long beach lung injury attorneys
Since 1979, the Long Beach California lung injury lawyers at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo have been able to help thousands of clients get the medical treatment they deserve and the maximum compensation that they need to be whole again. We know just how hard lung injuries can be on a person and their loved ones. Lung injuries have the potential to be rather tragic given how critical and fragile the lungs are. Contact our firm today to set up your free initial consultation and case evaluation and to discuss your specific lung injury regardless of whether it was caused by blunt trauma, powders, hard metal dust inhalation or exposure to other poisons, disease, or irritants. There are those in the area that consider us to be the best Long Beach lung injury attorneys. We promise to work hard to continue to live up to those rather lofty standards.
how to file a lung injury lawsuit claim
Getting any injury can be scary but a lung injury has the potential to be very life changing and life threatening. You most likely have a lot of questions about what could happen next and what your legal options and opportunities are. You may also be wondering about how to bring a traumatic or acute lung injury legal cause of action and/or how to file a long term work exposure lung injury workers’ compensation claim. Contact us right away at (562) 372-3960 as you should get at least some legal guidance before proceeding with your asbestos case, hard metal dust inhalation lung injury case, punctured lung injury accident case, or any other lung injury case. We will discuss your claim during the free consultation:
- Options and advice for how you could be able to do-it-yourself.
- Potential litigation issues including: legal evidentiary standards of proof and legal requirements, law and motion, pleadings, investigation, expert witness depositions, lay witness depositions, types of causes of action, written discovery, potential special and general damages including: medical treatment, loss of earnings, bodily injury, temporary disability benefits, and other damages and benefits you are entitled to recover.
- What might be involved in suing another party and filing your legal claim(s) for workers’ comp and/or third party personal injury.
- Complete answers to your questions regarding how we may be able to help you navigate the legal system during this challenging time.
- How we could help make your case simple, efficient and successful.
contact our local law firm
Our top Long Beach lung injury lawyers are ready to use all of their experience and knowhow to take the load, headache and stress of this case off of your back. If after meeting with us and discussing the numerous costs and important steps that are needed to file, investigate, negotiate, litigate, and potentially take your lung injury case to trial, please know that our firm will always be here for you. We hope this website assists you in learning more about injury law and that you get to your maximum medical improvement in a timely manner. Call our Long Beach personal injury and work injury law firm right away at (562) 372-3960 as we answer our phones all hours of the day and night.
definition: lung injury
Lung injuries can be very serious and lethal so you should be sure to take the proper precautions to avoid them like wearing protective gear, limiting exposure to toxins and dusts and to always wear breathing masks when appropriate. Keep in mind that traumatic lung injuries may have occurred any time a blow or trauma happens to a person’s back, neck, or chest. Furthermore, having rib pain is reason enough to check for lung injuries as rib injuries and lung injuries often go together.
more types of lung injuries
Acute lung injuries (ALI) are one type of traumatic lung injury. They are mainly caused by a direct injury to the lung like pneumonia or blunt trauma but can also be caused by indirect injuries to the lung like pancreatitis. Pulmonary lung injuries occur after long term explosion to irritant, asbestos, dusts, chemicals, powders, toxins, and more. Continue reading this page for more examples of this. Another version of acute lung injury that is more severe is called acute respiratory distress syndrome or ARDS. Low lung levels (airway collapse) and reduced lung compliance are also symptoms of both ALI and ARDS so be sure to seek medical attention for diagnosis and treatment.
critical signs and symptoms
If you have suffered an injury to the chest, be sure to get your lungs checked out as the lungs make up a large portion of that region and can be injured in conjunction with the chest. Other symptoms to look for include a difficulty to get a full breath, a dry cough, a feeling of breathlessnesss, rapid and shallow breathing, a bluish tint around the mouth and nose, clubbing (fingernails that curve over the top of your fingertips), pain in the chest or ribs, wheezing, hypotension, dyspnea, an elevated heart rate, fever, light headedness, and even no detectable breathing. Call a doctor if you have these symptoms as it is always better to discover lung injuries earlier rather than later. Also, please be aware that many of the above symptoms worsen over time so be careful to not just write them off as just aches or discomfort.
causes for lung disease/injuries
The complete list of causes for lung injuries is very long since they can happen as a result from inhaling irritants over an extended period, direct or indirect trauma to the lungs, and inflammation. The types of irritants that affect the lungs include silica dust, toxins, hard metal dust (like cobalt dust from drilling), asbestos fibers, dust, grain, pollutants, sugarcane, gases (such as ammonia and chlorine), airborne chemicals, bacteria in unmaintained hot tubs and humidifiers, saw dust, dust from bird and animal droppings, moldy hay, and powders. Some of the other causes of lung injuries or lung disease are injury to the chest or ribs, puncture wounds, impaled objects, fat embolism, sepsis, poisoning, bicycle or skateboarding accident, a direct air bag blow to the chest, major trauma, eclampsia, truck accident, being in a car accident, a sports injury like being hit by a bat, wrestling rough or tackled hard, motorcycle accident, air embolism, radiation, drugs, burns, near drowning, amniotic fluid embolism, inhalation of noxious fumes, pneumonia, parasitic infections, fungal infections, pancreatitis, and pulmonary aspiration. It is important to seek medical attention as soon as possible after any of these injuries.
