The following essay was
drafted by Dr. Bret Williams, a 53 year old medical doctor who has
malignant mesothelioma caused by asbestos. Dr. Williams recently gave a
speech at a "Ban Asbestos Act" press conference on Capitol Hill for which
he received a standing ovation.
Click here if you would like more
background information on Dr. Williams, his family, and his asbestos
cancer. RGW
By Dr. Bret Williams
Ten thousand Americans will die this year of
asbestos poisoning. Hundreds of thousands of others will suffer from
asbestos-related disease. These numbers are expected to increase over
time.
As the asbestos industry has long known, even brief
exposure to what once was called "the miracle fiber" can cause
progressive, irreversible illness. Tragically, the industry and its
insurers covered up this and other facts for more than 70 years. Now those
same companies are seeking legal immunity from ever-increasing numbers of
victims, and some of the most powerful people in Congress are applying
pressure to wipe the industry’s liability slate clean.
The so-called Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution
Act (FAIR) S.1165 seeks to protect the asbestos companies and their
insurers by stripping Americans with asbestos-related diseases of legal
recourse.
My interest in this bill comes not just from being a
medical doctor, but also from personal experience. I have mesothelioma, an
aggressive form of cancer of the lung linings caused only by asbestos.
I have practiced medicine for decades, providing
medical care for low-income and disadvantaged populations in the Carolinas
and in the developing world. When I started experiencing chest pains a
year and a half ago, I didn’t think much of it. A non-smoker in excellent
health who jogged 25 miles a week, I was not concerned about serious
disease. But six months later, I learned that I have mesothelioma.
How was I, a physician, exposed to asbestos? Like
hundreds of thousands of other Americans, I inhaled asbestos as I worked
summer jobs, attended schools under construction, and made home
improvements. My exposure shows just how commonplace asbestos is in our
lives.
As a doctor, I knew how and where to find the best
treatments available. I chose to have an extra-pleural
pneumonectomy, best described as the radical amputation of a lung. My
chest lining and part of my diaphragm were also removed.
Later, I underwent emergency surgery for hemorrhage
into the sac around my heart. I spent weeks in intensive care on a
respirator. Doctors told my family to prepare for the worst, but somehow I
pulled through. Today I appear healthy, but I know that my cancer likely
will come back. I am living on borrowed time.
The so-called FAIR Act fails to solve this public
health crisis and instead shields from liability the very corporations
that poisoned me and legions of others. Moreover, the bill is woefully
under-funded. Without a fully funded program, those of us who battle these
deadly diseases will not have the resources to pay medical bills or to
provide for our families when we are gone.
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Dr. Bret Williams and his family |
Finally, this misguided bill ignores both the
urgency and the magnitude of need, offering a laborious and bureaucratic
stopgap. Some predict that the process of settling even the initial wave
of claims will take nine years, time that most asbestos victims simply do
not have.
While the Senate seeks to pare down resources and
legal rights of those poisoned by asbestos, they offer a generous
settlement to the asbestos companies and their insurers. Halliburton alone
would enjoy a windfall of at least $3.5 billion. This and other companies
are rewarded with future immunity from liability in return for paying a
mere fraction of the total bill. The American taxpayers and the asbestos
victims will pick up the difference.
Meanwhile, asbestos is still in use today. Any
exposure places you at risk for lung disease, mesothelioma, and other
cancers. Using government statistics, the Environmental Working Group
estimates that more than 10,000 Americans die of asbestos disease every
year, a number that’s expected to climb as more and more people exposed to
asbestos in their youth reach middle age.
Asbestos fibers do not respect the color of your
collar. They do not distinguish education, wealth, power, influence, or
age. They will infiltrate the lungs of an insulator, schoolteacher,
doctor, or politician indiscriminately.
A guiding principle of medicine is this: "First, do
no harm." Senator Bill Frist, who continues to practice medicine, knows
this well. I urge Dr. Frist and every Senator to remember this principle
when they vote. The FAIR Act does harm to those it purports to help.
Bret Williams, MD
Hillsborough, NC 27278
Spouse: Julie Williams
Children: Christopher age 21; Brian, age 17; Kaitlin, age 15.
PATIENT PROFILES
