Lawsuit Information Center
Our New Jersey asbestos lawyers represent victims of asbestos exposure who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or other asbestos-related disease. We give asbestos victims and their families the skills and resources to get maximum compensation. This page will look at mesothelioma lawsuits in New Jersey and their average settlement value.
About Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a deadly and rare type of cancer. Mesothelioma cancer cells originate in the “meso” lining surrounding the lungs and other organs inside the body. What makes mesothelioma very unique in the world of cancer is that it is only caused by one thing: asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma only develops after an individual has been exposed to asbestos.
Mesothelioma comes in several different types, depending on where it originates. When the cancer originates around the lungs it is called pleural mesothelioma. Pleural is by far the most common type of mesothelioma, accounting for over 80% of all cases. Peritoneal mesothelioma is where the cancer originates in the tissue around the abdominal cavity. This is the second most common subtype of mesothelioma, accounting for just under 10% of cases.
Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer, with just over 3,000 cases diagnosed annually. That is less than 1% of all cancer cases. Sadly, mesothelioma is extremely aggressive. It is generally considered to be the deadliest of all types of cancer. The overall 5-year survival rate for mesothelioma is only 12%. That means that out of 100 people diagnosed with mesothelioma, only 12 of them will still be alive 5 years later.
Mesothelioma is unique in the world of cancer because is essentially a “man-made” cancer. Only 1 thing causes mesothelioma and that is exposure to asbestos. This means that if you were diagnosed with mesothelioma then you must have been exposed to asbestos at some point in your life, even if you don’t remember. It takes a very long time for exposure to asbestos to develop into mesothelioma. This is known as the “latency period.” The latency period for asbestos to result in mesothelioma can take anywhere from 15 to 40 years.
Asbestos Exposure in New Jersey
Asbestos was literally used all over for most of the 20th century. Thousands of commercial and consumer products once contained or were made from asbestos. This included things like automotive brakes and parts, talcum powder, insulation, roofing shingles, tiles, and on boilers. There were specific fields or industries where use of asbestos products was especially common. Industries with high levels of asbestos use and exposure included shipbuilding, steam fitting, manufacturing, railroads, steel working, and more.
New Jersey’s mesothelioma death rate is 12 per million. That is much higher than the national average rate, which is evidence that New Jersey residents were exposed to very high asbestos levels. The highest mesothelioma death rates in New Jersey are in Gloucester and Salem Counties (South Jersey) and Somerset County (North Jersey).
New Jersey has always been a highly industrial state. New Jersey has a lot of chemical and plastic manufacturing facilities, as well as many shipyards. These industries are the primary sources of asbestos exposure in New Jersey.
Chemical Industry in New Jersey
New Jersey’s economy has historically been intertwined with the chemical industry, with prominent corporations such as DuPont Chemical maintaining substantial laboratories and production facilities within the state. Asbestos, prized for its resistance to chemical reactions, heat, and electricity, was widely used in the manufacturing of numerous chemical products. Not only was asbestos use common in the New Jersey chemical industry, it was usually the most hazardous forms of asbestos, such as “brown” amosite and “blue” crocidolite, that were found in chemical plants across the state due to their ability to withstand caustic and corrosive substances. Alongside DuPont, several other chemical companies have been identified for exposing New Jersey workers to asbestos, including:
| Toms River Chemical Corporation
Toms River |
Tennaco Chemical Company
Belleville |
| Heyden Chemical Corporation
Princeton |
Mutual Chemical Company of America
Jersey City |
Plastic Industry in New Jersey
Beginning around the 1930s, New Jersey emerged as a hub for popular plastic brands like Bakelite and Boontonware, coinciding with the growing popularity of plastics in consumer product manufacturing. Asbestos was occasionally incorporated into early plastic products to enhance material strength and provide heat resistance. However, this practice inadvertently exposed both workers and consumers to asbestos, increasing their susceptibility to developing mesothelioma later in life. Plastic manufacturers in New Jersey known for utilizing asbestos include:
| Celanese Plastics (Belvidere) | Union Plastics Corp. (Hillside) |
| CM Plastics Moulding Co. (Trenton) | Wheaton Plastics Co. (Lakewood) |
Shipbuilding in New Jersey
Shipyards used massive amounts of asbestos and asbestos-containing products. New Jersey is home to many large shipyards, with the largest yards in Camden and Burlington and Todd Shipyard in Hobokken. These facilities exposed thousands of shipbuilders and dock workers to deadly asbestos over their decades of operation.
Oil Refineries in New Jersey
New Jersey is home to many chemical and oil companies, and the state has more oil refineries per square mile than any other state in the U.S. Asbestos was commonly used for many purposes in the oil refining industry in New Jersey. Documented problems with asbestos exposure have surfaced at New Jersey sites operated by numerous major oil companies, including Halliburton, Hess Oil and Chemical, Mobil, Chevron, Esso (Standard Oil), Texaco, and Tosco.
Power Industry in New Jersey
In order to satisfy the power demands of its highly industrialized landscape, New Jersey boasts a considerable array of power plants and stations dispersed across the state. Historically, these facilities extensively utilized asbestos for its insulation properties against electricity and heat. Power plants identified with asbestos exposure issues include the New Jersey Power and Light Company in Dover, the Jersey Central Power and Light Company, the Perth Amboy Powerhouse, and the Powerhouse Essex Station in Newark.
New Jersey Mesothelioma Settlements & Verdicts
$117,000,000 Verdict: a 43-year-old male, reportedly developed peritoneal mesothelioma caused by his exposure between 1972 and 2003 to asbestos contaminated talcum powder in consumer products manufactured by defendant Johnson & Johnson Consumer, Inc., including Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Body Powder. This was one of the earliest talcum powder cases to go to trial.
$1,500,000 Verdict: The plaintiff reportedly developed mesothelioma after he was exposed to asbestos fibers, dust, minerals and particles while working on his personal vehicles and during his employment performing home renovations, as a mechanic, and boiler serviceman. The plaintiff claimed he was exposed to asbestos contained in various products including automobile brakes, clutches and gaskets; boilers; burners; pumps; valves and insulation manufactured by a long list of defendants (many of whom settled before trial).
$750,000 Verdict: The decedent was reportedly exposed to asbestos during his career as a welder at the Federal Shipyard in Kearny, New Jersey from 1940 to 1947 and then again as a union organizer from 1950 to 1983. He died of mesothelioma.
$7,500,000 Verdict: The plaintiff, a 52-year-old librarian, was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma. She was exposed to asbestos as a result of “take-home” asbestos fibers that were brought home on the work clothes of her husband, who worked for decades at the Exxon Bayway Refinery in Linden, NJ. Plaintiff’s exposure to the carcinogenic fibers allegedly came as a result of washing the contaminated work clothes.
$30,312,204 Verdict: The decedent died of mesothelioma just days after his 50th birthday. The son of a lifelong employee in the parts department of General Motors (GM), the decedent worked in GM’s Englewood warehouse during his college summers from 1971-1973. While working as a “parts picker,” he was exposed to asbestos. The lawsuit was filed against a host of companies that made auto parts containing asbestos.
Contact Our New Jersey Asbestos Lawyers
If you (or a family member) have been diagnosed with mesothelioma and want compensation, contact our New Jersey asbestos lawyers today for a free consultation at 800-553-8082 or get a free online consultation.