New York Personal Injury Laws

Railroad Workers Exposed to Asbestos

How were railroad workers exposed to asbestos, and what can they do about it if they get mesothelioma? Hi, I’m Joe Williams, I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney and I want to talk to you about the types of exposures that workers on the railroad would have confronted during the course of their working career.

Protection With FELA statute

The first thing you need to know is that railroad employees are protected under the FELA statute. It’s a federal statute, the Federal Employers Liability Act, which requires the railroad to provide a safe working environment for their railroad employees. So if the railroad was negligent and not providing a safe working atmosphere, and if the employee gets sick and gets mesothelioma as a result, the railroad can be held legally responsible for that.

 A Former Client

Let me illustrate this by talking to you about a former client of my office who was a railroad worker. Now, this railroad worker worked on locomotives and trains as well as the cars themselves and he was exposed to asbestos from the insulation on the exhaust system of the locomotives, to asbestos from the controls and switches in the electrical components of the cars themselves, and he was exposed to asbestos from the work that others did around him with asbestos containing brakes that existed on the cars. There was also iron brakes, but some of them were made of asbestos. All of these exposures contributed during the course of a working lifetime to, unfortunately, give this client mesothelioma, and when he was diagnosed with mesothelioma he wanted to know what he could do about it. After an understanding that the FELA statute was designed to protect him, he was able to bring a claim against the railroad under the FELA statute.

Now why am I telling you this? It’s because you have questions about mesothelioma and the types of exposures that railroad workers would confront on the job. I’m Joe Williams, at my law firm we represent mesothelioma victims each and every day, and we deal with issues like this every day. If you have questions I invite you to contact our office. We are here to answer your questions. Thank you for listening.

Cases Involving Transvaginal Mesh

When you go to a doctor, you usually assume the solutions they recommend won’t hurt you, and if there are risks you expect them to tell you so. But no matter how well-intentioned medical professionals are, the safety of their recommendations depends on the source of their information. Consider cases involving the transvaginal mesh patch.

When this medical implant came on the market it was celebrated as a solution to pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence in women. As with all such products, much of the marketing targeted doctors. Manufacturers showed the research they conducted and recommended this new device as a quality solution for the doctors’ patients. Doctors studied the information they were given and did their best to understand the risks and benefits, but when a device is first put on the market little is actually known about it. Going off of what information they’ve been given, doctors concluded whether they believe this product would be good for their patients.

What Manufactures Do Not Tell Consumers

Manufacturers of such products are expected to disclose the related risks, but sometimes manufacturers haven’t conducted enough research to know all the risks and other times they simply hide some of what they do know leaving doctors and patients with only part of the story. The transvaginal mesh patch turned out to be a product with many problems. Six women have already taken these companies to court and the juries have found in favor of the women.

In fact, juries have been so disgusted that they have ordered these big corporations to pay penalties. Because of this implant women have suffered the following problems: mesh erosion; when the mesh erodes and protrudes through the vaginal wall, organ perforation; when the mesh erodes and cuts other organs such as the bladder, extreme pain, POP or SCOI recurrence, urinary problems, scarring of the vagina, infection, bleeding, nerve damage, and pain associated with sex. Many women have undergone multiple surgeries, sometimes more than a dozen follow-up surgeries because of the pain and damage caused by the implants.

Endo & Ethicon Litigation

One manufacturer, Endo, has already begun the settlement process with many thousands of patients. Another manufacturer, Ethicon, has already settled a case of their own. All cases like this have a limited timeline for filing complaints so victims can be compensated. We don’t know the exact timeline, but with Endo wrapping things up with victims of their implant we can only recommend that you move quickly to ensure that your case is positioned for the best possible result. We know this is a personal topic and can be difficult to talk about.

If you’ve been injured by the transvaginal mesh patch, we invite you to call us. Our team is here for you. We do care about you and we want to help you determine whether you can be compensated for your losses, and you don’t need to worry about any fees. If we take a case on your behalf we will only get paid if and when you do. Call today for a free consultation at 888-LAW-8500. That’s 888-529-8500.

