Hi All: A relevant post for Lung Cancer Month. Many people remain uniformed about the increased risk of developing lung cancer from asbestos exposure. This is particularly true of smokers. Please forward to whomever you know who may be interested:
A Statement from Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C. to Smokers and Former Smokers: Asbestos Exposure Multiplied Your Risk for Lung Cancer
August 6, 2007, New York, NY—Sitting before the U.S. Senate two years ago, Dr. Philip Landrigan, the Chair of the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, testified, “asbestos workers who also smoke[d] have 55 times the background risk of lung cancer.” Further, according to Perry Weitz, the founding member of Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C., a leading asbestos law firm, “if smokers who are exposed to asbestos smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, their risk of getting lung cancer is more than a 100 times that of a person who does not smoke and isn't exposed to asbestos.” The courts have found in favor of smokers exposed to asbestos with multimillion dollar damages punctuated by a recent jury verdict won by Weitz & Luxenberg P.C.
“Cigarettes are addictive, asbestos is not. All that was needed to protect people from asbestos-related lung cancer was a warning,” says Perry Weitz.
In May, the firm obtained a jury verdict of $37 million for two smokers with lung cancer who had been exposed to asbestos; adding another victory to its long record of success in asbestos litigation (index #s 100016/99 and 113583/05, New York Supreme Court). The defendant was Robert A. Keasbey Company, a former insulation contractor and distributor of asbestos products.
The jury determined that the occupational exposures to asbestos of both men were "substantial factors" in causing their lung cancers and rejected the defense that the sole cause of their lung cancers was smoking.
“While other law firms shy away from fighting asbestos companies on behalf of lung cancer patients who smoked and were exposed to asbestos, our firm has consistently disproved the commonly held perception that only tobacco companies can be held liable for lung cancer,” says Perry Weitz.
Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C., has many notable successes with asbestos cases including mesothelioma. In 2006, the firm secured a $25 million jury verdict in a trial against DaimlerChrysler AG for a New York City brake reliner who lost his right lung to mesothelioma. In 2002, the firm won a $53 million verdict for a brake mechanic suffering from mesothelioma and a $49 million verdict for a boilermaker who died from mesothelioma. 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 suffering from asbestos related diseases.
Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C. offers free case reviews.
About Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C.:Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C., 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, DES, silicone breast implants, medical malpractice, and general negligence, among others. A forerunner in the legal fight against environmental polluters, Weitz & Luxenberg P.C. has worked with clients harmed by MTBE and mercury, among other toxins. The firm has won numerous cases involving dangerous pharmaceuticals, including Vioxx, achieving a $13.5 million verdict against Merck & Co. (docket No. ATLL129605).
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Hi All: So we're back to updating the blog with relevant legal news. In particular, here is a press release on one of our recent legal victories:
Weitz & Luxenberg Wins $37 Mil Asbestos Verdict in Two Lung Cancer Cases
May 15, New York, NY— On Friday, May 11, 2007, Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C., a staunch protecter of the rights of workers who have been recklessly exposed to asbestos, won Phase II of a reverse-bifurcated lung cancer trial against Robert A. Keasbey Company. The company was a former insulation contractor that also distributed asbestos products in the New York metropolitan area.
James C. Long, Jr., Weitz & Luxenberg trial team attorney and lead counsel said, “Our clients suffered greatly. We are pleased that the jury was receptive to the evidence that established the substantive role that exposure to asbestos plays in the development of lung cancer and other debilitating diseases.”
On March 22, 2007, the jury, in Phase I of the trial, awarded $26 million in damages to Bonita Martin, the widow of boilermaker Edward Martin, and $11 million to Nicole Eyring, the daughter of Robert Lettiere, a steamfitter (Martin Index #100016/99 and Lettieire #113583/05, New York Supreme Court, Manhattan).
Both Martin and Lettiere died of lung cancer, and at issue before the jury in Phase I, was whether asbestos was a substantial contributing factor in causing the disease. (In a reverse-bifurcation trial procedure, the jury determines causation and damages first, before determining liability.) The jury determined that the occupational exposures to asbestos of both men were "substantial factors" in causing their lung cancer, rejecting the defense that the sole cause of their lung cancers was smoking.
Phase II of the trial commenced on April 23, 2007 before the same jury. At issue was whether Keasbey exposed both men to asbestos while installing asbestos insulation at various New York City area powerhouses; whether they did so negligently, and whether such negligence was a substantial factor in causing their lung cancers. Additionally, the jury was asked to determine whether Keasbey acted "recklessly." The jury answered all questions in Weitz & Luxenberg’s favor on Friday, assigning 40 percent responsibility to Keasbey in the Martin case and 15 percent responsibility in the Lettiere case.
This was the first time that an asbestos defendant brought forth a full tobacco company liability case, calling pulmonologist Dr. Hans Weill, and a tobacco historian, Dr. Louis Kyriakoudes, to the stand in an effort to again try to blame smoking as the sole or overwhelming cause of the lung cancers.
