# Fear of  cancer getting ya down?  Sue!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-of-cancer-getting-ya-down-sue/160739>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [March 12, 2003, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-of-cancer-getting-ya-down-sue/160739 "2003-03-12T04:13:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-of-cancer-getting-ya-down-sue/160739/1 "2003-03-12T04:13:03Z")

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In all fairness, I got the idea from this article that it applied to people already suffering from asbestosis, and afraid that they will later develop cancer:

[http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/03/10/court.asbestos.reut/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/03/10/court.asbestos.reut/index.html)

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**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-of-cancer-getting-ya-down-sue/160739/2 "2003-03-12T04:31:25Z")

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I don’t see a problem with this. In many cases where cancer is actually diagnosed after a worker has been exposed over the years to a carcingenic substance, it’s usually too late for anyone but the family to take the companies to court – the victim long dead from the disease by the time any legal decision is reached.

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**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-of-cancer-getting-ya-down-sue/160739/3 "2003-03-12T05:23:16Z")

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Since it’s MPSIMS I won’t use colorful language, but what a load of hooey!

Suing because you might get something? That’s like suing a city because it has a high crime rate, and you’re afraid you might be a victim.

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**Author:** ![Mr.Hand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mr.Hand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Hand)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-of-cancer-getting-ya-down-sue/160739/4 "2003-03-12T06:39:58Z")

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Yeah, it’s so much better to force these people to wait until they get sick – paying for periodic checkups on their own dime – and then they can sue when all the relevant defendants are judgment proof!