesothelioma cancer throughout the United States, including the state of Delaware. We provide legal representation and counsel to families pursuing or considering the pursuit of mesothelioma litigation. Citizens of Delaware concerned about their exposure to asbestos can find valuable mesothelioma information and resources on this site. The majority of individuals who have been exposed to asbestos encounter the substance in their line of work, often due to a lack of safety precautions by the employer. Asbestos exposure can also be found in some areas as a result from breathing contaminated air near an asbestos site. Close proximity to workers who have taken the fibers home with them on their clothing may also lead to exposure and contamination. Delaware is also home to companies that have been accused of exposing their workers to asbestos or failing to protect them from it. Simmons firm partner Mike Angelides has told the St. Louis Business Journal, “We file a large docket in Delaware because that’s the home state of a lot of the companies we sue.”
As a public case in point, the Delaware weekly legal journal The Record recently reported that three men from Argentina accused the Delware-based DuPont company of exposing them to asbestos in Argentina. A local lawyer took their case to a New Castle county courthouse, citing American jurisdiction pursuant to the 1853 Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation.
Asbestos Exposure in Delaware
Delaware contains only one naturally occurring asbestos site and no EPA-mandated Superfund cleanup sites. However, lung cancer rates are higher in Delaware than the U.S as a whole. The naturally occurring asbestos site is called the “Mount Cuba serpentine body.” The Northern Delaware location (near the Hoopes Reservoir) contains the associated minerals of serpentine, talc, magnetite, augite, olivine, magnesite, anthophyllite, and marmolite.
In addition to mesothelioma and asbestosis, lung cancer is another potential consequence of asbestos exposure. Both general cancer and lung cancer rates are higher in Delaware than the U.S as a whole, according to “Cancer Incidence and Mortality in Delaware,” a June 2009 report from the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services. It stated that Delaware’s 2001-05 all-site cancer incidence rate of 504.2 per 100,000 was significantly higher than the U.S. rate of 471.1 per 100,000. Delaware also reported a 2001-05 lung cancer incidence rate (78.9 per 100,000) that was significantly higher than the U.S. rate (68.7 per 100,000). The lung cancer section of the report classified asbestos as a “known lung carcinogen” presenting risk of occupational exposure alongside mustard gas, radioactive ores and heavy metals.
Another factor in the cancer profile of Delaware is the fact that it had the seventh-highest rate of in-migration (people moving into the state) from 2000-2004, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. “Approximately 6 of every 1,000 Delawareans have recently moved here from another state. These high levels of in-migration make it difficult to know when and where a person’s exposure to a particular substance occurred,” states the official website of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services.
This high rate of in-migration presents the possibility of current Delaware residents having been exposed to asbestos in a previous location before moving to the state.
Mesothelioma Lawyers with Experience
At the Simmons firm, our mesothelioma lawyers have been working with clients suffering from diseases associated with asbestos exposure for more than ten years. Our experience, resources and dedication to personal client service have helped us recover over $3 billion in verdicts and settlements for thousands of families dealing with mesothelioma in its various forms.*
The Simmons firm is one of the nation’s leading supporters of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation and has pledged $10 million to support cancer research at the SimmonsCooper Cancer Institute at Southern Illinois University.
If you believe you may have mesothelioma, please contact our mesothelioma lawyers for a free case evaluation.
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* Please note that recovery results vary per client. The recovery amounts in each case reflect the specific facts of that case. Further, recovery amounts in past cases are not a guarantee of future results.