Category Archives: occupations

Wisconsin Sheet Metals Union Asbestos Case

Asbestos exposure on construction sites was commonplace in the 1940’s, 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s. Not long ago, I was able to help a man exposed to asbestos during that time. He worked throughout the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area, including facilities in South Milwaukee, West Allis, and other sites.  Eventually, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma. As is typical in asbestos mesothelioma cases, the diagnosis was made after a biopsy of his lung and a nodule. He is actually retired and living in Arizona, but since his exposure as a construction worker in the Sheet Metals Union took place primarily in Wisconsin, a basis for his lawsuit against manufactures and distributors of asbestos laced products is here and based on their causing his mesothelioma.

Over $29,000,000.00 in Mesothelioma Asbestos Recoveries for Wisconsin Victims

Wisconsin mesothelioma asbestos victims have no better place to turn to than Wisconsin personal injury lawyers Pasternak & Zirgibel, S.C.  Over the years, I have helped Wisconsin asbestos victims recover more than $29 million in cases related to asbestos and/or mesothelioma.  Many of these victims were exposed to asbestos in the military, a factory, a boiler room, construction sites, power plants, etc.

Ambulance-chasing outfits from out-of-state advertise nationally for these cases, but all my Wisconsin clients prefer legal representation in Wisconsin especially highly qualified legal representation.  I have been honored as one of Wisconsin’s Top 50 “Super Lawyers”, voted “Best Attorney” by CNI Newspapers, ranked as one of Milwaukee’s “Leading Lawyers“, received an AV® Preeminent rating, and named one of the “Best Lawyers in America.”

My firm is ranked a Tier 1 Milwaukee plaintiffs personal injury law firm by “Best Law Firms” U.S. News and World Report®. It is a Martindale-Hubbell AV® rated Wisconsin personal injury law firm listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers and A+ BBB rated, the highest ratings given to any Wisconsin law firm.

If you or a loved one is a Wisconsin victim of asbestos mesothelioma, call at (262) 785-0802.

Milwaukee Mesothelioma Lawsuit

Not long ago, I met with a man suffering from mesothelioma.  This man had worked his entire career at Wisconsin Electric also know as WE Energies.  The man worked at a variety of power plants in Wisconsin, including the Oak Creek power plant, the downtown Milwaukee plant, the Miller valley power plant in Milwaukee, the Pleasant Prairie plant near Kenosha, and various other Wisconsin Electric power plants and substations.  On a number of occasions, he would work around asbestos included electrical work, plumbing related work, and oil treatment work.  The asbestos was in gaskets, insulating pipes, used around wire and joints.  Asbestos was used because it was a good insulator.

Sadly, the man was living a nice life of retirement in Florida enjoying when he was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma.  Mesothelioma is a deadly disease that is only caused by asbestos exposure.  He was suffering from shortness of breath when his doctor discovered fluid on his lungs.  Eventually, a thoracic surgeon was seen and he did a biopsy, which led to the definitive diagnosis of asbestos-related mesothelioma.

When I handle these mesothelioma lawsuits, the victims generally know that their disease is a fatal one.  However, the victims also know that the monies that are involved in these asbestos cases will do at least two things, punish the companies responsible (as many knew asbestos was carcinogenic and caused mesothelioma) and help the families of the victim of mesothelioma.

Boiler Insulation & Asbestos

A Wisconsin Navy veteran contacted me several years ago.  This Naval veteran had served on the USS Tattnall as a boiler technician.   He was suffering with mesothelioma that was caused by years of asbestos exposure while serving in our U.S. Navy.  This exposure to asbestos fibers took place while he worked in the boilerrooms surrounded by asbestos covered pipes on the U.S. Tattnall.  He had been diagnosed by asbestos doctors at the Veteran’s Administration.  Sadly, he passed away as a result of the mesothelioma.