By: Steven Gacovino

Recovering Medical Bills

Can a victim of Mesothelioma recover the medical bills that they incurred through their legal case? Hi, I’m Joe Williams. I Mesothelioma trial attorney in New York City, and I can tell you that the answer to this question is definitely, yes. In every case I’ve ever handled, in all the years I’ve been representing Mesothelioma victims, every victim and their family stresses to me the stress that they have over the large amount of medical bills that they are incurring.

 Making A Claim for Medical Bills

I can tell you, just like I tell every one of them, that in every Mesothelioma case we assert a claim in the case for the repayment of the medical bills. What that means is that we bring a lawsuit against the companies who exposed our clients to asbestos. As part of that lawsuit, one of the claims that we make is that our client has incurred significant medical bills, and that those companies should have to pay those bills, because they caused them to contract this unfortunate cancer.

Breaking Down The Medical Expenses

These bills can be extensive. A Mesothelioma victim’s treatment can include surgery or multiple surgeries. It can include chemotherapy, multiple rounds of chemotherapy. It can also include radiation, as well as well as numerous office visits.

All these things are obviously very expensive, and the bills can really add up, adding stress to an already stressful situation. I can tell you that as part of the legal case, we seek to recover payment of these bills from the companies we bring the case against.

 Further Questions and Concerns, Contact Us

Now, I’m sure you have many other questions about how medical bills are taken care of as part of a legal case. I can answer those questions. I’m Joe Williams, and in our firm we handle these cases every day. We represent Mesothelioma victims every day.

I encourage you to call the number on your screen below, that’s my office number, and we’ll answer your questions. Thanks so much for watching.

Laborers Exposed to Asbestos

You worked as a laborer and you’ve been diagnosed with mesothelioma and you are wondering, how did you get this disease? Hi, I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney and I’d like to talk to you a little bit about the types of exposure to asbestos that laborers faced. Laborers helped all of the trades. Laborers could have been exposed to any asbestos product on a construction site. We know that laborers cleaned up after various individual trades during the course of a workday and at the end of a workday. Laborers also assisted various trades. Perhaps a laborer could assist a plumber, or assist a carpenter, or a laborer could clean up after a plumber’s work or after a carpenter’s work. Now why is that important? It’s because all of the trades at various job sites back in the ’40s, the ’50s, the ’60s, the ’70s, they worked with asbestos products. The plumbers worked with asbestos gaskets and packing. The insulators worked with asbestos insulation on pipes and equipment. The carpenters worked with asbestos. Maybe the put up a Sheetrock. Maybe drywall installers put up Sheetrock and used joint compound in between the seams that contained asbestos. Floor tile was put in by tradesmen that contained asbestos. All of this work would have been cleaned up by laborers. Sweeping of the dust that contained asbestos, exposing themselves to asbestos dust on the job site perhaps everyday. Now it’s not asbestos exposure that a laborer would have on a construction job that could cause them to get mesothelioma. It’s this mesothelioma diagnosis made many decades after the exposure that we see today in clients as we deal with the litigation of mesothelioma cases in court. Why am I telling you all this? It’s because you have questions about mesothelioma, and the type of exposures that laborers would face and different construction workers would face on job sites. I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney, and we deal with these issues every day. We represent mesothelioma victims and their families everyday. If you have questions call our office, we’ll answer you questions. Thank you