Because the jury found Keasbey to be "reckless," Keasbey is also responsible for the shares of liability assigned to Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds (totaling 20 percent) in the Martin case and to Philip Morris (15 percent) in the Lettiere case, and will also pay the shares of other companies that were not sued and were assigned a percent of fault by the jury.
The Weitz & Luxenberg trial team included Long, Douglas D. von Oiste, Jerry Kristal and Patti Burshtyn, with extensive legal research and trial support on the case conducted by Christopher Romanelli, Stephen Riegel, Tom Comerford and Jessica Russell. The judge was the Honorable Shirley Kornreich.
The firm is known for spearheading asbestos cases, among others, securing a jury verdict in 2006 ordering DaimlerChrysler AG to pay $25 million to Alfred D'Ulisse, 73, a New York City brake reliner who lost his right lung to mesothelioma. In 2002, the firm won a $53 million verdict for a brake mechanic suffering from mesothelioma, and a $49 million dollar verdict for a boilermaker who died from mesothelioma. Weitz and Luxenberg’s successes date back to 1991, when we won a historic consolidated trial involving men who had worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in the 1940s and 1950s. Weitz & Luxenberg represented 36 clients in that case and secured verdicts of $75 million. The firm has recovered hundreds of millions more.
People who have been harmed by asbestos can contact Weitz & Luxenberg for a free case review.
Weitz & Luxenberg Wins $37 Mil Asbestos Verdict in Two Lung Cancer Cases
May 15, New York, NY— On Friday, May 11, 2007, Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C., a staunch protecter of the rights of workers who have been recklessly exposed to asbestos, won Phase II of a reverse-bifurcated lung cancer trial against Robert A. Keasbey Company. The company was a former insulation contractor that also distributed asbestos products in the New York metropolitan area.
James C. Long, Jr., Weitz & Luxenberg trial team attorney and lead counsel said, “Our clients suffered greatly. We are pleased that the jury was receptive to the evidence that established the substantive role that exposure to asbestos plays in the development of lung cancer and other debilitating diseases.”
On March 22, 2007, the jury, in Phase I of the trial, awarded $26 million in damages to Bonita Martin, the widow of boilermaker Edward Martin, and $11 million to Nicole Eyring, the daughter of Robert Lettiere, a steamfitter (Martin Index #100016/99 and Lettieire #113583/05, New York Supreme Court, Manhattan).
Both Martin and Lettiere died of lung cancer, and at issue before the jury in Phase I, was whether asbestos was a substantial contributing factor in causing the disease. (In a reverse-bifurcation trial procedure, the jury determines causation and damages first, before determining liability.) The jury determined that the occupational exposures to asbestos of both men were "substantial factors" in causing their lung cancer, rejecting the defense that the sole cause of their lung cancers was smoking.
Phase II of the trial commenced on April 23, 2007 before the same jury. At issue was whether Keasbey exposed both men to asbestos while installing asbestos insulation at various New York City area powerhouses; whether they did so negligently, and whether such negligence was a substantial factor in causing their lung cancers. Additionally, the jury was asked to determine whether Keasbey acted "recklessly." The jury answered all questions in Weitz & Luxenberg’s favor on Friday, assigning 40 percent responsibility to Keasbey in the Martin case and 15 percent responsibility in the Lettiere case.
This was the first time that an asbestos defendant brought forth a full tobacco company liability case, calling pulmonologist Dr. Hans Weill, and a tobacco historian, Dr. Louis Kyriakoudes, to the stand in an effort to again try to blame smoking as the sole or overwhelming cause of the lung cancers.
Because the jury found Keasbey to be "reckless," Keasbey is also responsible for the shares of liability assigned to Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds (totaling 20 percent) in the Martin case and to Philip Morris (15 percent) in the Lettiere case, and will also pay the shares of other companies that were not sued and were assigned a percent of fault by the jury.
The Weitz & Luxenberg trial team included Long, Douglas D. von Oiste, Jerry Kristal and Patti Burshtyn, with extensive legal research and trial support on the case conducted by Christopher Romanelli, Stephen Riegel, Tom Comerford and Jessica Russell. The judge was the Honorable Shirley Kornreich.
The firm is known for spearheading asbestos cases, among others, securing a jury verdict in 2006 ordering DaimlerChrysler AG to pay $25 million to Alfred D'Ulisse, 73, a New York City brake reliner who lost his right lung to mesothelioma. In 2002, the firm won a $53 million verdict for a brake mechanic suffering from mesothelioma, and a $49 million dollar verdict for a boilermaker who died from mesothelioma. Weitz and Luxenberg’s successes date back to 1991, when we won a historic consolidated trial involving men who had worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in the 1940s and 1950s. Weitz & Luxenberg represented 36 clients in that case and secured verdicts of $75 million. The firm has recovered hundreds of millions more.
People who have been harmed by asbestos can contact Weitz & Luxenberg for a free case review.
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