DIRECT EXPOSURE
Have you worked with asbestos products?

If you worked with asbestos, it is time to learn about its dangers.

You may be visiting this Web site page because you worked in an occupation where you were exposed to asbestos products and are concerned about your health. Perhaps you worked with, or close to, people who used asbestos products on a daily basis.

If you spent your working life in a construction trade, in a shipyard, at a power plant, as a firefighter, or for a company that mined or manufactured asbestos products, chances are you were exposed to dangerous asbestos fibers and dust.

How many are at risk?
According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), between 1940 and 1980 an estimated 27 million American workers had an occupational exposure to asbestos.

Although the Environmental Protection Agency finalized a ban on asbestos back in 1989, the asbestos industry filed a lawsuit and overturned that rule in 1991. The use of asbestos in some applications is still legal in the United States.

How is asbestos different from other things I breathe in?
Most of the other kinds of dust and environmental pollutants you breathe in are trapped by cilia--the very fine hairs that line the surface of the lungs. Each time you exhale, cough or sneeze, much of the dust and pollutants leave your lungs.

Asbestos dust and fibers are different. When you breathe in asbestos, the fibers become trapped in the airways and lung tissue. Each day you were at work, the amount of asbestos in your lungs increased.

What’s my next step?
Weitz & Luxenberg is a leading plaintiffs' law firm that has represented people affected by mesothelioma for over 20 years. Men and women diagnosed with mesothelioma or lung cancer caused by asbestos exposure may be entitled to compensation from the companies responsible for their disease. If you would like a free consultation or more information about your legal options, please complete the form on this page, and a representative of our law firm will contact you as soon as possible.