Various Ways Brooklyn Workers Became Exposed to Asbestos

You were diagnosed with mesothelioma, and you worked in Brooklyn, New York, and you’re wondering, “Where could I possibly have gotten this from?” Hi, I’m Joe Williams. I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney. I’m here in New York right now, and I can give you some information about asbestos exposures in Brooklyn, New York. We know that there was major exposure sites in Brooklyn, New York. We know that from handling these cases for many years, and we have to start every discussion about asbestos exposure in Brooklyn, New York with a discussion about the Brooklyn Naval Yard. The Brooklyn Navy Yard was a major shipbuilding and ship repairing site right along the Brooklyn Piers in Brooklyn, New York, in which thousands of workers – at one time, up to 70,000 workers during World War II – worked to build and repair naval ships. All manner of asbestos products were used at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. There’s also the Brooklyn Piers, where longshoremen and other workers loaded and unloaded civilian ships, and were exposed to asbestos. There’s the Kentile Asphalt Tile Plant which, in its heyday, was the largest asbestos tile plant in the world. And, of course, during the housing boom of the last century, apartment buildings and schools to accommodate the kids were built by union tradesmen, and those tradesmen with their own hands used asbestos products like insulation, and floor tile, and joint compound, and refractory asbestos bricks, to build these buildings, and build Brooklyn itself. Now, I’m giving this information because you have mesothelioma, and you have questions. We have information about the asbestos exposure sites in Brooklyn, New York, and how workers, union tradesmen, and other workers, were exposed to asbestos in Brooklyn. I’m Joe Williams, and at our firm we answer questions and help victims of mesothelioma and their families every day. We certainly would like to answer your questions. I invite you to call the number on the screen below. Give us a call, and we’ll answer your questions. Thanks.

 Steps Specialists Take While Treating Mesothelioma

If you’ve been diagnosed with mesothelioma. So what types of doctors treat patients with mesothelioma? Hi, I’m Joe Williams I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney. I want to talk to you about some of the doctors that see mesothelioma victims. Initially, when a mesothelioma patient first presents with the signs or the symptoms of mesothelioma they see their family doctor, their intrest, their primary care doctor. That’s when a patient is talking about general weakness, malaise, maybe they’ve lost weight, maybe they’ve lost a lot of weight, they have shortness of breath. They walked up two flights of stairs and boy they’re huffing and puffing. They normally walk down the block a couple of blocks to get the newspaper every morning but now that’s a little but more difficult than usual. They go in to see their primary care doctor and explain. The doctor says let’s take an X-ray, let’s do some test. Let me send you on to a specialist. Now, usually after the primary care doctor the next doctor that a mesothelioma patient will see is a lung doctor, a pulmonologist. The pulmonologist is a specialist who deals with issues related to the lungs. So the pulmonologist is a doctor who’s probably seen mesothelioma patients before and can understand those signs and symptoms with a little bit more detail and can order some different tests. Things like a PET scan or perhaps based on the presentation of the tumor in the chest from PET scans or CAT scans or even from X-Rays the pulmonologist will refer the patient on to a surgeon. This surgeon is tasked with the job of finding out definitively what this is that is in this patient’s chest. They do that usually through a biopsy, a tissue biopsy that’s either done through a needle biopsy or through a surgical biopsy intraoperatively, often done with either a minimally invasive procedure called a video assisted thoracoscopy sometimes referred to as a VATS. Or if there’s difficulty locating the tumor there’s another procedure which is a more open procedure and that procedure is called a thoracotomy. But either way the area where the tumor is visualized is biopsied by the surgeon and that tissue is sent to a pathology lab to get a definitive diagnosis of what it is that’s growing in this patient’s chest. Now, once a diagnosis is made pathologically by a pathologist looking through a microscope at a slide at the cells and determining based upon different standing that can be done. That this is in fact malignant mesothelioma that it’s in this patient’s chest. Once that’s decided and determined then the decisions are, “What are we going to do for this patient?” There’s surgical options and that’s where the surgeon continues to play a role. There’s chemotherapy and radiation options. Now, chemotherapy is administered by an oncologist. So that surgeon would refer the patient to a caner specialist. An oncologist who would then consult with and evaluate the patient and their medical records and all their signs and symptoms and make decisions as to what type of drugs, pharmaceutical drugs, chemotherapy drugs can be administered to this patient to reduce the size of the tumor. Or perhaps to debulk it or reduce the size of the tumor in anticipation of a future surgery. Or if the tumor is advanced to just control or reduce the size of the tumor for palliative care, to reduce the symptoms or the pain response that a patient’s having. All of these doctors work together and coordinate with each other to assist a mesothelioma patient as they go through a diagnosis of mesothelioma. Now why am I telling you call this? I’m telling you because you have questions about mesothelioma. I’m Joe Williams, I’m a mesothelioma trial attorney and we deal with issues related to mesothelioma each and everyday. We represent patients and their families as they struggle through a diagnosis of mesothelioma. If you have questions I invite you to call our office and we’ll answer your questions. Thank you.

