(openPR) - Asbestos was used extensively in many building products for so many decades that any construction worker working on a construction site prior to the mid-1980s was at risk for lethal asbestos exposure.
In the construction industry, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, boiler workers, brick layers and bulldozer operators are all at substantial risk for asbestos exposure, particularly if their work involves the renovation or demolition of an old building.
Prior to the 1980s, commercial and residential buildings were constructed and insulated with asbestos-containing materials. It was later learned that asbestos leads to cancers such as mesothelioma and lung cancer in people who work with it.
Asbestos Endangers the Lives of Construction Workers
Job related asbestos exposure led to the death of a New Jersey unionized pipefitter who had his left lung surgically removed two years ago and soon after, passed away at the age of 48. Throughout his three decade career as a pipefitter he moved from job site to job site unknowingly working in direct contact with lethal asbestos materials that are strictly regulated today.
Until recently, these products had very high asbestos content and, shockingly, were promoted by manufacturers without any warning labels. Today, in many cases, courts recognize that asbestos-product manufacturers are at fault for failure to warn. Their role in the deaths of thousands of construction workers has led to asbestos lawsuits that have resulted in large verdicts and settlements for the victims and their surviving family members.
Shortly before the New Jersey pipefitter passed away, he retained New York mesothelioma law firm Weitz & Luxenberg to represent him in an asbestos lawsuit against the makers of the products that killed him. Two weeks after his deposition, he died from mesothelioma. His wife and two sons, aged 8 and 10, received a substantial settlement negotiated by Weitz & Luxenberg mesothelioma attorneys.
Construction Workers' History of Asbestos Exposure
Asbestos was used heavily in the 20th century in hundreds of construction products to make them stronger and fire-resistant. Tragically, the lives saved by these characteristics were substantially outnumbered by the lives lost to the cancer-causing properties of asbestos.
Mesothelioma cancer is the most serious of asbestos-related diseases. Every year, mesothelioma claims 90,000 lives worldwide. In the United States alone, 3,000 cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed annually. The prognosis is never good because there is no cure for mesothelioma. Patient life expectancy after being diagnosed with mesothelioma is normally six to 18 months.
Mesothelioma is primarily a job-related disease contracted through the inhalation of airborne asbestos fibers that dislodge from aging, broken or deteriorating asbestos-made construction products that include: floor and ceiling tiles, building insulation, and asbestos wraps found on steam pipes and boilers.
This press release was prepared by the law firm of Weitz & Luxenberg. Weitz & Luxenberg is a New York law firm that represents New Yorkers and others who have been diagnosed with asbestos cancers such as lung cancer, pleural mesothelioma, and peritoneal mesothelioma. Construction workers and their loved ones can get more information about the risk of on-the-job asbestos exposure at www.mesotheliomajobs.com/construction-workers.html..
For general information on the work of Weitz & Luxenberg asbestos lawyers, visit www.weitzlux.com/asbestos-lawyer_1054.html.
For a free case review from Weitz & Luxenberg mesothelioma lawyers, visit www.weitzlux.com/mesothelioma-lawyer_1055.html.
Weitz & Luxenberg
700 Broadway 3rd floor
New York, NY 10003
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