A Message From Weitz & Luxenberg About Asbestosis in New York: State ranks 7th for asbestosis-related deaths in the U.S.

Weitz & Luxenberg would like to inform the public that from 1995-2005, there were an astonishing 632 deaths in New York State due to health problems associated with asbestosis, reported the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

New York had the seventh highest number of asbestosis-related deaths in America for that time period, with Suffolk County hard hit by the disease with 74 mortalities; in the New York City boroughs, asbestosis claimed the lives of 75.

“Weitz & Luxenberg is committed to helping families whose lives have been ravaged by asbestosis from New York exposure,” said Joseph Patrick Williams, a trial attorney in the firm’s Asbestos Litigation unit. “These statistics reveal that an alarming number of people were needlessly exposed to the lethal asbestos fibers when it could easily have been prevented.”

Asbestosis is a chronic breathing disorder caused by inhaling asbestos fibers. It is non-fatal, but can ultimately lead to life-threatening complications through scarring of lung tissue and diminished breathing capacity. Exposure to asbestos—a known carcinogen for decades—can also lead to cancers such as mesothelioma and lung cancer.

People with asbestosis often develop the disease after exposure to asbestos from occupations in construction, shipbuilding, automotive repair, steelwork and boiler-tending. Tragically, many employers failed to warn their workers of the dangers of exposure or to provide them with appropriate protective clothing.

Weitz & Luxenberg is known for spearheading asbestos cases, most recently achieving a $16.25 million verdict in June 2008 in an asbestos lawsuit involving a former dental student who developed mesothelioma. Our client had been exposed to asbestos dust while making castings by carving wax replicas of teeth using asbestos-containing dental tape. The litigation is believed to be the first successful asbestos verdict against a dental supply company.

The firm secured a $37 million asbestos verdict last year in two lung cancer cases in a reverse bifurcated trial. The firm also won a $25 million jury verdict in 2006 in a trial against DaimlerChrysler AG for a New York City brake reliner who lost his right lung to mesothelioma.

About Weitz & Luxenberg P.C.
Weitz & Luxenberg, founded in 1986, is one of the leading plaintiffs' litigation law firms in America. The firm has played leading roles in national and local litigations involving asbestos/mesothelioma, defective medicines and medical devices such as Heparin, Digitek and Ortho Evra, and general negligence, among others. A forerunner in the legal fight against environmental polluters, Weitz & Luxenberg has worked with clients harmed by MTBE among other toxins. The firm recently secured a landmark MTBE settlement against some of the country's biggest oil companies, which have agreed to pay $423 million in a suit involving the contamination of 153 public water systems nationally.

Our firm continues to set an unmatched standard of excellence for mass tort litigation, achieving more verdicts than most firms in America. We hope to have an opportunity to assist you with your legal matter.

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