Florida: Second Most Fatal Asbestos State in the U.S.

Florida has the second-highest rate of asbestos-related mortalities of any state in the nation, according to government figures recorded between 1979 and 2001.

At least 3,025 people in Florida have been killed by asbestos during this period. The central Gulf Coast region around Tampa, and specifically Broward and Pinellas counties, represent the geographical areas most affected.

On the government’s list of the Top 100 counties in the nation recording deaths due to asbestos, Florida accounts for 12, a figure matched by New Jersey and California. These 12 Florida state counties include: Broward (ranked No. 10 in the nation), Pinellas (No. 11), Palm Beach (No. 22), Dade (No. 23), Hillsborough (No. 45), Pasco (No. 48), Lee (No. 54), Duval (No. 58), Volusia (No. 85), Orange (No. 92), Sarasota (No. 93), and Brevard (No. 100).

Mesothelioma, the most serious form of asbestos cancers, has a 20- to 50-year latency period. That means workers exposed to asbestos in the 1960s and 1970s are just now being diagnosed positive. The fact that many retirees from northern industrial cities settle in Florida may have some bearing on the high rate of asbestos-related deaths.

Government sources estimate that in the next decade more than 35,000 people nationwide will be diagnosed with mesothelioma, most often the result of industrial workplace exposure to asbestos – and usually contracted through their employers’ blatant disregard for health and safety.

That’s why persons diagnosed with mesothelioma have strong cases in court against their former employers. If you have a mesothelioma injury, contact Weitz & Luxenberg for a complete free evaluation of your legal rights. Litigating asbestos-related health injuries is the firm’s strongest practice area.

Weitz & Luxenberg has protected the legal rights of workers for 25 years – longer than most law firms in the nation. And in that time its attorneys have won more than a billion dollars in verdicts and settlements for its clients.