Weitz & Luxenberg Responds: The NIOSH Roadmap--Too Little Too Late for Thousands.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- Ten thousand Americans die each year from asbestos-related diseases, and those diseases are responsible for one out of 125 deaths in men over age 50, says the Environmental Working Group. Faced with these staggering statistics and projections that asbestos-related illnesses will claim the lives of 100,000 Americans in the next decade, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, n.pr an institute of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that is responsible for assuring safe and healthful working conditions and for developing standards of safety and health. (NIOSH NIOSH National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health, see there NIOSH Recommendations for Safety & Health Standards Agent NIOSH REL*/OSHA PEL† Health effects ) is evaluating future scientific research needs and answers to current scientific questions about asbestos, occupational exposures and the diseases caused by asbestos. NIOSH presented its research strategy, "Asbestos and Other Mineral Fibers: A Roadmap for Scientific Research," for public comment in May 2007. The organization is currently evaluating submissions received from experts in fields such as business, engineering, bioscience, medicine and law. "While the results of the Roadmap will provide NIOSH with an important research tool, their efforts are decades too late for the thousands that have died from mesothelioma Mesothelioma Definition Mesothelioma is an uncommon disease that causes malignant cancer cells to form within the lining of the chest, abdomen, or around the heart. Its primary cause is believed to be exposure to asbestos. and asbestos-related lung cancer lung cancer, cancer that originates in the tissues of the lungs. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States in both men and women. Like other cancers, lung cancer occurs after repeated insults to the genetic material of the cell. ," said Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C. attorney Joseph Patrick Williams. A former prosecutor in the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, Williams has a long history of fighting for the rights of people on Long Island who thought they had no recourse. His current work with the firm continues that tradition by helping those whose lives have been impacted by the devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. effects of asbestos. "You have to believe in what you are doing. I have that mentality," said Williams of his role as a trial lawyer for asbestos plaintiffs. "I want to help the victims in their fight against these big corporations," Williams added. "Asbestos is poison. It is the biggest industrial tragedy in our lifetime." 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 New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. 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 boil·er·mak·er n. 1. One that makes or repairs boilers. 2. Slang A drink of whiskey with a beer chaser. boilermaker Noun a person who works with metal in heavy industry who died from mesothelioma. The firm also won a historic consolidated trial in 1991 involving men who worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard The United States Navy Yard, New York - better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the New York Naval Shipyard (NYNSY) - is located 1.7 miles northeast of the Battery on the Brooklyn side of the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the East River in the 1940s and 1950s. Weitz & Luxenberg represented 36 clients in that case, securing verdicts of $75 million. People who have been harmed by asbestos can contact Weitz & Luxenberg at www.weitzlux.com. You may also contact Client Relations at 1 (800) 476-6070 or via e-mail at clientrelations@weitzlux.com About Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C. Weitz & Luxenberg, founded in 1986, is one of the leading plaintiffs' 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 has worked with clients harmed by MTBE MTBE Methyl-tert-butyl-ether Surgery An aliphatic ether that rapidly dissolves cholesterol stones in vivo, introduced under local anesthesia via a percutaneous transhepatic cholecystectomy catheter, as a non-invasive method for treating gallstones; after injection, 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. The firm's other active pharmaceutical litigations include actions against the manufacturers of Bextra, ReNu, Celebrex, Ortho Evra and Seroquel. |
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