Boiler insulation is a very common culprit in asbestos mesothelioma cases, including those involving U.S. Naval Veterans who worked on ships.  The removal of this thermal insulation from boilers, pipes, tanks and ducts, which was common in all boilerrooms, caused the asbestos fibers to be released into the air.  When repairs or maintenance was required, whether in ships or industrial applications, the insulation was a friable form of asbestos that could easily emit fibers easily into the air.  Similarly, fibrous fluffy sprayed-on asbestos products used for fireproofing, insulation, or sound proofing were quite friable and could readily release airborne asbestos fibers.  The potential for asbestos products to release breathable fibers was extremely hazardous to all those working in industrial occupations, especially with respect to boiler insulation.

We were able to successfully help this man’s family as we have many Navy veterans and veterans who served in other branches of the U.S. armed forces.  We have also helped numerous boilermakers, plumbers and others exposed to asbestos in similar occupations.  To date, we have helped the families of these mesothelioma victims living in Milwaukee, and other areas of Wisconsin, to recover more than $25,000,000.00.  That we know of, no other local asbestos law firm has had this type of success.  In fact, even so-called “national firms” have had limited success in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Shipyard Cited for Asbestos Violations

Fraser Shipyards, Inc. of Superior, Wisconsin, has been recently cited for numerous violations of safety laws including those rules relating to asbestos.  Mesothelioma victims who were exposed at Fraser Shipyards should contact a Wisconsin attorney with experience in handling asbestos mesothelioma cases, such as ours.  Ship building facilities and numerous shipyards around the country and in Wisconsin are known to be responsible for killing many shipyard workers, and the dangers have been known by the corporations running these businesses for quite sometime.  Responsible ship builders obeyed safety laws and protected employees from the hazards relating to asbestos.  If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, please immediately find a lawyer.

Wisconsin Mesothelioma Cases and Awards

Each asbestos mesothelioma case is different.  Thus, awards typically vary from six figures to eight figures since wrongful death by mesothelioma is horrible.  Our Wisconsin mesothelioma lawyers  have had excellent results working on behalf of asbestos victims and their families.  In the last five years, we have helped these families recover more than $21,000,000.00.

Again, every case is different, but to give you an idea of the type of case that was successful, I summarize one below.

John Doe was born and lived in Wisconsin most of his life.  He grew up in the Milwaukee area and lived in the Fox Valley for many years.  After retirement, his pulmonologist diagnosed him with pleural mesothelioma after a lung biopsy and PET Scan.  Mr. Doe had served in the U.S. Navy after high school, a typical fact for many mesothelioma victims, and was exposed to asbestos in the power systems, HVAC systems and mechanicals of various ships and at shipyards.

After serving in the armed forces, Mr. Doe also did a lot of maintenance and machinist work involving plumbing, electrical power, utilities, insulation, boilers, water systems, pumps, and hydraulics.  He worked many years for a couple of the Wisconsin companies facing asbestos litigation or alleged to have some link to asbestos or mesothelioma.

Mr. Doe’s mesothelioma eventually killed him, but before he died, he was most worried about his family and how they would do after he passed.  Though he died shortly after I met him, we continued to work for his family and eventually recovered more than $3,500,000.00.

Wiscsonsin Asbestos Bankruptcy Trusts Bill

Wisconsin legislators, at the behest for ALEC and the Wisconsin Civil Justice Council, are at it again.  Over the course of the last two years, they have combined to completely decimate asbestos and mesothelioma victims’ legal rights.  These victims are typically senior citizens who have served our country in the armed forces, especially the Navy, or who were construction laborers, plumbers, electricians, etc.  Most of these victims are dying a horrible death suffocating from the asbestos they breathed in over the course of their service.  These Wisconsin citizens and Veterans are dying and yet these Wisconsin legislators, primarily Republicans, like Andre Jacque of De Pere, are shilling for big businesses and insurance companies.  Representative Jacque apparently doesn’t care that only 9 asbestos related lawsuits were even filed in Wisconsin in 2012.  No, instead he seeks to make sure that any remaining Wisconsin victims of asbestos and mesothelioma will not get justice.

