Mel Camp talks with attorney John Comerford of Lipsitz, Ponterio and Comerford about Mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a very aggressive cancer. John Comerford says doctors call it a signature tumor. That means it is only caused by one thing asbestos. He says we’re seeing in so many causes of mesothelioma in WNY. There are the traditional setting, of someone working in the industry with and around asbestos getting it; they are also seeing women who are laundering their father’s clothing in the 60’s 70’s and in the early 80’s developing mesothelioma and also environmental exposure causing people to get it; people living in the wrong zip code. He goes on to say by that he means being born in a zip code that happens to have a large industrial plant that is spewing out dangerous levels of asbestos.
Another type of exposure they are seeing is mostly women who are using cosmetic talc’s; huge companies that were making, selling, and distributing cosmetic talc’s and baby powders. Comerford says they knew the whole time that their product was contaminated with dangerous levels of asbestos and hid that from the public and they are seeing all these women in their 40’s 50’s 60’s and 70’s developing mesothelioma who had no idea they were breathing in asbestos every day.
Comerford says in these cases so often there are court conferences and depositions. They heard yesterday from a judge that if the courts don’t open soon, Buffalo could be a pilot program for one of the first Zoom trials. What they are thinking of doing is having the lawyers and judge in one courtroom and the 8 jurors (6 jurors and two alternates) spread out more than 10 feet apart in courtroom next door and they would watch the trial via Zoom.
Comerford says they are trying to keep things moving. So many of their clients don’t have time to wait.
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