San Francisco Lung Injury Attorneys

The San Francisco lung injury lawyers at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo know just how difficult and tragic a lung injury can be for a person from their over three decades of helping people with lung disease or lung injuries. We are also so very proud to say that we have assisted thousands of our clients in getting the maximum legal compensation that they need to be made whole again while ensuring that they got the complete medical treatment they deserved. Contact our SF injury law firm to schedule your free case evaluation and free initial case consultation. At that meeting, you will get a chance to meet with a lawyer and discuss the details of your lung injury regardless of whether it was caused by hard metal dust inhalation, blunt trauma, powders, or exposure to other diseases, poisons, or irritants. There are those in the Bay Area that consider us to be the best San Francisco lung injury attorneys around. We will work hard live up to those high standards.

How to File a Lung Injury Lawsuit Claim

Getting any type of injury or disease can be frightening, stressful and debilitating but, as you may unfortunately already know, a lung injury can be very life changing and life threatening. You must be filled with lots of questions about what your legal opportunities are and what may happen throughout the legal process. You might also be thinking and strategizing 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 soon at (415) 200-0701 to schedule a free meeting as we believe that you should get at least some legal guidance before proceeding with your punctured lung injury accident case, hard metal dust inhalation lung injury case, asbestos case, or any other lung injury case. We will discuss your claim during the free consultation:

• Potential litigation issues including: expert witness depositions, law and motion, legal evidentiary standards of proof and legal requirements, investigation, pleadings, types of causes of action, written discovery, lay witness depositions, potential special and general damages including: medical treatment, temporary disability benefits, bodily injury, loss of earnings, and other damages and benefits you are entitled to recover.
• Options and advice for how you could be able to do-it-yourself.
• 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 make your case as simple, efficient and successful as possible.

Call Our Local SF Bay Area Firm

Our best San Francisco lung injury lawyers are experienced and ready to take the headache and stress of this lung injury case off of your shoulders. If after meeting with us and discussing the numerous costs, expenses and important steps that are needed to negotiate, litigate, investigate, file, and take your lung injury case to trial, please be aware that our firm will always be here for you. Call our San Francisco Oakland personal injury and work injury law firm at (415) 200-0701. We will even come to you at your home or at your hospital room if you cannot make it here for any reason. We also make appointments for night and weekends if that works better for you.

Critical Lung Injury Signs

Symptoms and signs of a lung injury or serious lung disease to be on alert for include a dry cough, a bluish tint around the nose and mouth, a feeling of breathlessnesss, difficulty to get a full breath, light headedness, wheezing, clubbing (which is when your fingernails curve over the top of your fingertips), rapid and shallow breathing, pain in the chest or ribs, hypotension, fever, dyspnea, an elevated heart rate, 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. Please be aware that many of the above symptoms worsen over time so be careful to not just write them off as just aches, discomfort or just ‘getting older.’

Definitions: Lung Injury, ARDS, & ALI

Take all of the proper precautions to prevent lung injuries and lung disease for you and your co-workers them like limiting exposure to toxins and dusts, wearing protective gear, opening windows to allow good outside airflow if possible, and to always wear breathing masks when appropriate. Keep in mind that traumatic lung injuries are possible whenever a blunt trauma occurs to someone’s back, neck, or chest. Additionally, if you have rib pain, you consider that reason enough to ask your doctor to check for lung injuries as rib injuries and lung injuries are frequently found together. In general, proceed with caution with any suspected lung injury.

Definitions of Common Types of Lung Injuries

One kind of injury you probably have heard about is acute lung injuries (abbreviated as ALI). They are mainly caused by a direct injury to the lungs like pneumonia or blunt trauma. Another type are pulmonary lung injuries which often occur after long term exposure to dusts, chemicals, irritants, toxins, powders, asbestos, and more. A worse version of acute lung injury is ARDS or acute respiratory distress syndrome. Low lung levels (airway collapse) and reduced lung compliance are also symptoms of both ALI and ARDS so call to get treated soon.

