Our exhaustive historical databases can help prove your illness came from exposure to asbestos

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The time between your exposure and a diagnosis of mesothelioma, lung cancer or asbestosis is sometimes more than 30 years. According to the Center for Disease Control, most cases of asbestosis or lung cancer occur 15 years or more after the person was first exposed to asbestos.

Mesothelioma is diagnosed 30 years or more after the first exposure to asbestos. That’s a long time to be able to remember all the job sites, different products and the companies that made them.

The firm has decades of experience in trying asbestos cases for tens of thousands of plaintiffs. In doing so, we developed a state-of-the-art Asbestos Exposure Database.

Your memory doesn’t have to be perfect. Our Exposure Database stores information taken from thousands of witnesses about job sites, the working conditions at those sites, names and locations of buildings (including new construction, renovation and demolition sites), co-workers at job sites, the companies that made or distributed asbestos products and the brand and trade names of asbestos products.

Read on for some commonly asked questions about exposure, getting tested and diagnosis.

Can my doctor tell me if my diagnosis came from being exposed to asbestos?
Virtually everyone who is diagnosed with mesothelioma got sick because of their exposure to asbestos. The only way to contract asbestosis is from inhaling asbestos dust and fibers over a long period of time.

For asbestos-related lung cancer, your doctor will carefully review your job history and perform medical tests to confirm that your asbestos exposure caused you to develop lung cancer.

Your smoking history is not a factor in proving that a diagnosis of mesothelioma or asbestosis came from asbestos exposure.

I worked with asbestos all my life and I know I’m sick. I don’t have the money to be tested. Can you help?
Part of our work in evaluating your case is to review all of your medical records. We often send clients for a medical examination and testing performed by a doctor who specializes in pulmonary medicine, and your x-rays will be reviewed by a specially-qualified radiologist. These exams and tests are performed at no cost to you.

My husband worked with asbestos and now I’m sick. How did this happen?
“This risk from limited exposure was recognized many decades ago when reports of mesothelioma, from household exposures of spouses and children and neighborhood exposures from proximity to asbestos plants, appeared in the medical and scientific literature. We have represented many such asbestos victims and the current findings bear out the extent of the continuing asbestos disaster.” -- Jerry Kristal, Weitz & Luxenberg asbestos trial attorney

Our asbestos attorneys are committed to helping those diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer or asbestosis because of secondary or limited exposure to asbestos.

In such cases, they were exposed by their husband, father, or other family member. Our clients often tell us that their family members would come home “covered in dust” or had dust inside their cars. Family members breathed in the dangerous asbestos dust brought into their homes when washing work clothes, or even riding in the car.

For secondary or limited exposure cases, there can be even more concern about proving your case.

We know you weren’t present at those job sites, but with the testimony of countless witnesses in our Exposure Database, we can help you prove what asbestos products were used at the job sites where your loved one worked.

What do I do now?
Weitz & Luxenberg is a leading plaintiffs' law firm that has represented people affected by mesothelioma for over 20 years. Men and women diagnosed with mesothelioma or lung cancer caused by asbestos exposure may be entitled to compensation from the companies responsible for their disease. If you would like a free consultation or more information about your legal options, please complete the form on this page, and a representative of our law firm will contact you as soon as possible.