Understanding Interstitial Lung Disease and Its Devastating Impact
Interstitial lung disease includes a group of health disorders which can lead to the progressive scarring of lung tissue—a condition that can potentially affect the ability to breathe. Causes of interstitial lung disease usually implicate long-term exposure to toxic materials and chemicals like diesel exhaust, welding fumes, benzene, solvents, silica and asbestos.
Chronic or long-term exposure to certain toxins and chemicals on the job can lead to lung diseases, even after decades of initial exposure. Some occupations present more at risk for occupational and interstitial lung disease than others, such as workers in factories, metal plating, machine part processing, steel plants, rail yards, auto plants, oil refineries, wood processing plants, textile factories, and others with existing fumes and toxins in the workplace.
Joe Lyon is a highly-rated Toxic Exposure lawyer and Workplace injury attorney representing plaintiffs nationwide in lung disease and occupational lung cancer claims.
Occupational Interstitial Lung Disease Lawsuits
Many reported long-term lung conditions and cancer cases are caused by occupation-associated illness and workplace exposure to metals, asbestos and other toxins. Most occupational lung diseases are caused by chronic toxin exposure, but even acute exposure to toxic substances can damage the lungs beyond repair.
Exposure to railroad diesel fuel, asbestos, cobalt, coal dust, wood dust, grain dust, radiation, silica, beryllium, benzene, and several other chemicals are known to raise the risk of cancer in humans.
By the time symptoms appear, severe lung damage may have already occurred. Typical signs and symptoms of interstitial lung disease may include:
- Shortness of breath and trouble breathing
- Persistent pain
- Dry cough
Workplace Lung Disease & Employer Negligence
Interstitial lung disease is still somewhat of a mystery to medical experts, but it seems to occur when the lungs are triggered by an abnormal response, and the lungs become scarred and thickened. This process in turn makes it more difficult for oxygen to pass from the lungs into the bloodstream.
Many railroad workers and others have been diagnosed with an occupational lung cancer or lung disease following many years employed in industrial and poorly-ventilated work settings. Victims may have viable injury claims against former employers for failing to protect workers and failing to provide a safe work environment.
The Growing Epidemic of Drug-Induced Interstitial Lung Disease
Over 350 drugs may cause drug-induced interstitial lung disease (DIILD), with exposure to medications causing inflammation and eventually fibrosis of the lung interstitium. This staggering number continues expanding as new pharmaceutical products enter the market without adequate long-term safety testing for pulmonary complications.
Drug-induced interstitial lung disease can be caused by chemotherapeutic agents, antibiotics, antiarrhythmic drugs, and immunosuppressive agents, with adverse drug reactions including interstitial pneumonitis and fibrosis, hypersensitivity reaction, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia.
Recent research reveals alarming trends in pharmaceutical-related lung injuries, with certain medication categories showing particularly high rates of pulmonary toxicity. Cancer treatments, while often life-saving, create substantial risks for lung damage that patients may not fully understand when beginning treatment protocols.
Antibiotics, particularly nitrofurantoin used for urinary tract infections, have documented connections to interstitial lung disease development. The widespread use of these medications means that thousands of patients may unknowingly face lung damage risks during routine medical care.
Biological medications like Entyvio, used for inflammatory bowel disease, have generated specific litigation due to their association with pulmonary fibrosis and interstitial lung disease. Patients who took Entyvio for ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease and suffered interstitial lung disease or fibrosis of the lungs may have grounds for legal action.