Suing Your Employer

When you’re injured on the job, you’re not permitted to sue your employer unless you work for the railroad or maritime industries. However, if you’ve been injured as a result of the negligence of a third-party, you may have a basis for a lawsuit.

Workers’ compensation laws bar you from suing your employer or a co-worker. You need an experienced law firm who understands what’s involved and how to analyze the facts and circumstances of your own claim to know if you in fact have a basis for a lawsuit.

The New York Labor Law requires full protection and safety devices to prevent workers from sustaining injuries when working at heights. Failure to do so can impose 100% liability for your injuries.

Being injured on the job can leave you wondering, “What’s going to happen to my future?” If you’ve been injured on the job, contact me or visit my website to find out how I can help turn your life around.

Brick Layer Exposed to Asbestos

You’re a bricklayer. You’ve now been diagnosed with mesothelioma, and you’re wondering how did you get this disease?

 Mesothelioma Trial Attorney

Hi, I’m Joe Williams. I am a mesothelioma trial attorney, and I want to talk to you a bit about the types of exposures to asbestos that bricklayers faced from their work on the job. In order to do that, I want to talk to you about a prior client I had, and his work is a good example of how bricklayers are exposed to asbestos.

How Do Brick Layers Become Exposed

He worked at very large commercial sites, sites like the World Trade Center, and he also worked at smaller commercial sites. He was a union bricklayer, so he did all commercial work. And the smaller sites for him were six-story apartment buildings, and whether it was a big building or a small building, his work was kind of always the same. He did brick and masonry work, Brick and masonry walls, and from time to time, especially back in the 1950s, some of the actual brick that he used contained asbestos.

But mostly, most of his exposures to asbestos came from the work of other tradesmen. Now when he was doing his work, other tradesmen could be shoulder to shoulder with him or maybe within ten feet working with products that contained asbestos. If he was building walls in a boiler room, plumbers or steamfitters could be working on the boiler systems working with steam pipes and working with the equipment in the boiler room, all of which was insulated with asbestos.

Mixing asbestos, applying it as a insulation material to high heat and to steam equipment while my client, the bricklayer, is putting up a masonry wall not far away. They’re all breathing the same dust, and all of the tradesmen in the room are susceptible to getting mesothelioma. In addition, when he was doing his work in different parts of apartment buildings, other trades were putting up internal walls and putting in floors using building materials that contained asbestos.

These exposures to asbestos, caused by other trades working near my bricklayer client, caused him to get mesothelioma. Now why am I telling you all this? It’s because you have questions about mesothelioma, and about the types of exposures that bricklayers would have to asbestos.

I’m Joe Williams, and at our office we handle cases from mesothelioma victims every day, and we deal with these issues every single day. Call us at our office, we’ll answer your questions. Thanks.

How Do Trucking Accidents Happen

Trucking accidents are typically a result of negligent driving, manufacturing defects, or improper maintenance of a truck. Injury form truck accidents can be catastrophic and sometimes deadly. You need an attorney that knows the rules and manufacturing standards when it comes to the trucking industry to ensure that you collect the damages you’re entitled to.

Being seriously injured in a trucking accident can be a very overwhelming process. Contact me