Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive cancer that affects about three thousand Americans each year and an estimated twenty thousand people around the world. This number is expected to rise as mesothelioma’s cause, toxic chemical asbestos, continues to be used without proper safety regulations and protection. Although the US has greatly regulatd asbestos use in the last several decades, it has been called the backbone of American industry for its part in countless manufacturing arenas between the 1920s and 1980s. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Act describes rules and codes for safe use and removal of asbestos.
Minton spent nearly twenty years working at Newport News Shipbuilding. We worked as a ship fitter in new construction for his first seven years at the yard. It was when he moved to a supervisor position in commercial ship repair that his asbestos exposure was allegedly the worst. Between 1966 and 1977 Minton was regularly exposed to the toxic chemical while working on Exxon oil tankers. His doctors blame the disease on his many years exposure while at the yard.
Mesothelioma is characterized by a long latency period, often between twenty and fifty years. This makes it hard to diagnose, particularly if the patient had no idea they were ever exposed to asbestos. Symptoms demonstrate decades after the cancer has begun growing through the respiratory system; they mimic those of bronchitis and pneumonia, further postponing proper diagnosis.
Mesothelioma grows as a system of irregularly patterned tumors through lung lining and lining of other abdominal cavities. There are mesothelioma treatments available which include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. There are also palliative treatments available for patients who wish to focus on quality of life rather than taking a cancer direct approach. Life expectancy following diagnosis averages eighteen months.
Minton’s lead attorney on the case, Bobby Hatten, was surprised at the jury’s decision. He said,
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