About Asbestos/Mesothelioma Litigation and Claims


For over five decades, Jon Gelman has represented thousands of individuals who have become ill because of exposure to asbestos fiber. He is the author of a nationally recognized treatise, now in its 3rd edition, on the subject. Jon Gelman has lectured extensively on asbestos litigation. On behalf of his clients, he has successfully brought claims against the suppliers, manufacturers, and health research groups of asbestos fiber and products. These claims are usually called product liability cases.

Resolution of the claim may involve several avenues: litigation (individual or consolidated with other cases), a class action, a court-approved settlement, an administrative claim or settlement, or a claim filed in bankruptcy. How your case is prosecuted will depend on what companies are responsible for and the present economic/legal status of the company.

What Asbestos Is
Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral widely used in manufacturing various products beginning in the late nineteenth century. Although most of the asbestos exposure occurred between 1940 and 1980 in occupations such as construction, shipyards, railroads, insulation, sheet metal, automobile repair, and other related fields, asbestos exposure continues today.

Asbestos Exposure
Asbestos fibers are inhaled by workers and remain in the lungs, where they can cause disease. Fibers are also inhaled by family members or any other person encountering asbestos wherever it may be. The evidence shows that the companies that manufactured these products knew that their products would injure people. They actively conspired to hide this information to keep selling their products. As a result, they are now being held liable for the resulting injuries.

Diseases Caused by Asbestos Exposure
It is generally medically accepted that asbestos can cause various types of lung disease, including pleural changes, with or without impairment, and asbestosis, which is fibrosis or scarring of the lungs, also with or without impairment. Also associated with asbestos exposure are certain cancers of the lung, and a very rare cancer of the lining of the lung, or lining of the stomach, called mesothelioma.

In certain limited circumstances, there has been an association between asbestos exposure and other cancers of the digestive tract such as esophageal, laryngeal, kidney, stomach, and colon-rectum cancers. What is a latency period?

A Long Period Between Exposure and Disease
The time between exposure to asbestos and developing the disease is called the latency period. The average latency period for the asbestos-related illness is typically ten to twenty years from the first exposure. However, in some, more rare instances, diseases may develop in shorter or longer time frames.

Asbestos Treatment Guidelines – National Cancer Institute
Malignant Mesothelioma Treatment (PDQ®) Patient Version – National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Product Identification
An essential element is to determine and prove which asbestos companies' products caused exposure to you. Product identification is a crucial aspect of the claim. You may have been exposed to asbestos fiber in the products you not only worked with but those products in the area where you worked or lived.

Litigation
When a lawsuit against certain companies, it is called litigation. A case must be filed within a certain period of time as permitted by a Statute of Limitations. This period varies from state to state. Suing requires the preparation of a case for trial, including depositions and interrogatories (questions answered under oath). Settlements may occur during the prosecution. Certain defendants may settle before trial or during a trial.

Bankruptcy Claims Continue
Many companies that may be responsible for your asbestos injury are under protecting the bankruptcy court and may have separate claim procedures.
The list of asbestos companies include:

48 Insulation
Amatex
Babcock & Wilcox
Eagle Picher
Gatke
H.K. Porter
Johns Manville
Keene Corporation
Nicolet Paycor
Pittsburgh
Corning and Celotex
Raybestos Manhattan
UNR (Unarco)

These are in various stages of bankruptcy which will affect how, when and if you will ever receive compensation from them.
 

Who Has Been Exposed to Asbestos

Many occupations and lifestyles have a history of exposure to high levels of asbestos fiber. If you have engaged in one or more of these occupations, you may wish to discuss this exposure with your physician. It is always important to tell your doctor of your history of asbestos exposure, whether direct or indirect. Besides these trades, all residents of towns with former asbestos manufacturing plants and all household residents of exposed workers are at risk of developing asbestos-related medical conditions.
 

