New Jersey Mesothelioma Lawyers

Filing an Asbestos Claim in New Jersey

New Jersey is a hub of asbestos litigation, with many mesothelioma claims filed annually. The state has a long history of asbestos-related injuries and deaths. The Middlesex, New Jersey, jurisdiction saw 77 mesothelioma claims filed in 2022, an increase of more than 20% over the prior year.

Individuals filing mesothelioma and other asbestos injury claims are overwhelmingly male. The average age of a plaintiff is 74 years of age. If you have a possible claim, speak with a New Jersey mesothelioma attorney to have your case evaluated and establish your legal rights. 

New Jersey’s mesothelioma statute of limitations for asbestos personal injury claims is 2 years from the date of diagnosis. It’s also 2 years from the time of death for wrongful death claims. Individuals considering legal action should consult an attorney as soon as possible. 

Why Hire a New Jersey Mesothelioma Lawyer After Asbestos Exposure?

Hiring a local attorney who is an expert in asbestos litigation in New Jersey will help your case. New Jersey mesothelioma lawyers understand the state’s statutes of limitations to ensure asbestos lawsuits are properly filed. They have experience identifying liable parties in New Jersey and proving exposure history. Their local knowledge of asbestos job sites and relationships with expert witnesses help to build strong cases. 

Your lawyer should understand the state’s law on joint and several liability. It allows plaintiffs to recover the full amount of damages from any liable defendant, regardless of their percentage of fault. Reforms in New Jersey have adjusted this for certain cases, requiring proof of significant fault for a defendant to bear the full burden.

Additionally, a seasoned mesothelioma lawyer can navigate asbestos trust funds set aside by bankrupt companies to compensate victims. These funds require detailed claims. A lawyer can streamline the process. Hiring a New Jersey mesothelioma attorney maximizes the chances of securing fair compensation and justice.

New Jersey Mesothelioma Law Firms

The offices of Weitz & Luxenberg in Cherry Hill are convenient for South Jersey residents. The attorneys at Meirowitz & Wasserberg, with a local Newark office, have more than 30 years of combined experience serving as premier New Jersey asbestos lawyers.

Northern New Jersey residents also have access to national mesothelioma lawyers in New York City. Law firms such as Simmons Hanly Conroy and Weitz & Luxenberg have New York offices. The latter successfully secured a $43 million award in a mesothelioma case against Algoma Hardwoods that went to trial.  

Nationwide Asbestos Law Firms Outside New Jersey

A number of nationwide firms specialize in asbestos-related litigation. These offices frequently recover significant awards for clients. Many have experience with claims against New Jersey companies that exposed workers to asbestos.

There are many advantages to working with a law firm with nationwide experience. For example, people with asbestos-related illnesses may have been exposed to asbestos in multiple locations. Alternatively, they may currently live in a location other than where the exposure occurred. In these situations, a nationwide mesothelioma attorney can help file a claim in the correct jurisdiction.

Asbestos Compensation in New Jersey

Top mesothelioma law firms frequently secure significant verdicts for New Jersey workers. The average mesothelioma settlement falls between $1 million and $1.4 million. However, patients who take asbestos-exposure claims to court can often secure larger sums through a jury trial.

Notable New Jersey Awards

• $38 Million: Romeo Maffei received a $38 million verdict in his case against Burnham, a New Jersey boiler manufacturer, in 2023.
• $30 Million: In February 2024, a court upheld a $30 million verdict against General Motors in the wrongful death case of Mark Buttitta. The original decision was from 2010.

New Jersey courts have handed down awards as high as $750 million for punitive damages against companies, such as Johnson & Johnson, that repeatedly exposed individuals to dangerous products. Other companies hit with large penalties include Johns Manville and Union Carbide Company. 

New Jersey Asbestos Laws and Regulations

New Jersey has state laws covering asbestos exposure in addition to federal regulations. The New Jersey Asbestos Control and Licensing Act established the laws and regulations that companies must follow in the state. 

