With an asbestosis diagnosis alone, you are not eligible for compensation. But given the fact that the rate of misdiagnosis is high, and the cancer risk is high with asbestos exposure, we strongly recommend you get a second and even third opinion outside the VA. If you are diagnosed with asbestos-related cancer, you become eligible to file a claim and obtain financial compensation.
Asbestosis kills more than 1,000 Americans every year
While rare among the general population, asbestosis is a widespread disease among people with a history of workplace asbestos exposure. It is a form of pulmonary fibrosis, a condition that entails the scarring of the lung tissue, and it typically ensues within 10 to 20 years after the person was in contact with asbestos for the first time.
Inhalation is the only route of exposure, which may lead to asbestosis. The reason why the disease has such a long latency period resides in the way in which the asbestos fibers in the lungs cause damage to the organs.
Accordingly, shortly after inhalation, the asbestos fibers that attach themselves to tissue start producing increasingly severe inflammation and scarring, which will ultimately affect the lungs extensively. It is important to note that suffering from asbestosis makes you 10% more susceptible to developing lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma in the future. Pulmonary heart disease is another complication that can arise from asbestosis.
Unfortunately, asbestosis has no cure at the moment. Every year, more than 1,000 people in the U.S. lose their lives to asbestosis, the majority of whom were exposed to the carcinogen in the workplace before 1980. The most common symptoms of asbestosis, which are very similar to the signs of numerous other types of pulmonary disease, include:
- a lingering dry cough
- shortness of breath
- chest pain
- fatigue
- chest tightness
- a crackling sound when breathing
- nail clubbing
- unexplained weight loss