Some Sites in NJ Where Asbestos Was Present

3M
Abex/American Brake
Shoe
American Cyanamid
American Gas Furnace
American Hoechst
American Smelting/ASARCO
American Standard
American Standard
AMF
Anaconda Copper
Anheuser Busch
Asbestos Corporation Limited
Asbestos Job Sites in NJ
Asbestos plant workers
Asbury Park Convention Hall
Ashland Chemical
Ashland Oil
AT&T/Bell
Atlantic City Electric
Atlantic City High School
Atlantic City Hospital
Atlantic City Post Office
Atlantic City Power-Deep Water Plant
Atlantic City Press
Auto mechanic
Badische/BASF
Ballentine Brewery
Bally's Casino
Bamberger's
Barnert Memorial Hospital
Basking Ridge High School
Basking Ridge Post Office
Bayer Aspirin
Bayonne Hospital
Bayway Refinery (Exxon)
Beecham Pharmaceutical
Belle Mead Army Depot
Belleville Hospital
Benjamin Moore Paint
Bergen Community College
Delco Battery
Demolition workers
Dept of Transportation
Diamond Shamrock
Diehl Manufacturing
Douglas College
Dover General Hospital
Drew Chemical
Drew University
Drywall tapes
Duck Island Powerhouse
DuPont
Dwight Morrow High School
East Brunswick High School
East Hanover Elementary School
Eastman Kodak
Educational Testing Service
Elizabeth Chemical
Elizabeth General Hospital
Elizabethtown Gas
Elizabethtown Water
Eljay Chemical
Engelhard
Engineers
Englewood Hospital
Enjay Chemical
Eric Lackawanna Railroad
Essex Chemical
Essex County Court House
Esso Oil
Esso Refinery
Ethicon Ortho Pharmaceutical
Ewing High School
Ewing Township
Exxon Bayonne Refinery
Exxon Bayway Refinery
Exxon Refinery
Exxon Research
Fairleigh Dickinson College
Insulators
Inter Chemical Corp.
Intermediate School
International Harvester
International Nickel
Ironworkers
ITT Continental Baking
Ivy Hill Apartments
Ivy Hill School
J.C. Penney
J.I. Hass Co.
J.M. Huber Co.
J.O./Midland Ross
J.P. Stevens
James Mitchell School
Jefferson School
Jersey Billets
Jersey City Power & Light
Jersey City Sewerage
Jersey City State College
Jersey Shore Medical Center
JFK High School
JFK Hospital
Johns-Manville
Johnson & Johnson
Justice Complex
Kalco Chemical
Kean College
Keansburg High School
Kearny High School
Kearny Post Office
Keasbey
Kenilworth
Keyport
Koppers Coke
Korvettes
L'Oreal Cosmetics
Laborers
Lawrenceville High School
Lawrenceville Prep School
Lehman Brothers Corp.
Lever Brothers
Lily Tulip
Nabisco
Napco Chemical
National Gypsum
National Industrial Supply
National Lead
National Park
National Starch
National State Bank
Naval Air Engineering Center
Naval Reserve Armory
Naval Supply Depot
Nestle's/Nescafe
New Brunswick Borough Hall
New Brunswick High School
New Brunswick Vocational School
New Jersey Medical Center
New Milford High School
New Monmouth High School
Newark Academy
Newark Airport
Newark College of Engineering
Newark College of Medicine
Newark High School
Newark Main Library
Newark Museum
Newark News
NJ Chemical Co.
NJ Dept. of Education
NJ Natural Gas
NJ Natural Gas
NJ Shipbuilding
NJ State Hospital
NJ State House
NJ State Museum
NJ State Police HQ
NJ Steel
H.K. Porter
ALCOA
Alexian Brothers Hospital
Allied Chemical
Bergen County Court House
Bergen Mall
Bergen Pines Hospital
Bergen Powerhouse
Bergen Record
Bergen Technical School
Bernardsville
Bernardsville Elementary School
Bernardsville High School
Best Foods
Bethlehem Steel Shipyard
Bloomingdale's
Blue Cross/Blue Shield
Boilermakers
Brake mechanics
Breyer's Ice Cream
Brick Memorial High School
Bridgeton High School
Bridgeton Hospital
Bridgewater High School
Bridgewater/Somerville
Bristol Meyers/Squibb
Broadway Junior High School
Brooklyn Navy Yard
Burlington County School
Burlington Court House
Burlington Hospital
Camden Street School
Camp Kilmer
Campbell Soup
Canada Dry
Cape May Court House
Cape May Library
Carborundum
Carborundum
Carney's Point
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart
Celanese
Celotex/Philip Carey
Farmer's Market Building
Federal Court House
Federal Office Building
Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock
Federal Shipyard
Felician College
Finderne
Fireman's Fund Insurance
First National Bank
Flintkote
FMC
Ford Motor
Forked River
Fort Dix
Fort Monmouth Army Base
Freehold High School
Freehold Raceway
GAF
Garden State Paper
Garden State Plaza
Garden State Racetrack
Garfield Post Office
Gateway Complex
General Chemical
General Chemical
General Electric
General Foods/Maxwell House
General Motors
George Washington School
Gillespie
Gimbel's
Givauden Corp.
Glassboro State College
Glen Gardner
Godiva Chocolate
Governor Morris Hotel
Grasselli Station
Grasselli/Linden
Graystone Park Hospital
Great Adventure
Linden Chemical
