Asbestos Health Concerns for Boilermakers and How They Can Fight for Compensation
Boilermakers have a physically demanding job, with extreme heat, heavy equipment, and long hours being just some of the grueling workplace expectations. But these hardships and on-the-job struggles aren't hidden; boilermakers can prepare for them. An even more considerable workplace danger exists, remaining invisible to the naked eye until it's too late: asbestos. Despite strict restrictions on asbestos usage today, it continues to threaten the health of boilermakers all across America, especially when dealing with older industrial machinery and structures.
Madeksho Law is committed to helping boilermakers fight for what is right if they develop mesothelioma or related health concerns due to asbestos exposure at their workplace. Call today at 888-910-MESO (6376) or contact us through our website for a free case review.
Why Boilermakers Are at Risk of Asbestos Exposure
Boilermakers don't just have a tough job; they often work in the most dangerous, hazardous industries regarding asbestos exposure. One of the primary benefits of asbestos that led to its widespread usage was its heat resistance quality, so boilermakers were consistently near the material while on the job. Asbestos exposure, even when minimal, runs the risk of dangerous fibers entering the body, causing lifelong and often fatal health conditions. They are skilled tradespeople responsible for constructing, installing, maintaining, and repairing large containers and vessels designed to hold gases and liquids. Their work typically includes:
- Construction: Building and erecting heavy metal structures like boilers, tanks, and heat exchangers.
- Maintenance: Conducting repairs and ongoing maintenance on boilers, pressure vessels, and related systems.
- Installation: Placing heat-resistant materials within fireboxes and pressure vessels to withstand high temperatures.
- Hoisting: Operating cranes and hoisting tools to lift and position materials safely.
- Welding: Assembling parts through welding and other fastening techniques.
- Layout: Planning and marking layouts for projects, either in the workshop or on-site.
- Cutting: Shaping and cutting metal and other materials to precise measurements.
Boilermakers work across industries like construction, shipbuilding, power generation, and boiler fabrication, creating structures that heat liquids for power generation or heating buildings and ships.
- Shipyards: Ships and military vessels used asbestos for insulation, particularly in engine rooms and piping.
- Refineries: Tanks and heat exchangers were often insulated with asbestos.
- Industrial and Power Plants: Boilers and pipelines in plants were lined with asbestos to withstand high temperatures.
Whenever proper safety precautions and equipment are lacking, boilermakers are at risk. Many boilermakers with asbestos-related health concerns were exposed decades or more ago when companies unknowingly or negligently let their workers inhale dangerous asbestos fibers. But even today, when boilermakers demolish or repair older structures, those same long-hidden asbestos fibers can become airborne, meaning current workers are at risk if unprepared and unprotected.
Risks to Boilermakers' Health Due to Asbestos Exposure
Asbestos is highly hazardous and is most known for causing mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer that affects membranes and lining of the lungs, heart, and abdomen. In many cases, mesothelioma is slow to develop, taking anywhere from 10 to 50 years to appear after the initial exposure. Workers live their lives believing everything to be fine, only to suddenly learn they are suffering from an incurable, rapidly progressing cancer.
Boilermakers exposed to asbestos are also at risk of developing other forms of cancer, including lung cancer, as well as asbestos-related illnesses like asbestosis. Asbestosis is not cancer, but it is a dangerous chronic condition that scars the lungs and significantly reduces quality of life.
Madeksho Law Is Here To Help Boilermakers
No one deserves to deal with lifelong, life-threatening health conditions due to negligence by their employer, especially hard-working boilermakers. Christopher Madeksho of Madeksho Law was recently part of a trial team who won $3.8 million for a retired boilermaker, age 76, who developed mesothelioma as a result of an unsafe workplace and exposure to asbestos. If you or a beloved family member were exposed to asbestos working as a boilermaker and developed asbestos-related conditions, you deserve justice, and our team can help secure much-needed compensation.
Call Madeksho Law today at 888-910-MESO (6376) or contact us online to speak with our team and receive a free, no-obligation review of your situation.