Causes of Lung Injuries & Lung Disease

The list of causes for lung injuries is long since they can occur as a result of inhaling irritants over an extended period, direct or indirect trauma to the lungs, and some types of inflammation. Some of the irritants that affect the lungs include asbestos fibers, silica dust, grain, hard metal dust (like cobalt dust), powders, pollutants, sugarcane, saw dust, toxins, dust, gases (such as ammonia and chlorine), moldy hay, dust from bird and animal droppings, bacteria in hot tubs and humidifiers that are not maintained, and airborne chemicals. Some of the other causes of lung injuries or lung disease are injury to the chest or ribs, fat embolism, impaled objects, poisoning, bicycle or skateboarding accident, puncture wounds, major trauma, eclampsia, sepsis, being in a car accident, truck accident, a sports injury like being hit by a bat, wrestling rough or tackled hard, air embolism, radiation, a direct air bag blow to the chest, burns, inhalation of noxious fumes, pneumonia, motorcycle accident, amniotic fluid embolism, drugs, fungal infections, pancreatitis, parasitic infections, near drowning, and pulmonary aspiration. Be sure to seek medical attention as soon as you are able to after any of these injuries.

More Causes of Lung Disease

TRALI (Transfusions Related Acute Lung Injury) is a serious potential complication of blood transfusions. Talcum baby powder has been found to even be a cause of lung problems. When it was common use by parents, it was causing lung disease or cancer (called talcosis) in babies and adults who were inhaling too much over a significant amount over time. Another surprising cause for lung problems are beauty mineral powders as they have also been found to cause lung disease with long term use. Doctors, consumer protection groups, researches, clinics and labs are discovering more and more common products, work environments, and situations where lung injuries and lung disease are prevalent so be on alert for all new safety tips.

Treatment & Diagnosis for Lung Disease

Medical professionals use your medical history, bronchoscopy (the removal of a small piece of lung tissue for studying), exercise tests, high-resolution computerized tomography scan (HRCT), pulmonary function tests, blowing into a spirometer, work history, annual check-ups, diagnostics, bronchoalveolar lavage (studying cells from air sacs in the lungs), chest x-rays, and video-assisted thorascopic surgery (surgical lung biopsy) to help them diagnose lung injuries. Treatment options have improved over the years. Some of those options include azathioprine, pressure control ventilation, anti-fibrotics, surgery, lung transplantation, acetylcysteine drugs, oxygen therapy, corticosteroid drugs, and mechanical ventilation. In most cases, early detection gives you the best chance for a full recovery.

OSHA Tries to Prevent Work Accidents

OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) has the task of creating rules and regulations to make working and being on the job safer for most workers in this country. Even with all of their hard work and dedication, OSHA states that “Every day in the United States, more than 14 workers lose their lives in preventable workplace tragedies.” With that awful statistic in mind, OSHA continues to tighten safety regulations and press industries to train their employees better and work harder to prevent injuries. OSHA investigates equipment, tools, injuries, mines, accidents, defective products, manufacturers, collapsed mines, and safety code violations by conducting site inspections, interviewing witnesses and employees, reviewing maintenance records, talking with management and ownership, checking logs, and by other investigations.

Workers’ Compensation for Lung Injuries

The San Francisco workers’ compensation law firm of DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo is ready to research your claim for work comp lung injuries, investigate your case, ensure you are getting the comprehensive medical coverage you need and protect your rights. We have assisted many clients during our career who have developed lung injuries while on the job either over time by being exposed to dusts, hard metal dust (like cobalt), irritants, toxic vapors, asbestos, pollutants, powders, or chemicals.

Blunt Lung Trauma Workers’ Compensation

Our experienced attorneys have also been there for victims of blunt lung trauma like that sustained in scaffolding collapse, a car accident, chest injury, debris dropped on you, safety rail collapse, fall, being crushed, equipment accident, puncture wounds, conveyor belt accident, construction accident, being impaled, crane accident, motorcycle accident, nail gun accident, ladder accident, shovel accident, jack hammer accident, forklift accident, and many other injuries sustained on the job. We will interview your coworkers and other witnesses to help strengthen your case and get the facts.

Protective Gear May Protect Your Lungs

Even though there is a chance that your lungs will still get injured when wearing and utilizing all the proper safety gear, it is still important to wear the suggested gear, clothing and masks to minimize your risk. This includes nose and mouth masks, gas masks, hard hats, goggles, gloves, face masks, and more. It is also important to be aware of and use all the safety devices on sanders, tools, heavy machinery, table saws, equipment, and saws.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance Protects Employees and their Families

A crucial aspect of workers’ comp insurance law that is critical to the livelihoods of thousands of workers each year is that employers cannot penalize or fire their employees for filing a workers’ compensation claim. Call us at (415) 200-0701 to discuss your possible work comp claim and to get answers to any and all questions that you may have. Workers’ compensation has the potential to provide monetary compensation to you and your family for income, permanent disability compensation, medical benefits, disability, death benefits, medical expenses, and vocational rehabilitation, when the circumstances of the job injury warrant such distributions.

