Mesothelioma Litigation: Holding the Asbestos Industry Accountable
“My answer to the problem is: if you have enjoyed a good life while working with asbestos products, why not die from it.” That’s what one asbestos industry executive wrote to another in 1966, records show.(1)
My answer to the problem is: if you have enjoyed a good life while working with asbestos products, why not die from it.”
That notorious industry memo has been used by many to highlight how corporations favored profits over the health — and very often the lives — of workers who were being exposed to asbestos. Today, national law firms like Weitz & Luxenberg help asbestos victims obtain the compensation they deserve while holding companies accountable. Some of the most significant financial victories for victims have been the result of mesothelioma litigation.
How Mesothelioma Litigation Can Help You
Mesothelioma is an asbestos-related cancer that’s tied to asbestos exposure — whether from job-related activities, hobbies, “take home” exposures, or use of such consumer products as talcum powder. The deadly disease is preventable, but many asbestos companies ignored the dangerous effects of asbestos exposure and some even hid the potential hazards from their employees and their consumers. This reckless conduct has left victims angry, ill, financially depleted, and has caused some victims’ deaths.
If you or your loved one has been diagnosed with or died from mesothelioma cancer, litigation may be right for you. With the help of skilled mesothelioma attorneys, asbestos victims and their families have won substantial verdicts.
Mesothelioma Litigation Steps
Typically, once you file a mesothelioma lawsuit you can expect several steps to follow: response to the lawsuit, discovery, depositions, settlement discussions, possible trial, verdict, and possible appeal. The right mesothelioma attorney will try to resolve the case as quickly as possible.
If your case goes to trial, the verdict, or the outcome of your claim, is decided by a jury. You should expect a routine that consists of:
Notable Mesothelioma Verdicts
Most mesothelioma lawsuits are settled outside of court. Some, however, go to trial. Weitz & Luxenberg has a decades-long history of prevailing in most mesothelioma trials, including securing a record-breaking $190 million verdict in 2013.*
2023
Attorneys from Weitz & Luxenberg’s Los Angeles office secured a $40 million jury award for our client exposed to asbestos through his military service repairing and rewinding electric motors.
2022
Weitz & Luxenberg achieved a $43 million trial verdict for a couple. The wife developed mesothelioma more than 30 years after being exposed to her husband’s asbestos-contaminated work clothes when she did his laundry.
2021
In a trial win for our client against Johnson & Johnson, Weitz & Luxenberg achieved a $27.4 million trial verdict. Our client developed mesothelioma after decades of using Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder® containing talc contaminated with asbestos.
2019
Weitz & Luxenberg secured a $25 million dollar trial verdict for our client. He was exposed to asbestos through his work at oil refineries in Iran and later developed testicular mesothelioma
2017
Weitz & Luxenberg won its highest single case verdict ever: $75 million for a woman who contracted mesothelioma from both laundering her husband’s asbestos-contaminated clothes and direct exposure to asbestos automotive engine gaskets.
2014
In one of 2014’s largest New York state product liability cases, Weitz & Luxenberg won a $25 million jury verdict for two electricians who were exposed to asbestos at work and later diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer.
2013
After a three-month trial, Weitz & Luxenberg won a record-breaking $190 million verdict for five New York blue-collar tradesmen with mesothelioma cancer, who claimed the companies whose products they worked with knew, but did not disclose, the dangers of working near asbestos.
2013
A New York Supreme Court jury awarded $35 million to an asbestos-removal worker who died from mesothelioma cancer. Before his death, the victim provided deposition testimony to Weitz & Luxenberg. The trial team read the testimony into evidence.
2008
Our firm’s mesothelioma lawyers obtained what’s believed to be the first verdict against an asbestos dental tape supply company. The $16 million verdict was on behalf of a 71-year-old man who developed mesothelioma cancer after he was exposed to asbestos-containing dental tape at a dental technician school in the late 1960s.
2006
A Weitz & Luxenberg trial team secured a $25 million verdict for a former brake specialist who lost his right lung to mesothelioma cancer.
2003
Following a two-month trial, a jury found that two power plants failed to provide workers on their premises with a safe working environment. The jury awarded an ex-boilermaker $47 million, blaming his mesothelioma cancer on years of working with asbestos.
2002
Weitz & Luxenberg helped a man and his family win a $53 million verdict for his mesothelioma-causing asbestos exposure as a brake mechanic. It was hailed as one of the largest compensatory verdicts for a single plaintiff in the history of mesothelioma litigation.
1991
One of our firm’s first major legal successes involved winning a historic $75 million verdict on behalf of 36 men who formerly worked at the asbestos-plagued Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Partnering with Mesothelioma Lawyers
A mesothelioma cancer diagnosis can turn your life upside down — both emotionally and financially. Don’t let litigation add to that burden.
Weitz & Luxenberg’s compassionate and experienced mesothelioma attorneys would be privileged to handle the litigation process for you, and provide you with peace of mind and support during this confusing and emotional time.
For a free legal consultation, please call (833) 977-3437 or fill out a form to speak to one of our mesothelioma attorneys.