Navy Veterans and Asbestos Exposure: Helping Victims Find Justice

For nearly 40 years, the lawyers on Weitz & Luxenberg’s asbestos litigation team have been fighting for the rights of veterans affected by serious diseases. This includes mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis — all caused by exposure to asbestos.

A diagnosis of mesothelioma cancer or asbestos-related lung cancer typically comes decades after the actual exposure to asbestos. Tragically, many Navy veterans looking forward to relaxation in retirement instead find themselves facing the considerable stress and expense involved in diagnosing and treating an asbestos-related illness while exposed to asbestos on Navy ships and shipyards.

Does the U.S. Navy Still Use Asbestos?

Most Navy vets were around, and likely exposed to, asbestos since it was used historically throughout ships. The public needs to know how prevalent asbestos-related diseases were among Navy veterans because products containing asbestos were involved and may remain.

Several million people employed in U.S. shipyards — and U.S. Navy veterans — were exposed to asbestos, since it was used extensively in military ship construction. From the 1930s through the 1970s, all divisions of the U.S. military used asbestos-containing products in buildings and all forms of transportation.

“Asbestos was used in so many applications and areas in the Navy,” said Ambre Brandis, an attorney in the firm’s Asbestos Litigation Unit. “Many vets found themselves exposed to the carcinogen daily during their military service: from serving on a ship, to stripping vessels in a Navy shipyard, to the building or repair of structures at military bases.”

How Many Veterans Have Mesothelioma?

Around 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed each year. Veterans account for roughly 30% of all malignant mesothelioma cancer cases. ^{(1) (2)}

How Do You Prove Asbestos Exposure in the Military?

You don’t personally have to prove asbestos exposure in the military. The attorneys at Weitz & Luxenberg, organizations around the country, and governmental agencies already know asbestos exposure in the military was widespread.

Weitz & Luxenberg has a long history of standing up for U.S. Navy vets. We have been doing this kind of work for close to four decades. We know vets were exposed to asbestos. And we can help you prove it.

Over the years, W&L attorneys have looked into every crack, lifted every stone, and scoured thousands of pages of documents. These prove our veterans were exposed to asbestos while serving in the Navy and other military branches. Our research is comprehensive.

We have the ability to locate proof of the evidence down to an art form. We’ve been told when asbestos manufacturers know we’re coming, they run in the other direction. They know what they will be up against if they fight us in court.

Was Asbestos Found on Navy Ships?

Aboard ships, engine room snipes inhaled asbestos dust while sweeping, cleaning out, or helping to apply asbestos in the engine room and bilges. Gunners and gunners’ mates inhaled dust that came from the asbestos felt materials used to protect explosive materials in the ship’s magazine room. The pipes that crossed the ceilings on the ships were covered with asbestos insulation. Engine vibrations and other shipboard details caused the asbestos to flake onto crew member bunks and other exposed surfaces.

Vets who worked on a base or at a Navy shipyard often found themselves exposed to asbestos when working on ship repairs and refits. People assigned to construction or renovation building projects at Navy bases or shipyards also faced the risk of inhaling dangerous asbestos fibers. The Seabee units — that built military bases, hospitals, power facilities, highways, bridges, and runways — faced exposure to asbestos insulation and other asbestos-containing construction materials

Can You Sue the Navy for Asbestos Exposure?

Legally, you can try to sue the Navy for asbestos exposure. However, Weitz & Luxenberg attorneys prefer to go after the manufacturers of the many products that contained asbestos that were used while you were serving your country. These companies knew about the dangers of their products, but did not provide instructions on how to safely work with them. They were the negligent ones.

How Do You Start an Asbestos Lawsuit?

You start by hiring the frontrunner in asbestos litigation dating back to the mid-1980s: Weitz & Luxenberg. Once you become our client, we take care of all the legal details. And we have, many times over. It’s a skill area we excel in.

Men and women diagnosed with mesothelioma or asbestos-related lung cancer may be entitled to significant financial compensation from the companies responsible for their disease. And Weitz & Luxenberg goes after every company that threatened people’s lives with their asbestos-containing products.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, we may be able to help you. We can seek justice for your illness and file a lawsuit on your behalf.

Please call us at (833) 977-3437. Or you can complete the form for a free and confidential review of your potential asbestos lawsuit. A member of the Weitz & Luxenberg team will contact you as soon as possible.

What Size Settlements Has the W&L Law Firm Won for Mesothelioma Victims?

Weitz & Luxenberg has successfully fought for countless military veterans facing an asbestos related disease. Our successes reach as far back as 1991, when our firm won a historic consolidated trial for men who worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in the 1940s and 1950s. Weitz & Luxenberg represented 36 clients in that case, securing verdicts of $75 million. Here are some other wins for our clients:

● Our attorneys secured a $16.25 million verdict in a case involving the first successful asbestos verdict against a dental supply company.

● Our firm secured a $37 million asbestos verdict in two lung cancer cases in a trial.

● Millions of dollars on behalf of a veteran exposed to asbestos in the naval shipyard where he worked.

● Large financial settlement on behalf of our client, an 80-year-old man who served in the U.S. Navy as a gunner’s mate.

● Millions of dollars on behalf of a man who had worked as a mechanic in the U.S. Army.