People who worked extensively with asbestos very often contract a rare form of cancer called mesothelioma. Oncologists immediately recognize its tell-tale signs, and treat it aggressively.  Mesothelioma, however, often takes years to develop.  Workers in construction, automotive, ship-building, and demolition trades may go for years with no signs of significant harm from their expose to asbestos and the toxic fibers it leaves in workers’ lungs.  When the symptoms do set-in, however, they generally are devastating.

Our Charleston Attorneys have noticed Mesothelioma appears especially commonly in ship-fitters, who typically were not warned about the health hazards they faced and never were outfitted with the personal protective equipment they needed.  The law holds (more…)

Fans of medical dramas often see young physicians going without sleep for days on end, devoting hour after hour after hour to diagnosing and treating their seriously ill patients.  Do House’s resident fellows ever rest?  Do the residents on “E.R.” and “Gray’s Anatomy” ever get more than a few hours’ sleep?  Like traditional medical educators, we always have assumed that sleep-deprivation was just part of the rigorous training, part of the dues a young physician had to pay.  We often have extolled their virtues and praised the young doctors’ stamina.

Although the dramas exaggerate many features of medical residency, they hit the problem of sleep-deprivation spot-on.  But foregoing sleep for the sake of patients’ needs is neither wise nor virtuous.  A recent Harvard Medical School study indicated that (more…)