Asbestos Lawyers: Litigation involving mesothelioma and lung cancer in the news

Our asbestos lawyers have provided the following articles covering asbestos litigation news, medical commentary from doctors, and other information selected from news sources.

If you have developed lung cancer or mesothelioma as the result of exposure to asbestos in the US or Canada, protect yourself and your family by contacting Weitz & Luxenberg through the form on this page.

Asbestos found in New York's Sheffield Hotel

April 29, 2007, New York Times

Construction work at the Sheffield on West 57th Street ceased last week when asbestos was discovered by city inspectors in “popcorn ceilings”- the rough material sprayed on concrete ceiling slabs when the project was put up in the late 1970s. The findings vindicated tenants who had complained about hazards during renovations in the 48-story building with 853 apartments. The tenants did their own tests and discovered asbestos in the ceilings. In addition, city environmental officials sent inspectors to test locations identified by the tenants and found that 7 of the 12 ceiling samples tested positive for significant amounts of asbestos, on 5 floors.

Asbestos, a substance that can cause cancer or lung disease if inhaled, was, according to the industry, last in use in most construction materials in 1978, the year that the Sheffield was completed. Regular construction at the Sheffield stopped early last week, as the developers began a cleanup of the entire site by a licensed asbestos contractor under a plan approved by the city.

High Court Won't Consider Asbestos Case

October 10, 2006, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The Supreme Court will not consider a bid by W.R. Grace & Co. to revisit a lower court's ruling that it was responsible for paying $54 million to clean up asbestos in the Montana mining town of Libby.

Grace, which operated a mine in Libby for 27 years, had been attempting to fight back the Environmental Protection Agency, which oversees the federal Superfund program for the nation's worst hazardous waste sites.