• New Jersey Statutes Annotated Sections 34:5A-32: Defines the laws and regulations set forth by the New Jersey Asbestos Control and Licensing Act.
• New Jersey Revised Statutes Section 2A:14-2: Defines the statute of limitations for personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits in New Jersey.
• New Jersey Revised Statutes Section 2A:15-5.1: Defines New Jersey’s negligence laws.

Four state departments enforce these crucial state regulations. The New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development protects New Jersey workers from asbestos exposure. The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs certifies asbestos safety technicians and enforces asbestos regulations in schools through an asbestos and lead unit. 

Regulation of asbestos management, disposal and transportation within the state falls to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The New Jersey Department of Health performs site audits and oversees asbestos in schools.

How Are People Exposed to Asbestos in New Jersey?

Since its founding, New Jersey has relied on industrial sectors that used asbestos. Industries such as textiles, electric power plants and iron mining eventually overtook agricultural jobs. Many New Jersey residents found employment in these occupations, where asbestos exposure was a major threat.

Sites Known for Asbestos Exposure

• Asbestos Plants: Johns Manville opened its first asbestos insulation plant in central New Jersey in the early 1900s. Redevelopment of the former Johns Manville facility – including proper asbestos abatement – was a key platform of Angelo Corradino, a mayoral candidate for Manville, New Jersey, in 2011. 
• Cement Production: In 1925, the National Gypsum Company developed asbestos-containing wallboard. The company purchased an Abestone asbestos cement plant in Millington, New Jersey in 1954, where it manufactured asbestos cement that contained up to 15% asbestos. National Gypsum improperly delivered much of its waste to the Millington asbestos dumps on New Vernon Road and White Bridge Road, leading to site contamination that was addressed in the early 1990s.  
• Chemical Plant: A.O. Polymer produced compounds such as plastics, resins and special polymers between the 1960s and 1993. In the 1970s, the facility was cited for numerous health violations, including improper disposal of wastewater, contamination of local drinking water and 13 air quality violations. During the 1981 cleanup efforts, 61 cubic yards of asbestos material was removed from the four-acre site.
• Vermiculite Plants: Seven plants in New Jersey received asbestos-contaminated vermiculite from Libby, Montana. It exposed workers to the fibers as they “puffed” the mineral into its usable form. One of the plants in Hamilton Township became a Superfund site, and cleanup efforts began in 2006.
• Public Buildings: Many buildings in New Jersey still contain asbestos products. Renovating these structures could cause construction workers and area residents to inhale asbestos. Some of these buildings, such as Greystone Psychiatric Hospital in Morris County, have been abandoned. Anyone who explores the empty buildings is at risk of asbestos exposure.

Asbestos exposure and corresponding cases of mesothelioma occurred in multiple New Jersey locations, such as Hamilton Township, Millington, Newark and Trenton. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Gloucester and Camden Townships had mesothelioma rates approximately twice the state average between 2016 and 2020. 

Occupational Asbestos Exposure in New Jersey

Industrial job sites were the primary sources of occupational exposure in New Jersey. Boiler manufacturers, automotive companies and shipyards are frequently held accountable for their failure to protect workers. Many veterans were also exposed at the Naval Weapons Station Earle and Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst.

• Asbestos product manufacturing jobs
• Chemical plant workers
• Manufacturing jobs
• Military jobs
• Miners
• Power generation workers
• Railway workers
• Shipyard workers
• Textile mill workers
• Vermiculite plant workers

Several prominent New Jersey companies have found themselves liable for asbestos-related injuries to workers. Examples include Union Carbide, DuPont Chemical and General Motors. Courts have held Johnson & Johnson, which is headquartered in New Jersey, responsible for asbestos in its talc products. 

Johns Manville asbestos insulation and construction products through the 1970s continued to use asbestos despite increasing rates of mesothelioma among employees and their family members. Litigation caused the company to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1982. Johns Manville established two trust funds for claims as part of that process.

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