Philadelphia Accident Law

Asbestos

Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Florida Asbestos Attorneys.

Borjeson & Maizel, LLC are asbestos lawyers representing workers, spouses, children and families exposed to asbestos.

Who Needs Representation?

If you have been exposed to asbestos.

If a loved one was exposed to asbestos and has since died.

If your parent or sibling worked with asbestos.

If you have been diagnosed with any asbestos disease including: mesothelioma, lung cancer, malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, pleural plaques, pleural thickening, and other cancers including colon/rectal cancer, laryngeal cancer, and esophageal cancer.

Call Borjeson & Maizel. Even if you smoked or your loved one has unfortunately died, call us to discuss your claim.

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a fibrous material that has been used for decades at may work sites, business, and homes as insulation and fire-retardant material.

Where is Asbestos Found?

Asbestos was found in most insulation products for both homes and commercial buildings. It was also commonly used in many construction products for industrial and commercial applications, particularly in manufacturing plants, refineries and shipyards. Today, more than 3,000 everyday products contain some amount of asbestos.

Who is at Risk for Developing Asbestos Illnesses?

People who are at the greatest risk for developing asbestos related diseases including: mesothelioma, lung cancer, malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, pleural plaques, pleural thickening, and other cancers including colon/rectal cancer, laryngeal cancer, and esophageal cancer, are workers who were exposed to asbestos fibers. Work related asbestos exposure may be direct exposure; you worked with the asbestos, or indirect exposure; you worked at a site where asbestos was present.

Families of workers are also at risk for asbestos exposure. Anyone whose father, mother, grandparent, etc was exposed to asbestos may be at risk for asbestos related diseases and mesothelioma. This is often called “household exposure.”

Often, we see a child, son, daughter, or wife of an exposed person developing an asbestos disease, lung cancer, or mesothelioma. In some cases, a worker would come home with asbestos fibers on their clothing, and a household member would do their wash at home. Asbestos fibers would end up in the air and on other clothing exposing the entire family to asbestos fibers; resulting in mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, and other asbestos cancer.

Now a new generation of asbestos exposure has come about. The “weekend warrior” “home do-it-yourself” generation has been exposed to asbestos. If you have done demolition, or home repairs to a house or apartment that was built at late as the 1970s, you may have been exposed to asbestos.

Household or weekend warrior exposure to asbestos is just as deadly as direct exposure to asbestos.

Why is Asbestos Harmful?

Asbestos fibers produce dust. When inhaled, asbestos dust forms deposits in the lungs that can cause serious and deadly illnesses. These illnesses include mesothelioma, lung cancer, malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, pleural plaques, pleural thickening, and other cancers including colon/rectal cancer, laryngeal cancer, and esophageal cancer. Asbestos exposure can kill you.

Workers exposed to asbestos from the 1940s through the 1970s continue to develop mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis after a very long latency period. These workers either handled asbestos-containing products themselves or were indirectly exposed by working near asbestos.

Where was Asbestos used?

Asbestos was found in many workplaces and trades including shipbuilding, construction, steelmaking, oil, chemical, automobile building and maintenance, as well as others.

Some high risk asbestos related jobs include:

• Construction workers
• Automotive (auto) & truck workers
• Industrial workers
• Shipyard workers
• Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) contractors
• Electricians
• Asbestos mill and miners
• Military (Navy/Army/Coast Guard/Marines/Merchant Marines
• Asbestos Workers
• Boilermakers/Boiler Operators
• Carpenters
• Cement Masons
• Chemical Plant Workers
• Chippers/Caulkers
• Crane Operators
• Custodians/Janitors
• Drywall Installers
• Flooring Installers
• General Contractors
• Home Remodelers
• Industrial Engineers
• Insulators
• Laggers
• Laborers
• Longshoremen
• Machinists
• Mechanical Engineers
• Oil Refinery Workers
• Painters
• Pipecoverers
• Pipefitters
• Plasterers
• Plumbers
• Power and Utility Workers
• Railroad Workers
• Roofers
• School Teachers/Administrators
• Sheet Metal Workers
• Steamfitters
• Steel Workers
• Telephone Installers
• Tile Setters
• Welders

Some Products that Contained Asbestos:

• Thermal insulation, pipe insulation, gaskets and packing
• Plaster
• Fireproofing (Spray)
• Automobile (auto) and truck brakes, brake padsm and brake linings
• Siding and roof products
• Furnaces and boilers, and insulation
• Insulated Wiring
• Insulating cement and compounds
• Asbestos pipe, wallboard, and millboard
• Products containing a fire-retardant, such as pot holders and ironing board covers

Medical Issues:

Exposure to asbestos can lead to:

• Malignant Mesothelioma
• Mesothelioma
• Epitheloid (A form of Mesothelioma)
• Lung Cancer
• Asbestosis
• Pleural Plagues
• Pleural Thickening
• Cancers including colon/rectal cancer, laryngeal cancer, and esophageal cancer

Treatment for asbestos related diseases include:

• Photodynamic therapy
• Pneumonectomy
• Extrapleural pneumonectomy (removal of the pleura, lung, pericardium, and diaphragm)
• Chemotherapy
• Radiation Therapy
• Cancer drugs (Alimta)
• Surgery
• Pleurectomy (removal of the pleura)
• Palliative therapy (treatments for shortness of breath and pain)

Local Medical Centers

• University of Pennsylvania Health System
  Dr. Joseph Friedberg
  Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
  Wright-Saunders, Suite 266
  39th and Market Streets
  Philadelphia, PA 19104
  1-800-789-PENN (7366)

• Penn Medicine
  Dr. Stephen Hahn
  1-800-789-PENN (7366)

• Crozer-Chester Medical Center
  One Medical Center Boulevard
  Upland, PA 19013
  (610) 447-2000

• Fox Chase Cancer Center
  7701 Burholme Avenue
  Philadelphia, PA 19111
  (215) 728-6900
  1-888-FOXCHASE

• Frankford Hospital - Torresdale Division
  Red Lion and Knights Road
  Philadelphia, PA 19114
  (215) 612-3500

• Hershey Medical Center / Penn State
  Geisinger Health Systems
  500 University Drive
  Hershey, PA 17033
  (717) 531-7555

• Lehigh Valley Hospital
  1200 South Cedar Crest Boulevard
  Allentown, PA 18103
  (610) 776-8000

• Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
  111 South 11th Street
  Philadelphia, PA 19107
  (215) 955-6000

If you are a worker in any of the following trades, or have been exposed to asbestos, you should contact the experienced trial attorneys of Borjeson & Maizel for a free consultation to explore your rights.

Call us at (215) 772-3020 or fill out our brief Inquiry Form.

We serve the injured victims of Philadelphia, including CenterCity, South Philly, Northeast Philadelphia, West Philly, North Philly, Southwest Philadelphia, Manayunk, Roxborough, and other areas throughout Pennsylvania. We also cover Southern New Jersey including Atlantic City, NJ, Haddonfield, New Jersey and Cherry Hill, NJ.