Occupational Diseases

Occupational disease is surprisingly common. An estimated 860,000 illnesses and 60,300 deaths from workplace exposures occur annually in the United States. Studies have found that 75 percent of hospitalized and ambulatory primary care patients report hazardous exposures, and 17 percent suspect that their illness is linked to their job, according to the American Family Physician. Work-related illness is diagnosed in approximately 10 percent of these patients.

Since the beginning of industrialization of the Western World, workers have struggled for a safe and healthy work environment. Toxic chemicals, agricultural pesticides, asbestos, silica, welding rod fumes and many other harmful substances have been linked to a host of diseases and health problems, including blood disorders, pregnancy complications, lung ailments, and cancers. Moreover, family members of exposed workers may also be affected.

The fight for safety in the workplace is centuries old. It was this battle that led to organized labor. Workers began organizing as early as 800 years ago in Germany, where silver miners decided to band together to protect their health and to protect their families if they died.

Eventually, an entire medical specialty developed around the issues of safety and good health in the workplace. The 17th century Italian physician Dr. Bernardino Ramazzini is considered the father of occupational medicine. He was the first to suggest that when a doctor takes a medical history from a patient, one of the questions should be, "What is your occupation?"

"Medicine, like jurisprudence," he said, "should make a contribution to the well-being of workers." Dr. Ramazzini lived by his words. He didn't wait for patients to come to him. He ventured into the workshops and the lead mines where workers were practicing their trades.

He documented the fact that the skin of the miners was the same color as the lead they were mining. He observed that many became paralyzed from long exposure to the metal. What would Dr. Ramazzini say if he knew that 400 years later, people would still be fighting for protection from hazardous substances in the workplace? Read more...

This site offers information on the following occupational disease litigation areas: Asbestos, Silica, Welding Rods, Vinyl Chloride, Benzene, Creosote, Diesel Exhaust, Benlate, Dioxins, and PCBs.

Click on the occupational disease litigation area of interest, to your left, to learn how exposure to each affects your health.

If you have been affected by exposure to any of the above, you may have a legal right to compensation. Click here to contact an attorney now.