More Causes for Lung Injuries
Always be on alert after traumatic injuries near your lungs could have collapsed them or your broken or cracked ribs may have punctured them. TRALI (Transfusions Related Acute Lung Injury) is a serious potential complication of blood transfusions. Other possible causes for lung injuries even include talcum baby powder as it was found to be causing lung disease or cancer in babies or adults if it was inhaled over a significant amount over time. That type of lung disease is designated talcosis. Beauty mineral powders have also been found to cause lung disease with long term use. Unfortunately, in our world full of chemicals and toxins that are produced in mass, doctors are discovering more and more products, work environments and situations where lung injuries are common.
lung injury workers’ compensation
The Long Beach workers’ compensation firm of DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo is ready to investigate, research your claim for work comp lung injuries and represent you and your family. During our extensive career, we have assisted many clients who have developed lung injuries while on the job either over time by being exposed to irritants, dusts, hard metal dust (possibly from drilling or being in a mine), asbestos, pollutants, powders, toxic vapors, or chemicals. Our experienced attorneys have also been there for victims of blunt lung trauma like that sustained in a car accident, conveyor belt accident, safety rail collapse, scaffolding collapse, debris dropped on you, chest injury, being crushed, equipment accident, fall, puncture wounds, construction accident, being impaled, crane accident, jack hammer injury accident, forklift accident, nail gun accident, motorcycle accident, ladder accident, and many other injuries sustained on the job.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance Protects the Employees and their Families
An important aspect of workers’ comp law that can be overlooked by the average worker is that employers cannot penalize or fire employees for filing a workers’ compensation claim. Our firm is ready to use every year of our over three decades of experience on your behalf so call us at (562) 372-3960. The workers’ comp insurance that is paid for and held by your employer has the potential to provide financial compensation to you for disability, income, medical benefits, death benefits, medical expenses, permanent disability compensation, and vocational rehabilitation, when the circumstances and severity of the job injury warrant such distributions.
Aluminum Powder could cause Lung Disease & Lung Fibrosis
In the pyro-powder-producing industry, aluminum powder flakes are often found within air samples all throughout the factories and plants. It has been proven that employees can develop serious lung disease from the long term exposure to the hard metal dust and powder. It is important to call us today to discuss your aluminum powder exposure lung injury.
E-Waste Recycling can Affect Lung Health beyond just the Factory
One awful side effect of electronic technology is what happens after we throw it away or recycle it regarding all of the electronics, circuits, and trace metals. Workers who melt the metals and take apart TVs, circuit boards, stereos, smart phones, computers, cell phones, lap tops and other electronic devices down into their smallest components are inhaling toxic levels of workplace dust and hard metal dust. In some studied cities where this is done, the air quality is poor throughout the city and hard metal dust can be found in air and dust samples from around town.
Mining and Drilling are Causes for Lung Injuries
To try to improve the mining situation and rate of injury, the USA passed the Miner Safety Act in 2006. The law hoped to help the conditions that miners and drillers worked in. Unfortunately, mining still has one of the largest rates of fatal injuries. Miners come across many dangers both when they are working under and above ground including toxic gas or fumes inhalation, equipment failure, electrocutions, explosions, falling equipment, rocks or tools, difficult and unwieldy equipment and many others. An additional top ailment that miners face is that of developing respiratory problems, trace metal lung disease, hard metal lung disease, black lung, or pneumoconiosis disease. Drilling, workshop dust, mining for coal, and hard metal dust like cobalt seem to be a direct way to injure our lungs, put toxins into the body, poison our systems and lower one’s immune system. The mines are safer than they were back when we started in the late 1970s but they are still a cause of many lung injuries today.
Exposure to Diacetyl may Cause Severe Lung Disease & Asthma
Food processing workers and other employees who work with some kinds of butter flavoring might be at risk of developing severe lung disease, respiratory injuries, or being afflicted by asthma due to the natural ingredient of diacetyl. Workers in bakeries, flavoring companies, popcorn factories, snack factories, theatres, microwave popcorn factories, and mass food production plants are some of the workers who could have been or will be exposed to diacetyl. It is sometimes called “popcorn lung” and, unfortunately, the symptoms do not cease when someone stops being exposed to it. Bronchiolitis obliterans is a possible condition that may come from popcorn lung. It causes the airways to thicken and narrow which could have devastating effects.
