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Read MoreFounded more than 30 years ago, Weitz & Luxenberg set out to help people diagnosed with mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer linked to asbestos exposure.
Since then, we have grown to become one of the largest personal injury and mass tort law firms in the New Jersey and New York areas. Our clients in New Jersey get the best possible representation because Weitz & Luxenberg is both local and national.
We have a strong local presence in New Jersey: we are in court frequently; we know the Judge and Special Master, and they know us; we live and work in New Jersey, so we connect with local jurors.
Simultaneously, we have a strong national presence: we are the leading plaintiffs’ asbestos firm in the single best jurisdiction in the world, New York City; our outsized verdicts in NYC grant us leverage to negotiate with those same defendants in New Jersey; we are the 800-pound gorilla, and we are treated accordingly.
Diagnosed with mesothelioma? Contact us now for a free consultation and more information about your legal options.
Get a Free Case ReviewOur New Jersey office works primarily with clients who were diagnosed with mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos. Some have also received a diagnosis of asbestosis or lung cancer.
This exposure often happened at work. Or it may have occurred due to washing a family member’s dirty clothes after they returned home from work.
In other instances, mesothelioma was caused by home renovations. Many products used — including caulk, tiles, and wallboard — contained asbestos.
Every year, approximately 120 New Jersey residents are newly diagnosed with mesothelioma.(1) In fact, more than 1,650 New Jersey residents were diagnosed with mesothelioma between 2002 and 2014.(2)
Once a person is diagnosed with mesothelioma, the survival rate is poor. Generally speaking, the 5-year survival rate for malignant mesothelioma is only between 5 and 10 percent.(3)
As of 2013, the nationwide average asbestos-related death rate is 4.9 for every 100,000 people. The state average in New Jersey is much higher at 7.2 for residents. Some New Jersey counties even have more than double or even triple the national average. These include Cape May, Gloucester, Salem, Ocean, Camden, and Somerset counties.(4)
Some of these same counties also have the greatest number of asbestos-related deaths in New Jersey:(5)
Thousands of different types of commercial products contain asbestos. Some estimates place that number around 3,000.
In any homes built before 1978 in New Jersey, you may find asbestos in thermal insulation on boilers and pipes. You might also find asbestos in any of these products:(6)
For decades, manufacturers and builders have used asbestos for a variety of reasons. Asbestos occurs naturally in the environment and is relatively cheap and easy to mine. In addition, asbestos is heat and chemical resistant, insulates well, and does not corrode.
Manufacturers may appreciate these qualities, but asbestos is toxic. Companies that expose people to asbestos are putting people’s lives at risk. Asbestos exposure is linked to severe lung damage and disease, including forms of lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis.(7)
Our New Jersey office was established in 1997. Since then, we have been able to get financial compensation for many of our clients who were the victims of exposure to asbestos.
The mesothelioma attorneys in New Jersey regularly negotiate millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for our clients. Across the firm, Weitz & Luxenberg attorneys have negotiated settlements and verdicts totaling $17 billion for our clients.
Some of our New Jersey settlements include victories for:
There are sites throughout New Jersey that are well-known for asbestos processing, usage, and exposure. Some of the worst offenders include power stations, refineries, manufacturing sites, chemical companies, and shipyards.
As far back as 1931, people knew enough about asbestos and lung diseases to enact Britain’s Asbestos Industry Regulations. These regulations required companies to suppress dust in the dustiest and most hazardous areas of asbestos factories.(8)
However, diseases linked to asbestos exposure often take decades to develop. Because of this, people did not recognize the enormous toll asbestos would take on their health until the 1960s and 1970s. By then, U.S. citizens knew, the U.S. federal government knew, and businesses could no longer deny the dangers of asbestos.(9)
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) oversee federal regulations regarding asbestos both in and out of the workplace. Each state, including New Jersey, also has its own regulations regarding asbestos.(10) (11) (12)
How each state handles its litigations falls under that state’s own set of regulations. In New Jersey, the state has chosen to centralize the management of asbestos litigation. The state of New Jersey treats asbestos litigation as a mass tort and assigns almost all cases to one judge.
Of the asbestos cases pending, 92 percent are handled at the Middlesex County Courtroom in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The Honorable Ana Viscomi personally presides over these cases in her home courtroom, Courtroom 204, with the assistance of Special Master Agatha N. Dzikiewicz.
The Courthouse is in downtown New Brunswick. It not far from the main campus of Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey. The Courthouse that handles asbestos cases is approximately 25 miles from Trenton, the capital of New Jersey, and 65 miles from the metropolitan center of Camden.
Weitz & Luxenberg was founded to help people diagnosed with asbestos-related illnesses. Among our nearly 100 attorneys across the country, we have designated a specialized team of roughly 15 New Jersey mesothelioma lawyers who primarily handle these asbestos and mesothelioma cases.
Our New Jersey asbestos lawyers are based out of our office in Cherry Hill. If you become one of our clients, a W&L mesothelioma lawyer in N.J. will work with you personally. We’d like you to meet a few of our experienced mesothelioma attorneys:
Jerry Kristal — this Super Lawyer manages our New Jersey office and has secured some of the largest mesothelioma verdicts, totaling more than $70 million, on behalf of our clients.
Len Feldman — runs our N.J asbestos practice and over the years has negotiated many multimillion dollar settlements on behalf of clients who developed mesothelioma, lung cancer, or asbestosis.
Bob Silverman — brings more than 40 years of experience as an attorney to the table and to the courtroom on behalf of our asbestos clients, helping to get them the full compensation they deserve.
Alex Eiden — specializes in digging deep into each case, targeting the responsible companies to make sure our mesothelioma clients get justice in court.
Mary Gaffney — is a winner of numerous professional honors, and she’s served as lead attorney on more than 300 bench and jury trials, leading to multimillion dollar settlements on behalf of our clients.
Have you received a mesothelioma diagnosis? If so, we encourage you to get in touch with us now. Your consultation is free.
Our New Jersey mesothelioma lawyers can provide you with information regarding possible legal options to receive compensation for your exposure to asbestos.
Weitz & Luxenberg has more than 30 years of experience handling asbestos and mesothelioma cases. We were founded specifically to help people facing asbestos-related diseases. People like you.