Bladder cancer

Male veterans are 4 times more likely to develop bladder cancer due to solvent exposure than female veterans

Over 700 military bases in the country have a grim legacy of toxic environmental contamination, which has been contributing to the prevalence of bladder cancer among veterans. The chemicals associated with a high risk of bladder cancer that were also lurking on military bases are industrial solvents. According to a study from the medical journal Environmental Health Perspectives, perchloroethylene exposure has a strong link to bladder cancer, with people exposed to it for a long time having a nearly 2 times greater risk of developing this cancer. Furthermore, exposure to the following solvents on military bases also has a significant connection with bladder cancer:

• trichloroethylene
• alicyclic hydrocarbon solvents
• benzene
• aliphatic hydrocarbon solvents
• toluene
• aromatic hydrocarbon solvents

Some of these industrial solvents, as well as PFOS and PFOA, two chemicals from the PFAS group, were present in the drinking water at Camp Lejeune for 34 years during the last century. Therefore, veterans and civilians who spent time there are likely to come to struggle with bladder cancer. If you lived at this military base, we might be able to help you file a Camp Lejeune toxic water claim or lawsuit and a VA disability claim if you are a veteran. However, you have to meet the following eligibility criteria:

• you must have been discharged from the military other than dishonorably as a veteran
• you must have drunk contaminated water at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 consecutive days between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987
• you must have a correct, accurate diagnosis of bladder cancer that is the result of drinking toxic water

Even if you meet the above requirements, you might not be entitled to financial compensation under the new Camp Lejeune Justice Act or from the VA. For this reason, to determine whether you qualify for filing a claim, our experienced attorneys will have to assess your employment or military records, which you must retrieve, and your medical records.

If you want to file a claim as a family member of a veteran whom you lived with at Camp Lejeune, you will have to send us evidence of your stay at the military base along with your medical records. Finally, it is important to know that women who stayed at Camp Lejeune while pregnant and gave birth to a child with a congenital malformation may also be eligible for compensation.

The bladder cancer risk among military and civilian firefighters who used AFFF is nearly 2 times higher

A study from Environmental Health Insights found that people with a high level of PFAS in their blood are nearly twice as likely to develop bladder cancer than the general population. This is often the case with military and civilian firefighters who used the fire suppressant AFFF, which contains between 50% and 98% of these toxic chemicals. Not only do PFAS persist in the environment once they are released by employing AFFF, but they also stay in the body for a long time. This increases the risk of numerous life-threatening diseases, including bladder cancer. Moreover, firefighters are exposed to PFAS from the very personal protective equipment they wear.

It is worthy of note that, when it is the consequence of AFFF exposure, bladder cancer may take several years to several decades to develop. The following are the most common symptoms of bladder cancer, regardless of the cause:

• pain or a burning sensation during urination
• lower back pain on one side of the body
• feeling the need to urinate many times at night
• blood in the urine and frequent urination
• feeling the need to urinate yet not being able to do so
• trouble urinating or a weak urine stream

Asbestos exposure is responsible for 10,000 bladder cancer diagnoses every year in the U.S.

Since the body eliminates asbestos fibers primarily through the urinary system, this facilitates the development of malignant tumors inside the bladder, resulting in bladder cancer. Exposure to asbestos was extremely common between the 1920s and the 1980s in occupational settings and in the military.

One could easily inhale and ingest toxic asbestos fibers, as manufacturers and employers were keeping everyone in the dark about the dangers and potentially deadly nature of exposure.

It is noteworthy that when the culprit is asbestos, bladder cancer will develop within 20 to 50 years from the person's first contact with the mineral fibers. People who already struggle with a disease caused by asbestos exposure, such as lung cancer or mesothelioma, are at higher risk of developing bladder cancer. Misdiagnosis is very common in asbestos exposure victims, which is why, if you suspect you have bladder cancer or have already received this diagnosis, we advise you to seek a second and even a third opinion from other medical specialists. If you are willing to come to Birmingham, Alabama, where our law firm is headquartered, you can undergo a free-of-charge asbestos screening. We collaborate with medical experts who have the necessary expertise to correctly diagnose asbestos-related diseases.

These are the eligibility criteria you must meet to file a claim for occupational or military asbestos exposure:

• you must have been frequently or prolongedly exposed to asbestos on the job or during active military duty
• as a veteran, you must have been discharged from the military other than dishonorably
• you must have a diagnosis of bladder cancer that is the result of asbestos exposure, with asbestos fibers being present in the malignant tumors

The documents our experienced attorneys will request from you are your employment or military records, which you must retrieve, and your medical records so that they can have a starting point in assessing your case. They will eventually determine whether you are eligible for compensation from the asbestos trust funds of the companies who manufactured the products you were exposed to. If you are a veteran who worked with the mineral, we may also be able to file a VA disability claim for you. Lastly, if you are a smoker who was also exposed to asbestos, you may still be eligible to file a claim if asbestos fibers are present in your bladder tumors.

We offer quality legal assistance to secondary asbestos exposure victims

Because of the lack of protective equipment among industrial workers, these people would often return home covered in asbestos dust, inevitably exposing their family members to harmful mineral fibers.

Usually, the wives of asbestos workers were exposed when shaking out their husbands' work clothes before washing them, whereas the children of asbestos workers came in contact with toxic fibers when greeting and hugging their fathers.

If you lived in the same house as a family member who handled asbestos in any way on the job and now have bladder cancer, feel free to contact our law firm, as we might be able to help you obtain financial compensation from the asbestos trust funds. You will have to send in the employment records of the former asbestos worker, evidence of you living together, and your medical records stating your bladder cancer diagnosis.

Our attorneys might be able to file a wrongful death claim if you lost a family member to bladder cancer

Not few are the cases in which asbestos exposure victims refuse to take legal recourse out of fear of a complex, overwhelming process or, sadly, because they pass away before having the chance to do so. This is when their surviving family members can step in and file a wrongful death claim on their behalf to obtain part of the money their deceased loved one might have been entitled to.

If you are in this unfortunate situation, please contact our attorneys, as they may be able to file a wrongful death claim for asbestos exposure if you are eligible.

You will have to send our resourceful legal team the employment or military records of your lost family member, their medical records with their bladder cancer diagnosis, and their death certificate. Our attorneys will thoroughly review your case and eventually tell you whether you can file a wrongful death claim. If you qualify, we will prepare the claim for submission, and if our endeavors are successful, you may benefit from part of the financial compensation your family member would have been entitled to.