Linden Grammar School
Linden High School
Linden Housing Project
Linden Oil Fields
Linden Vocational School
Lipton Tea
Livingston College
Livingston Mall
Livingston School
Long Branch High School
long Branch Library
Longshoremen Steamfitters
Lord & Taylor
Lyndhurst High School
M & M Candies
Machinists
Mack Motors/Mack Truck
Mack Truck
Madison High School
Madison Junior High
Madison Monroe School
Maintenance workers
Mallinckrodt Chemical
Manalapan High School
Manalapan School
Maplewood High School
Maplewood Library
Marcal Paper
Marlboro School
Marlboro State Hospital
Martin Luther King School
Masons
Mathers Springs
Mays Landing County Jail
McGraw Hill
McGuire Air Force Base
Mead Container Plant
Meadow View Village
Medical Arts Building
Medical Center of Newark
Memorial General Hospital
Memorial High School
NJ Taxation Building
NJ Telephone
NJ Training School
NJ Turnpike Authority
NJ Veterans' Home
Nopco Chemical
North Bergen
North Hudson Hospital
Nuodex
NY Central Railroad
NY Shipbuilding
Occidental Petroleum
Okonite
Orange
Ortho Pharmaceutical
Otis Elevator
Overbrook Hospital
Overlook Hospital
Owens Corning Fiberglas
Pabst Brewery
Pan American Steamship
Pantasote
Paragon Oil
Paramus Fashion Center Mall
Paramus Park Mall
Paramus Recreation Center
Park United Methodist Church
Parkway House
Parlin Post Office
Passaic City Hall
Passaic County Community College
Passaic County Court House
Passaic General Hospital
Passaic Herald News
Passaic High School
Passaic Metal Products
Passaic Valley Sewerage Authority
Paterson General Hospital
Pittsburgh
Allied/Bendix
Amerada-Hess
American Can
Central High School
Central Jersey Railroad
Channel 13
Charms
Chatham High School
Cheesebrough Ponds
Cherry Hill High School
Cherry Hill Medical Center
Chock Full of Nuts
Christ Hospital
Christopher Columbus School
Ciba Geigy
Ciba Geigy/Toms River Chemical
Cities Service Refinery
City Federal Savings & Loan
Clara Maas Hospital
Claridge Hospital
Clorox
Coastal Eagle Point
Coastal Oil Refinery
Coca Cola
Colgate Palmolive
Colony North Apartments
Community Memorial Hospital
Congoleum Nairn
Continental Can
Continental Copper & Steel
Convention Hall
Cranford Municipal Building
Cranford Post Office
Cresent Park Towers
Crucible Steel
Cumberland County College
Cumberland County Jail
Curtiss-Wright
Custodians
Deepwater
Grover Cleveland Jr. H.S.
Hackensack Hospital
Hackettstown Elementary
Haddonfield High School
Hamilton Township Library
Hampshire House
Hancocks Bridge
Hartz Mountain
Hatco Chemical
Health & Agriculture Building
Helene Fuld Hospital
Hemminger Co.
Herbert Hoover School
Hercules
Hills Brothers Coffee
Hoboken High School
Hoboken Shipyard
Hoffman LaRoche
Holiday Inn
Holland Township
Holmdel
Holy Angels Academy
Holy Name Hospital
Hooker/Occidental Chemical
Hope Creek Nuclear Power Station
Hospital of Medicine & Dentistry
Howard Johnson
Howard Savings Bank
Hudson County Admin. Building
Hunterdon State College
Hunterdon State School
Hyatt Regency
IBM
IMC Chemical Group
Industrial Liquid Chemical Company
Industrial plant workers
Ingersoll Rand
Inmount Chemical
Mennen
Mercedes Benz
Mercer Airport
Mercer County Community College
Mercer County Court
Mercer Hospital
Mercer Vocational School
Merchant Marine
Merck
Merrill Lynch
Metal lathers
Metropolitan Insurance
Metropolitan Refractories
Middlesex County College
Milford Elementary School
Military Ocean Terminal
Military Park Building
Miller Housing
Millington
Millville High School
Mobay Chemical
Mobil Chemical
Mobil Oil
Monmouth College
Monmouth Junction
Monmouth Mall
Monsanto Chemical
Montclair High School
Montclair Post Office
Montclair State College
Morris County College
Morris County Court
Morristown Museum
Morristown State Hospital
Mount Holly Court House
Mount Holly Hospital
Mountainside Hospital
Muhlenberg Hospital
Mundet Cork/Crown Cork
Municipal Building
Municipal Electrical Plant
Murray Hill
Mutual Benefit Life
Paterson High School
Pathmark
Peddie School
Peerless Tube
Peerless Tube
Pipe coverers
Pipefitters Carpenters
Plasters
Plumbers
Power plant workers
Powerhouse
Powerhouse workers
Railroad workers
Refinery
Ridgefield Power Station
Roofers
Roofers
Salem Nuclear Powerhouse
Sheetmetal workers
Skillman
Standard Oil
Sunoil Company
Sunoil Refinery
Telephone repairmen
Texaco Refinery
Tile setters
Todd Shipyard
Tosco Refining
U.S. Navy personnel
US Army Transp Corp
Welders
USS National
Valero Energy
Willow Island Electric Plant
Yards Creek

 

 

Contact Us
If you are interested in discussing a potential case, please contact us: jon@gelmans.com or 1-973-696-7900.

CONTACT US
1.973.696.7900
jon.gelman@gmail.com