Over 1.4 million Americans were diagnosed with cancer in 2008, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS), which estimates that 15 percent of men and 14 percent of women were diagnosed with a form of lung cancer. While most cancers are tragically unavoidable, Weitz & Luxenberg P.C. would like to alert you to those that can be entirely prevented: asbestos-related lung cancer and mesothelioma.
“Asbestos has long been known to be a dangerous carcinogen, but unfortunately, many companies producing asbestos-containing materials did not adequately warn or protect workers who were exposed to the toxin on a daily basis,” said Ambre Brandis, an attorney with the Asbestos Litigation unit at Weitz & Luxenberg P.C.
“Construction workers, plumbers, boilermakers, and Navy veterans serving on ships and in the yards were all exposed to asbestos in the course of their work,” said Brandis. She added that even the families of those workers were at risk for secondary exposure from the dust and fibers the workers brought home on their work clothes.
Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), dedicated to the challenges of patients and their families, will hold its annual conference this month. The ADAO estimates that over 100,000 Americans will succumb to an asbestos disease in the next 10 years, making their work critical. In 2008 alone, mesothelioma claimed the life of former White House Chief of Staff Hamilton Jordan, along with hundreds of others in America.
Weitz & Luxenberg has been known since 1986 for its preeminent role in asbestos litigation, achieving a $16.25 million verdict last year 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 P.C. represented 36 clients in that case, securing verdicts of $75 million. The firm represents tens of thousands of individuals diagnosed with asbestos related diseases such as mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.
People who have been harmed by asbestos may get a free review of their potential asbestos case by filling out the form.