New Jersey Mesothelioma & Asbestos Attorney
New York • Pennsylvania • New Jersey
My name is Patrick Bartels and I have been practicing law for almost 26 years. During my early legal career I focused on criminal law, first as a defense attorney in the Air Force Judge Advocate Program, and then as an assistant prosecutor with the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. I knew little about asbestos until I accepted a position with the firm of Garruto, Galex and Cantor in 1992. Since that time, I have had the privilege of representing countless numbers of hardworking men and women who had the misfortune of working with or around asbestos, people who were never properly warned about the dangers asbestos exposure posed to both themselves and their family members (for further information on asbestos visit our mesothelioma site).
One of my first asbestos cases involved a man who for a brief period from 1959-60 worked as a pipe coverer's helper on the aircraft carrier The U. S. S. Kitty Hawk while the ship was in dry dock at the New York Shipyards in Camden, New Jersey. His job was to help insulate the Kitty Hawk's many steam pipes with tubes of asbestos containing pipe covering. Asbestos is a mineral which is mined from the ground. It comes in different forms, the most common being chrysotile asbestos. Because of it's fire resistant qualities, asbestos was once used a filler in many types of products, including insulation materials.
What my client didn't know while working on the Kitty Hawk, and what I learned while preparing the case, was that even brief periods of exposure to asbestos containing products increases the risk of developing mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer uniquely associated with exposure to asbestos. There is no cure for mesothelioma, and once diagnosed usually causes death within 6 to 18 months. My client was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 1989, almost 30 years from the last time he was exposed to the asbestos insulation, and he died at the age of 47 on January 5, 1990 . I tried this case to a successful result, but not without some difficulty, not the least of which was a judge who showed no sympathy to my client's case. For anyone interested I have made available a copy of my Appellate Brief that provides more information about what happened during the course of the trial, and some of the proofs I was able to develop that established the types of asbestos products used on the U. S. S. Kitty Hawk.
This was just the first of many clients whom I have represented over the years who were unfortunate enough to be diagnosed with mesothelioma. My clients have worked at sites throughout New Jersey, including plants such as Johns-Manville in Manville, Bristol-Myers Squibb in North Brunswick and Lawrenceville, American Cyanimid in Bound Brook, all of the PSE&G sites, the Todd Shipyards in Hoboken, and many more. My clients are from New Jersey, as well as New York, Pennsylvania, Maine, North Carolina, Tennessee and Florida to name but a few.
And although many people have predicted that the number of individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma would decrease as we move forward, the exact opposite result has occurred. Because of this fact, I have and will continue to devote my practice to the representation of asbestos victims. If you would like more information about any issue regarding asbestos, please feel free to contact me at 732-224-9400, or visit my mesothelioma website at www.keefebartelsmeso.com/.
For more information or to speak with an experienced Newark, New Jersey mesothelioma and asbestos lawyer, contact Keefe Bartels LLC.