NEW YORK ASBESTOS

Weitz & Luxenberg: Champion to New York City’s injured workers

Asbestos has been misunderstood by great civilizations for thousands of years. The ancient Greeks wove tablecloths out of asbestos because dirty tablecloths were easily whitened in fire. Yet they puzzled over why Greek miners lived short lives. Throughout the 20th century, New York construction workers were as adversely affected as the ancient Greek miners.

But today, federal, state and local government agencies strictly regulate its handling in recognition of the fatal diseases occupational asbestos exposure causes. Asbestos-related mesothelioma, for example, affects approximately 3,000 individuals every year in the United States.

New York asbestos

July 28, 2010 – Because of its strategic harbor location in the 19th century, New York City essentially introduced asbestos to the country as a building product material and reliable insulator against heat, fire, corrosion and electricity.

Johns Manville, perhaps the most notorious asbestos company in the country, was founded in New York in 1858 as the H.W. Johns Manufacturing Co., and specialized in the production of asbestos-based roofing, textiles, and insulation materials.

As the young city grew, so did New York’s dependence on asbestos. It was inexpensive and possessed reliable building properties that were helpful to a growing city, whose skyline was rising every day and whose new streetlight system depended on asbestos electrical insulation.

The construction teams that erected New York City skyscrapers were known to use hundreds of asbestos-tainted building products that still lurk in the towering offices today. Who can forget the public health concern over airborne asbestos dust that showered sidewalks after the World Trade Center collapsed?

The citadel of New York asbestos

No place is more "New York" than Brooklyn. And no place more epitomizes the hazards of New York asbestos than the infamous Brooklyn Navy Yard – in a way the citadel of New York asbestos problems.

During WWII and later wars, shipyard workers applied tons of toxic asbestos materials below the decks of hundreds of warships as a preventative measure against fire at sea during combat missions. Unfortunately, thousands of these shipyard workers later died of asbestos diseases caused by occupational asbestos exposure.

The mesothelioma latency period (the time between exposure and diagnosis) can take decades, sometimes up to 50 years. That means some retired Brooklyn Navy Shipyard workers are only now being diagnosed with symptoms of fatal mesothelioma and asbestosis.

New York asbestos law firm

The Asbestos Litigation Unit at Weitz & Luxenberg is well familiar with the horrors connected with asbestos poisoning in the New York construction industry and at the former Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Weitz & Luxenberg’s impressive legal reputation is rooted in an asbestos class action lawsuit that involved 36 retired Brooklyn Navy Yard workers in New York who were diagnosed with mesothelioma, and other fatal asbestos-related diseases.

In that landmark trial, Weitz & Luxenberg obtained $75 million for their asbestos-injured shipyard clients, most of whom died from their illnesses. In those cases, surviving family members received the financial awards.

Legal strategy for a New York asbestos injury

To receive maximum compensation, workers diagnosed with mesothelioma are advised to retain a law firm with a reputation for obtaining large verdicts and settlements.

Weitz & Luxenberg asbestos attorneys are veterans in this practice area, having accumulated research and supportive legal evidence that has continually helped to obtain record compensations for clients since 1986.

Solid legal support from Weitz & Luxenberg helps assure that you receive adequate sums for lost wages and all necessary medical expenses, including psychological support for the victim and their family, skilled nursing or long-term care, and additional sums to compensate for the pain and suffering caused to all involved.

Protect your family’s financial future today. If you have been diagnosed with asbestos-related mesothelioma, we urge you to contact our law firm for a free case review on your eligibility to file an asbestos claim. Please use the communication form at left for free information about your case.