Our attorneys have been assisting the Orange County and Southern California communities for over 40 years.
The Orange County California diacetyl lung injury attorneys at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo have over thirty years of experience helping lung and respiratory injury patients win their case in a court of law and be awarded the maximum possible compensation. We are saddened by how prevalent diacetyl is in certain factories, industries and food processing plants and how slow the business community has been to work to prevent diacetyl lung injuries. Call us to set up a free initial consultation and case evaluation to discuss your diacetyl exposure case. We are considered by some to be the best Orange County lung injury lawyers and we will work hard to live up to those standards.
We know how badly diacetyl exposure affects lungs and breathing. Our Orange County lung injury attorneys are ready to use their experience and know-how to take the load and stress of this case off of your shoulders. We will work diligently to ensure that you get the proper and timely medical attention that you need. Contact us today at (714) 783-2205 to learn more about what we can do for you.
Diacetyl is a naturally occurring chemical substance that produces a buttery odor and flavor. It is present in butter and helps give butter its characteristic flavor. Diacetyl is widely used as an ingredient in the food and flavoring industries to impart buttery flavors and odors to a broad variety of manufactured foods and manufactured flavors.
Diacetyl is used in “natural” and artificial flavorings, such as butter-flavored microwave popcorn, candy, baked goods and cake, and bread mixes. It is also commonly used as an ingredient by flavoring manufacturers for use in flavorings that require a buttery flavor or odor, such as buttermilk, caramel, and butterscotch.
Food processing employees may be at risk of developing severe lung disease, respiratory injuries or being afflicted by asthma due to the “natural” butter flavoring diacetyl. Workers in popcorn factories, snack factories, microwave popcorn factories, flavoring companies, bakeries, and mass food production plants are some of the people who could be exposed to diacetyl. Some call it “popcorn lung” and the symptoms do not stop when someone ceases to be exposed to it.
The Orange County workers’ compensation firm of DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo is ready to investigate and research your claims for work comp diacetyl lung injury. We have helped many people who have developed lung injuries at work. Workers’ compensation laws are set up to keep injured employees protected and supported after an injury at work. Part of that law is that employers cannot penalize or fire employees for filing a workers’ compensation claim. The work compensation insurance held by your employer has the potential to provide financial compensation to you and your family for medical benefits, disability, income, death benefits, permanent disability compensation, medical expenses, and vocational rehabilitation when the circumstances of the job injury warrant such payments.
Diacetyl has been identified as a substance that can cause severe respiratory injury. Studies have shown that inhalation of diacetyl vapors damages the cell linings of the respiratory airway tracts of test animals. In addition, studies show that the lungs of mice exposed to diacetyl vapors show similar damage to that of bronchiolitis obliterans in humans. A study by a European diacetyl manufacturer also identified workers with respiratory injuries similar to those of food workers exposed to diacetyl. Food processing industry employees exposed to food flavorings containing diacetyl have developed serious respiratory illness, which may present with persistent dry cough, wheezing, shortness of breath upon exertion, and fixed airways obstruction on spirometry.
One other possible condition that exposure to diacetyl could lead to is bronchiolitis obliterans. It is a severe form of obstructive lung disease which occurs when small airways become inflamed and scarred, resulting in the thickening and narrowing of the airways. This obstructs the movement of air through the lungs. The symptoms and extent of airway obstruction range from mild to severe. The condition and symptoms do not improve when the harmful exposure is terminated. It is a permanent condition, and lung function does not improve when exposure is stopped. The condition also makes the lungs more susceptible to lung infections, such as bronchitis and pneumonia.
Our Orange County work injury firm is one of the few around that has extensive experience with cases that involve diacetyl exposure. We are passionate about this and are committed to helping those who have already been exposed to it and working to get rid of its use. The free initial consultations and case evaluations have always been an effective way for our potential clients to get to know our team of quality lawyers and staff and learn about the legal merits of their cases. We are well known as ethical and hard-working lawyers throughout Orange County and our law firm operates all of its cases on a contingency basis where you will not owe or pay us anything unless we win your injury case with a positive trial verdict or settlement.
The 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. We will also be available by appointment for meetings on the weekend and evening if you do not have the time to see us during the normal times of Monday through Friday between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm. We wish you and your family the best possible outcome regarding your lung injury.