Popcorn Lung: Diacetyl Exposure is Very Harmful

Food processing workers and other employees who work with some types of butter flavoring could be at risk of developing severe lung disease, respiratory injuries, or being afflicted by asthma due to the ingredient of diacetyl. Workers in flavoring companies, snack factories, microwave popcorn factories, theatres, popcorn factories, bakeries, and mass food production plants could have been exposed to diacetyl. It can also be called “popcorn lung” and, sadly, the symptoms of popcorn lung do not go away when someone stops being exposed to diacetyl. 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.

Aluminum Powder & Aluminum Flakes could cause Lung Disease & Fibrosis

As everyone knows, pyrotechnics are dangerous for many obvious reasons and explosive accidents at the plants that make them are well documented. One reason that working in a pyro-producing plant is dangerous to your long term health that is not so obvious is that aluminum powder flakes are often found within air samples all throughout the and plants. It has been proven that employees can develop serious lung disease from 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 and continue to wear all possible safety gear.

Miners at Risk of Lung Disease

The risk of developing respiratory problems, trace metal lung disease, hard metal lung disease, black lung, or pneumoconiosis disease is high. Drilling, mining for coal, workshop dust, 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 so call us today if you want an experienced law firm to investigate your working conditions and your possible condition.

Lung Disease Risk Higher for Construction Workers

Construction workers are not only constantly in work environments and situations where traumatic injuries to the neck, back, and chest are possible, they are also around elevated levels of powders, sawdust, dust, dirty air, pollutants, and other irritants. The people who work at the table saw, belt sander or with the chain saw are constantly inhaling splinters, sawdust, and other particulates are examples of how construction workers often get lung injuries or lung disease. The particles that are so bad for us to breathe can be very small.

Asbestos Hurts Construction Workers, Repair Workers & those who live in older homes

Before the dangerous truth was known about asbestos, it was used throughout all kinds of product lines and industries in construction products and home products. It has since been found to cause pleural plaques, mesothelioma, diffuse pleural thickening, 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 old homes, popcorn ceilings, old kitchen products, old insulation, and old plaster. Be sure to call the doctor right away and our firm of experienced injury lawyers next.

Mining & Drilling Can Cause Traumatic Lung Injuries

To try to improve the mining situation and lessen the rate of injuries among mine workers, our country passed the Miner Safety Act in 2006. The law hoped to help improve the conditions that miners and drillers worked in. Unfortunately, mining still has one of the highest rates of fatal injuries. It seems like there is a major mine accident every month somewhere in the world that we hear about. Miners come across many dangers both when they are working under and above ground including electrocutions, explosions, falling rocks or boulders, toxic gas or fumes inhalation, equipment that is hard to handle and many others.

E-Waste Recycling Can Hurt Lung Health for Factory Workers

We typically do not think about what happens to our electronics after we recycle it. The health issue is with the conditions that workers develop who melt the metals and take apart circuit boards, TVs, computers, stereos, lap tops, smart phones, music players, cell phones, and other electronic devices down to their smallest components. They can definitely be 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 surrounding city and hard metal dust can be found in air and dust samples from around town.

Additional Third Parties at Fault

To get the most compensation under the law (even potentially including your full lost income), there needs to also be one or more third parties who are proven to have had a part of the fault in causing your lung injury. Those that could be a third party for lung injuries include manufacturers, companies, part suppliers, contractors, sub-contractors, repair shops, factories, product manufacturers, government entities, refineries or anyone else who may also be at fault but is not your employer. Be sure to contact us soon at (415) 200-0701 if there is a potential third party as those cases are greatly improved the sooner that one of our San Francisco work comp attorneys can start investigating the injury and preparing the dual cases.

Free Consultation for You & Your Family

The Law Offices of DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo
San Francisco Bay Area, Northern California - (415) 200-0701
A Law Firm You Can Trust

We offer free consultations so that you can get to know us as we find that once people learn about our unique and successful approach to injury law, they are at ease throughout the legal process. This is because they know that we will work hard on their behalf and that we will keep them in the loop throughout. All of our clients do not pay us anything unless we win the injury case and so it will be the same for you. The Bay Area 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 are well known throughout the San Francisco Oakland Bay Area, California, Marin, the Peninsula, the East Bay, Berkeley, Hayward, Fremont, Sacramento, San Jose, the South Bay, Silicon Valley, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Long Beach as some of the best Northern California lawyers around. 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 San Francisco law firm you can trust and we hope that you and your family recover as quickly as possible.