For over 20 years, the lawyers in Weitz & Luxenberg’s asbestos litigation unit have fought for the rights of veterans affected by serious diseases like mesothelioma, asbestos lung cancer and asbestosis that are caused by exposure to asbestos.
For more information about your legal options to seek compensation for asbestos-related disease, please complete the form on this page.
Weitz & Luxenberg would like the public to be aware of the prevalence of asbestos-related diseases among Navy veterans. Several million people employed in U.S. shipyards and U.S. Navy veterans were exposed to asbestos, since it was used extensively in military ship construction. From the 1930s through the 1970s, all divisions of the U.S. military used asbestos-containing products in buildings and all forms of transportation.
“Asbestos was used in so many applications and areas in the Navy,” said Ambre Brandis, an attorney in the firm’s Asbestos Litigation Unit. “Many vets found themselves exposed to the carcinogen daily during their military service: from serving on a ship, to stripping vessels in a Navy shipyard, to the building or repair of structures at military bases.”
Navy Jobs and Exposure
Aboard ships, engine room snipes inhaled asbestos dust while sweeping, cleaning out or helping to apply asbestos in the engine room and bilges. Gunners and gunners’ mates inhaled dust that came from the asbestos felt materials used to protect explosive materials in the ship’s magazine room. The pipes that traversed the ceilings on the ships were covered with asbestos insulation. Engine vibrations and other shipboard details would cause the asbestos to flake onto crew members’ bunks and other exposed surfaces.
Vets who worked on a base or at a Navy shipyard found themselves exposed to asbestos when working on ship repairs and refits. Those assigned to construction or renovation building projects at Navy bases or shipyards also faced the risk of inhaling dangerous asbestos fibers. The Seabee units, which built military bases, hospitals, power facilities, highways, bridges, and runways, faced exposure to asbestos insulation and other asbestos-containing construction materials.
Our Asbestos Attorneys Can Help
A diagnosis of mesothelioma cancer or asbestos-related lung cancer typically comes decades after the actual exposure to asbestos. Tragically, many military veterans looking forward to relaxation in retirement instead find themselves facing the considerable stress and expense involved in diagnosing and treating an asbestos illness.
Weitz & Luxenberg has successfully fought for countless military veterans facing an asbestos disease. In 2008, our attorneys secured a $16.25 million verdict in a case involving the first successful asbestos verdict against a dental supply company. In 2007, the firm secured a $37 million asbestos verdict in two lung cancer cases in a reverse bifurcated trial. Successes reach as far back as 1991, when the firm won a historic consolidated trial for men who worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in the 1940s and 1950s. Weitz & Luxenberg represented 36 clients in that case, securing verdicts of $75 million.
Get More Information About Your Legal Rights
Men and women diagnosed with mesothelioma or asbestos-related lung cancer may be entitled to significant financial compensation from the companies responsible for their disease.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, we may be able to help you to seek justice for your illness and file a lawsuit on your behalf.
Please complete the form for a free and confidential review of your potential asbestos lawsuit or request a free copy of our asbestos sourcebook. A Weitz & Luxenberg representative will contact you as soon as possible.
