On May 17, 2023, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu announced Walgreens agreed to pay the People of San Francisco $230 million for its role…
Read MoreNew York is the country’s fourth-most populated state. It’s also the fourth highest-ranking state in the U.S. for asbestos-related deaths.
An estimated 12,146 people died from asbestos-related diseases in New York between 1999 and 2013. Of those deaths, 2,253 — or roughly 18.6% — were attributed to the deadliest form of asbestos-related cancer, mesothelioma.
Nassau County, a suburban county on Long Island, saw 1,135 asbestos-related deaths during that 14-year period — the most out of any New York county. Erie and Suffolk counties rank No. 2 and No. 3. All three counties have an average of 75 asbestos-related deaths per year.
Queens County in New York City ranks at No. 4; Kings County (Brooklyn) is No. 6; New York County is No. 9; and the Bronx is No. 11 on the list of New York counties poisoned with asbestos.
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection carried out a survey in the 1990s to assess the public’s risk of asbestos exposure in buildings. It found 68% of buildings in the city contained materials with asbestos. At the time, the estimated total amount of asbestos-containing materials in the city was 323 million square feet, most of which was thermal system insulation.
Over the years, business and property owners in the state have taken steps to remove the asbestos from their buildings, and New York has enacted laws and regulations to promote safe handling and removal of contaminated materials.
Diagnosed with mesothelioma? Contact us now for a free consultation and more information about your legal options.
Get a Free Case ReviewIn 2009, however, the state launched several investigations into asbestos-abatement contractors and construction-business owners who were suspected of improper handling of asbestos, despite the known health risks.
A contractor in the Rochester area was suspected of improperly removing and disposing of contaminated materials taken from dozens of work sites, including homes, businesses, schools, and health-care facilities. Another contractor, in Queens, who worked on abatement projects for decades, was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay more than $1.5 million in restitution for violating the law.
Mesothelioma is known as the signature asbestos-related cancer. As an occupational disease, it is a preventable cancer, which makes it all the more tragic.
New York’s old shipyards, including the Brooklyn Navy Yard, are infamous for their asbestos-contamination problems.
Industrial workers who are most plagued by asbestos exposure are those who have spent years in shipyard repair, heating-systems repair, the construction and automobile industries, and the Navy.
Since being established in 1986, Weitz & Luxenberg has grown into an unparalleled legal force.
Our staff of top-notch lawyers is recognized coast-to-coast for winning multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements for industrial workers diagnosed with occupational asbestos diseases, including mesothelioma, asbestosis, and asbestos-linked lung cancer. Some of our New York victories include:
"Weitz & Luxenberg, these guys aren’t charlatans. They aren’t greedy. They’re humanitarians. Genuine humanitarians. They’re on a quest to help people. They really are. The help I received from Weitz & Luxenberg was incredible. And it came at a time when I needed it the most because of the very bad situation I was in, both in regards to my health and finances."
Every Weitz & Luxenberg asbestos lawyer is proud of the firm’s reputation for providing effective legal support for workers diagnosed with mesothelioma.
U.S. News & World Report and the peer-review publication Best Lawyers have recognized our firm as the national Law Firm of the Year in the category of Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs. Weitz & Luxenberg attorneys are regularly lauded as Super Lawyers and Rising Stars of the New York Metro area. And our founding partners have each been named New York City “Lawyer of the Year.”