Asbestos Exposure? Get Screened, File by July 15.
NORTH DAKOTA WORKERS:
ASBESTOS EXPOSURE ON THE JOB?
GET SCREENED, FILE BY JULY 15.
In order to protect your rights to compensation for asbestos-caused lung injuries or asbestos-caused cancers, if you have been exposed to asbestos on the job, do the following things now:
Makean appointment with your regular physician as soon as possible.
Tell your doctor about your history of asbestos exposure on the job.
Ask for a 4-view chest X-ray including: posterior (PA), lateral, and (2) oblique views or CT Scan.
Have that chest x-rayand reportsent to an attorney that specializes in asbestos disease litigation in North Dakota, no later than July 15, 2021.
Encourage co-workers, friends and family that were also exposed to asbestos on the job to get screened.
Background:
Due to legislation known as “House Bill 1207” – a very restrictive new law supported by asbestos product manufacturers and passed by the North Dakota Legislative Assembly which will go into effect on August 1, 2021 – it will be far more difficult for North Dakota’s workers suffering from asbestos-caused non-malignant lung injuries or asbestos-caused cancers to obtain damages from makers of asbestos products.
Products containing asbestos were used here in the North Dakota workplace from the 1940’s through the 1990’s in insulation materials, welding rods, pipe gaskets, valve stem and pump packings, sheetrock, joint compound materials, sprayed fireproofing on structural beams, sprayed ceiling textures, wall textures, and drum and disc brake linings among many other products. Jobsites where these asbestos exposures occurred include power plants, oil refineries, beet sugar plants, office buildings, public buildings such as courthouses, private homes, auto repair businesses, and on U.S. Navy ships.
Lung scarring injuries and various types of cancers caused by exposures to these asbestos containing products were not diagnosed for many years – even decades -- after these asbestos exposures took place. Asbestosis and pleural asbestos disease are the non-malignant diseases caused by asbestos exposure, and the following cancers can be caused by exposure to asbestos: mesothelioma, lung cancer, colon cancer, esophageal cancer, laryngeal cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer and non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
If you’ve had asbestos exposure, it’s a good idea to get an annual chest x-ray.
The key is occupational exposure, even if you don’t have symptoms.
You don’t need to mention litigation to your doctor.
Your local union may have programs and recommendations on navigating this process.
If you have suffered from the previously mentioned forms of cancer and have been exposed on the job to asbestos, you may already be eligible to make a claim.
- Even if you have not had a chest x-ray, but have suffered from any of the previously mentioned types of cancer, you may want to contact an attorney.
North Dakota Lawyers Who Represent
Asbestos Disease Victims and Families
There are only two attorneys licensed in North Dakota who specialize in the representation of asbestos disease victims and their families. David C. Thompson has represented injured workers in North Dakota asbestos litigation since 1984, and Jeanette T. (“Jean”) Boechler began representing injured workers in this litigation in 1985.
Many attorneys represent asbestos disease clients on a contingency-fee basis, meaning that no client is asked to pay attorneys fees or costs out of his or her own pockets, as all attorneys and costs are taken from settlements with asbestos product manufacturers. If there are no settlements, the client owes nothing.
David C. Thompson
Attorney at Law
DAVID C. THOMPSON, P.C.
321 Kittson Avenue
Grand Forks, North Dakota, 58201
Telephone: (701) 775-7012
FAX : (701) 775-2520
E-mail: dct@rrv.net
Jeanette T. Boechler
Attorney at Law
BOECHLER LAW FIRM
P.O. Box 9324
Fargo, North Dakota,58106-9324
Telephone: (701) 237-3071
FAX: (701) 237-9035
E-mail: lboec@aol.com