Secondary or Limited Exposure: Getting Sick From Breathing Someone Else’s Asbestos Dust

“My father died 15 years ago from mesothelioma. Are my brother and I at all at risk?”

“Our school district is getting ready to do asbestos abatement this summer. They are using a reputable company and following all of the guidelines in keeping the air safe. They are doing it in the summer because the students aren't here. But what about the secretaries & maintenance crew that work all summer long?”

“I’ve worked in a residential treatment building for five years and just found out that the building is being torn down. They stated they're having complications due to the levels of asbestos. What are my chances to contract any problems?”

We have helped get money for clients who have been diagnosed with an asbestos disease because of secondary, or limited exposure to asbestos fibers and dusts.

My dad worked with asbestos when I was a kid. Now I’m sick and the doctor said it’s because of asbestos.
You may have never seen a bag of asbestos cement, a roll of asbestos insulation or any product labeled as containing asbestos. Now you have been diagnosed with the same disease that made hundreds of thousands of people who worked with asbestos on a daily basis seriously ill.

We handle cases of family secondary exposure. In these cases, a family member worked in a job where they had daily exposure to asbestos. These workers came home every day not knowing their clothes and the inside of their vehicles were covered in dust which contained asbestos that would some day sicken their families.

Those small asbestos dusts and fibers became airborne, and families breathed in asbestos every time they washed work clothes or helped to clean the dust from the car.

I taught 3rd grade for 25 years in a school that was built back in the 1940s. The custodians told us the building was full of asbestos. Now I have lung problems. Is there a connection?
According to The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), elementary school teachers are at risk developing mesothelioma and lung cancer. In fact, elementary school teachers are second to the traditional trades that work with asbestos in the highest risk of developing an asbestos-related disease, with a mortality rate higher than construction workers.

I live near a building where they are remodeling and removing all kinds of asbestos. Will I get sick?
“It is important that the public remain aware of the inherent dangers of exposure to asbestos to this very day. Asbestos surrounds us even today in our sprayed on ceilings, in the floor tiles under our feet, around our pipes, and in other products we use everyday.” -- James C. Long, Jr., Weitz & Luxenberg asbestos trial attorney

In New York City, a tenants group fought for additional asbestos testing during the renovation of their high rise apartment building.

It helped to bring an important issue into the limelight, because even though asbestos has been banned in the construction industry since the late 1970s, the danger of exposure to asbestos dusts still exists.

Virtually every home, office building or apartment building constructed from the 1940s to the early 1970s contained asbestos. When testing is not performed before beginning a remodeling or remediation project, the workers, the building tenants and those who live near the buildings are all at risk to develop an asbestos-related disease.

What Should I Do Next?
When you or a family member has been diagnosed with Mesothelioma or lung cancer, you depend on your medical team to provide the best care for your illness.

You also need a highly qualified and seasoned team of asbestos lawyers to fight for you.

Weitz & Luxenberg’s asbestos attorneys have represented several clients in cases of secondary exposure, including a case where a wife was diagnosed with Mesothelioma after years of asbestos exposure simply from washing her husband’s work clothes. We were able to secure her a settlement from over 20 defendants for several million dollars.

If you would like to retain us as your lawyer, or discuss further options, please fill out the following form.

Let us worry about the deadlines and the legal issues.

Contact us today!