Asbestos Affects Construction Workers, Repair Workers & those who live in older homes
Before the terrible truth was known about it, asbestos was used throughout all kinds of product lines and industries in construction and home products. It has since been found to cause pleural plaques, diffuse pleural thickening, mesothelioma, malignant lung cancer, asbestos warts, asbestosis and other serious health problems after long term exposure to it. Certain products and environments around today are still at risk of containing asbestos including popcorn ceilings, old homes, old insulation, and old plaster. Given how dangerous asbestos is and the many years of studies and trials proving long term exposure and medical issues are related, be sure to call the doctor and our firm right away.
Lung Injury Risk Higher for Construction Workers
Not only are construction workers constantly in situations and work environments where traumatic injuries to the back, neck and chest are possible, they are also around elevated levels of sawdust, dirty air, dust, pollutants, powders and other irritants. The people who work at the table saw or with the chain saw all day constantly breathing in sawdust, splinters and other particulates are good examples of why construction workers often get lung injuries or lung disease. Our Long Beach construction injury lawyers have over 30 years of experience handling these injury cases.
Protective Gear is Important to Keep Your Lungs Healthy
Even though there is a definite chance to still get lung injuries and lung disease with all of the proper gear on, it is important to wear the suggested safety gear and masks. This includes gas masks, hard hats, nose and mouth masks, goggles, face masks, and more. It is also important to be aware of and use all the safety devices on the heavy machinery, equipment, sanders, tools and saws.
osha tries to prevent work injuries
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has a history of creating rules and regulations to make working safer for the average worker. OSHA still discloses, though, that “Every day in the USA, more than 14 workers lose their lives in preventable workplace tragedies.” With that grim statistic in mind, OSHA continues to tighten safety regulations and rules.
OSHA Enforces Safety Rules to Decrease Injuries and Work Accidents
OSHA investigates accidents, equipment, injuries, mines, collapsed mines, defective products, manufacturers, tools, and safety code violations by conducting site inspections, interviewing witnesses and employees, checking logs, reviewing maintenance records, talking with management and ownership, and by conducting other investigations. Employers need to try harder to protect their employees since the amount of people getting lung injuries every year on the job has still remained high over the last decade.
third parties who are also at fault
Filing a claim for workers’ compensation could help you recoup some part of your lost wages. To get your maximum compensation under the law (potentially including your full income), there needs to also be a third party who had part of the fault in causing your lung injury. Those that could be a third party for lung injuries include manufacturers, sub-contractors, companies, contractors, part suppliers, factories, repair shops, government entities, or anyone else who may also be at fault but is not your employer. Be sure to contact us soon at (562) 372-3960 if there is a potential third party as those cases are greatly improved the sooner that one of our Long Beach work comp attorneys can start investigating the injury and preparing the dual cases.
treatment & diagnosis: lung injuries
Doctors use your medical history, high-resolution computerized tomography scan (HRCT), bronchoscopy (the removal of a small piece of lung tissue for studying), bronchoalveolar lavage (studying cells from air sacs in the lungs), exercise tests, chest x-rays, pulmonary function tests (like blowing into a spirometer), work history, and video-assisted thorascopic surgery (surgical lung biopsy). Some of the possible options for treatment include pressure control ventilation, anti-fibrotics, azathioprine, corticosteroid drugs, surgery, acetylcysteine drugs, oxygen therapy, lung transplantation, and mechanical ventilation.
blast lung injuries
Blast lung injuries (BLI) are a very harmful potential result of being too close to an explosion. They are caused by blast waves from detonations and they can causes tears to the lungs and contusions on the lungs. Symptoms and signs of BLI include hemoptysis, cough, wheezing, decreased breathing sounds, apnea, chest pain, hemodynamic instability, and dyspnea. Blast lung injuries are definitely serious and need immediate medical attention to diagnose and treat the injury.
free consultation & case evaluation
The Law Offices of DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo
Long Beach, CA ~ (562) 372-3960
We want you to get to know us. We find that once people meet us and learn about our unique and successful approach to injury law, they are at ease. We operate all of our cases on a contingency basis where you will not owe us anything unless we win your injury case with a positive trial verdict or settlement.
The Long Beach lung injury lawyers at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo will come to you at your house or hospital room if you are unable to come to our office for any reason whatsoever. We will also be available to meet with you, by appointment, on the weekend and in the evening if you cannot meet us during the normal times of Monday through Friday between 8:30am and 5:30pm. We are the Long Beach lung injury law firm you can trust.
