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Our Firm

Founding partners, John N. Lipsitz and Michael A. Ponterio, have nearly 50 years of combined experience helping victims of toxic exposure and negligence recover damages from asbestos companies, product manufacturers, and careless landlords. Since our Firm was founded in 1995, it has doubled in size and developed a reputation for professional excellence. In zealously representing the interests of our clients, our skilled attorneys regularly make important contributions to the laws of New York.

We represent individuals injured by the negligence of others including manufacturers and distributors of toxic products. Our practice is concentrated in the areas of toxic torts, insurance liability, medical malpractice, personal injury and worker’s compensation matters. The majority of our practice is dedicated to representing workers and consumers injured in Upstate New York as a result of exposure to asbestos and other toxic substances. We have built our practice upon a foundation of service, dedicated to the interest of individuals who have been injured as a result of the negligence of others.

Our attorneys operate both inside and outside our core area of practice of toxic torts. In the area of asbestos litigation, we have argued and won numerous appeals which have contributed to enhancing the rights of plaintiffs in asbestos personal injury lawsuits, including mesothelioma cases. In connection with our workers’ compensation practice in the area of asbestos disease, we recently established the proposition that a widow can collect death benefits for a lung cancer death where there is a substantial history of asbestos exposure, but in absence of pathological evidence of asbestosis.

As an example of a case in an area of law quite different from asbestos litigation, one of our attorneys recently argued and won a precedent-setting decision in the insurance liability area from New York’s highest court. This is an example of the level of skill, dedication, and talent possessed by our attorneys. We are able to deal successfully and efficiently with matters within our core area of practice, as well as establish legal precedent benefiting consumers throughout the State of New York. In Bi-Economy Market, Inc. v. Harleysville Insurance, the Court of Appeals ruled that an insured can sue its insurance company for damages that result from the insurance company’s breach of contract and seek recovery of foreseeable consequential damages. This is a ground-breaking decision in the realm of first party insurance because, for the first time, the State’s highest court has recognized that insurers are exposed to liability for extra-contractual consequential damages outside of the coverage limits of the insurance policy.

Contact us today regarding your case. Our goal is to obtain well-deserved compensation for our clients as quickly as possible, without sacrificing the quality of our legal services or personal attention. We will handle all aspects of your case efficiently, answer your questions and concerns, keep you informed and provide you with excellent representation.