The law Jacque, ALEC, and the Wisconsin Civil Justice Council propose compels that asbestos victims bring all Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust claims first, before bringing a lawsuit against non-bankrupt asbestos companies, like Halliburton, Union Carbide, utilities, and others. The goal is to reduce asbestos victims’ recoveries and delay mesothelioma victims’ ability to get their day in court before the die. Jacque apparently does not want to hear the latter, but that’s the tragic result of the law he has proposed. Clearly, Jacque has never had a family member die from asbestos-related disease or mesothelioma.

Wisconsin asbestos mesothelioma lawyers

Electricians & Veterans Mesothelioma

I’ve written before about U.S. Navy Veterans with mesothelioma.  Sadly, the asbestos exposure many veterans had while serving in the armed forces is what causes mesothelioma.  Quite recently, I met with a mesothelioma victim diagnosed here in Wisconsin.  He’s a veteran who served at Great Lakes Naval Base and on various U.S. Navy ships.  In addition, he had a long history of working at Western Electric in Cicero, Illinois, where he was also exposed to asbestos laced products.  As Veteran’s Day approaches, we need to remember all the Naval Veterans who have served and to honor those still with us, many of whom have asbestos-related diseases like malignant mesothelioma.

Asbestos Insulation & Contractors

Recently read an Illinois law firm’s article “Asbestos Liabilities of Dissolved Industrial Insulation Contractor.”  The case involved asbestos and mesothelioma wrongful death cases against Sprinkmann Insulation based on its takeover of Sprinkmann Sons Corp. of Illinois.  The latter was a former asbestos insulation contractor.

That asbestos lawsuit reminded me a of client I represented who was a former employee of Sprinkmann Sons in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Sadly, he died of mesothelioma related to his asbestos exposure after working decades for Sprinkmann Sons in Wisconsin.  After a pleural biopsy, his oncologist diagnosed mesothelial hyperplasia showing malignant messothelial cells and epithelioid malignant mesothelioma.  His mesothelioma was the result of working for many years in industrial locations around Milwaukee, such as the Pabst Brewery.  The company was a contractor and distributor of insulation, cold storage facilities and interiors and worked in places like that processed cold and frozen foods, chemical plants, nuclear power plants, electric stations, and of course, breweries.  He worked as an installer and contractor with all the hundreds of products that were laced with asbestos fibers, including blankets, boilers, expansion joints, HVAC systems, insulation, pipes, plumbing, tanks, turbines, valves, and industrial equipment.  Though every asbestos and mesothelioma lawsuit is different, the recovery I was able to help obtain for this man’s family exceeded $1.5 million.

Madison Wisconsin Doctor Calls for Asbestos Ban

Madison, Wisconsin epidemiologist Marty S. Kanarek that an epidemic of asbestos mesothelioma is coming from emerging marketss.  Long banned in Wisconsin and the rest of the U.S., asbestos is known to be the primary cause for the cancer known as mesothelioma.   Mesothelioma is typically a rare form of cancer in the lungs lining  and abdomin that often arises 30-40 years after exposure to asbestos.

Asbestos was a fire-resistant mineral used in the U.S. for brake linings, insulation, and various other building materials.  Many U.S. Navy veterans have contracted mesothelioma from asbestos exposure aboard ships.  Asbestos exposure has killed more than 130,000 in the United States in the last 20 years or so.   Asbestos is still mined in countries, like Canada, which interestingly will not allow asbestos to be used in its homeland, but is more than happy to export the hazardous product to emerging markets.  Dr. Kanarek has seen dozens of studies of mesothelioma cases including those involving miners, brake workers, cement pipe factory workers and others. He concludes that throughout the world chrysotile asbestos is associated with mesothelioma.

Wisconsin Mesothelioma Lawyer