ASBESTOS EXPOSURE
Middletown fire house dispatchers grow sick from asbestos abatement project

October 27, 2008 – Dispatchers are back at work at a Middletown, Conn., fire house after five workers had to go to the hospital last Wednesday complaining of health problems related to asbestos.

Middletown Health Department officials said crews are conducting asbestos abatement work at the Fire House on Cross Street, and that chemicals being used there may have caused the eye and lung irritation that prompted the five workers to go to the hospital.

Asbestos floor tiles in the dormitory, kitchen and other rooms of the Cross Street Fire House had been secured with an adhesive that also contained the dangerous material, the Fire Chief told reporters.

When the project began Wednesday, October 14, firefighters were relocated to the Main Street fire house, but dispatchers needed to remain in the Cross Street location. After the workers became ill, police dispatchers and 911 operators were temporarily relocated.

Asbestos health dangers

Experience shows that asbestos exposure can lead to asbestosis, lung cancer and even mesothelioma.

Time to seek justice

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

That’s why people diagnosed with mesothelioma and their family members have strong cases in court. If you have a mesothelioma injury, please complete the form on this page for a free evaluation of your legal rights. There is no cost to you until we win a settlement or a verdict.

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.