When Help Harms
The Hill-Burton Act was passed to ensure that there was adequate infrastructure in place to provide medical care to all communities. Hospitals were encouraged to expand services and build new additions or modernize existing facilities. It seemed that hospital construction was going on everywhere until the mid 1980s when new building efforts began to slow down.
While facilities were under construction employees often had to travel through dusty construction areas in the course of their work. Patients often had to be moved through these areas to get treatment or diagnostic testing in an area away from their rooms. Visitors and outpatients, as well as vendors and construction workers were openly exposed to the dust. In fact, the “Pardon Our Dust” signs were a common sight during those years.
The Irony of Intervention
Who could have guessed that this was not something to be so easily dismissed? Because so many of the buildings that needed renovation were built when asbestos use was not questioned, no doubt millions of Americans have been exposed to asbestos dust in more than minimal-risk measures. If you find yourself with an asbestos related diagnosis, but no idea where you were exposed, you may want to see an experienced asbestos attorney for more information.
Beware of Small Construction Projects
Recently a small, older grocery store paid about $100,000 to have their older floors sanded down to the concrete foundation according to an article the Union County Leader in Clayton, NM, March 11, 2009. Shoppers purchasing products immediately after completion of this project may have been contaminated with asbestos from the dusty cans and packages they purchased in the weeks following. Unless they washed them immediately, the dust may still be contaminating others who enter their homes, and especially those who use these products.
Home Renovation and Asbestos Exposure
As the economy tightens, and older buildings get older yet, we may see more and more home renovations and less new construction. Older buildings need more repairs and maintenance, and that creates a situation that could release asbestos fibers into the air. You can find companies that are qualified to dismantle those parts of your home that are at risk, but they won’t be cheap. Knowing the risks to the health of your family you don’t want just the lowest bid, but quality work by knowledgeable professionals.
It’s Not Just Employees at Risk
It’s obvious that we can’t always know when we’ve been exposed to this deadly mineral. So, it may come as a surprise that people who are not employed in an asbestos-related field such as mining or manufacturing could be susceptible to asbestos caused diseases.
If you would like to learn more about your options, please visit the website of Brown | Kiely, LLP, the experienced mesothelioma lawyers in Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. for more information, or to schedule a free consultation.
