Mesothelioma Attorneys
Weitz & Luxenberg Responds: New Findings Show that Asbestos-Related Illnesses are Diagnosed at Younger Ages
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In May 2007, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) released important new information regarding the age and gender of patients newly diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer. The results of case reports obtained over the past three years reflect a disturbing statistic: new asbestos disease patients are almost 20 years younger than the typical patient profile of nearly 20 years prior. The typical new patient has a median age of 51, and half of these new patients are women. In addition, the ADAO collected anecdotal evidence indicating that new patients are presenting as young as their 40s and with no direct occupational exposure to asbestos. The last study, released by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in 1990, showed a typical patient was male, approximately 70 years old and worked in an occupation where he had daily exposure to asbestos-containing products. “The new findings from the ADAO are clear indications that those who had limited exposure to asbestos are at risk for developing an asbestos-related disease,” said Jerry Kristal, an attorney in Weitz & Luxenberg’s Asbestos and Pharmaceutical Litigation Department. Mr. Kristal continued, “This risk from limited exposure was recognized many decades ago when reports of mesothelioma, from household exposures of spouses and children and neighborhood exposures from proximity to asbestos plants, appeared in the medical and scientific literature. We have represented many such asbestos victims and the current findings bear out the extent of the continuing asbestos disaster.” Weitz & Luxenberg is known for its pre-eminent role in the prosecution of asbestos cases. In 2007, the firm won a $37 million asbestos verdict in two lung cancer cases in a reverse-bifurcated trial. The firm also secured 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. 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. The firm also won a historic consolidated trial in 1991 that involved men who 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. In 1996, Weitz & Luxenberg obtained a $64.65 million award for four asbestos plaintiffs More : businesswire.com |
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