News

Lipsitz & Ponterio was proud to represent Andrew (“Andy”) Pulsts, a remarkable individual, who died last December after battling mesothelioma for nearly five years.

As part of our continuing representation of clients suffering from asbestos disease, Lipsitz & Ponterio files claims against bankrupt asbestos companies. 

Prior to federal regulations restricting asbestos use in the 1970s, asbestos-containing materials were used in the construction and maintenance of every building at Kodak Park.

Michael A. Ponterio, is a founding partner of Lipsitz & Ponterio. Mr. Ponterio began his legal career in 1985 representing workers suffering from occupational-related diseases, such as asbestosis and mesothelioma.

On August 25, 2014, the W.R. Grace Asbestos Personal Injury Trust (The Trust) commenced operations and began accepting claims.  Asbestos bankruptcy trusts are typically established by companies that manufactured or distributed asbestos products.

The Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine (COEM-WNY) has officially opened its doors to workers suffering from work-related injuries and diseases.

On March 3, 2015, Lipsitz & Ponterio held an open forum on health issues for the residents of the neighborhood surrounding the former Durez Plastics facility on Walck Road. 

The grandparent scam is a fraud that preys on the elderly by taking advantage of the love and concern they have for their grandchildren.

This past December, the Third Department Appellate Division issued an important decision on behalf of workers injured by toxic chemicals.

Berkshire Hathaway (Berkshire), Warren Buffett’s multinational conglomerate holding company, is actively distorting the civil justice system by delaying or denying insurance claims for victims of asbestos exposure.

In May 2014, Lipsitz & Ponterio obtained over $3 million dollars on behalf of a former plant worker for injuries resulting from his exposure to asbestos. At the age of sixty-one, our client was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma. 

Lung cancer continues to be the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., killing more men and women than the other leading cancers combined. Learn more about Roswell Park Cancer Institute's current lung cancer screening program.

In June 2014, Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford obtained a settlement in excess of $2.4 million for a former laborer for injuries resulting from occupational exposure to asbestos.

It is well known that cigarette smoking and genetic pre-disposition are potent risk factors in the development of cancer of the bladder. Cigarette smokers can increase their risk of contracting this cancer by as much as four times. Lesser known, but still important, is the risk posed by exposure to certain chemicals found in industry. 

Buffalo Color was well known for using asbestos to cover a vast majority of its pipelines and associated equipment. Asbestos refractory materials and insulation also covered equipment located in chemical manufacturing facilities, dye plants and boiler houses. However, lesser known is the danger posed by the actual chemicals being used inside Buffalo Color to make its products. 

From  October 1, 2013 through April 1, 2014, the firm raised funds through its Facebook page in order to help further mesothelioma  research at RPCI. 

Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford recently achieved a significant settlement for the family of a retired laborer who worked in the Coke Oven Division at Bethlehem Steel. Our client was 77 years old when he was diagnosed with Stage IV Lung Cancer.

It is well established in New York law that a manufacturer has a duty to warn against latent dangers resulting from foreseeable uses of its products of which it knew or should have known.  Latent dangers are those which, by their nature, are not so open and obvious that  the user of the product could not reasonably claim to be ignorant of them. 

The risk of contracting mesothelioma is not confined to Durez employees. It also extends to their immediate families and to those who worked and lived in the neighborhoods that surrounded the Durez plant.  

A recent analysis of records of complaints of physician malpractice shows that five per cent of our doctors are responsible for 54% of the payouts by the insurance industry on claims of medical malpractice.

Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC is pleased to announce that Zachary James Woods has joined the firm as an associate attorney.

The subject in Washington, D.C., when the Science Advisory Board (SAB) of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Asbestos Committee met in July was the potential for asbestos to cause cancer, in particular to cause malignant mesothelioma. Under consideration was a proposed change in the EPA’s risk assessment for a type of asbestos fiber known as chrysotile used in 90% of all asbestos-containing products sold throughout the United States.

The following article discusses a landmark ruling for a dying widow of an asbestos worker, who was diagnosed with mesothelioma shortly after her husband died of asbestosis and cancer.  Our client was exposed to asbestos through secondary contact by laundering dust-laden work clothes brought home by her husband.

The Appellate work of Lipsitz & Ponterio lawyers, Kathleen Burr and John Lipsitz, was instrumental in their clients’ big win at the New York Court of Appeals in the case of Bi-Economy Market, Inc. v. Harleysville Insurance Co. of New York, 10 N.Y.3d 187 (2008), reargument denied, 10 N.Y.3d 890 (2008). 

On July 10, 2008, after nearly a three week trial, a Syracuse jury awarded $5 million to a former United States Navy boiler technician living with mesothelioma.  The verdict is believed to be the largest yet for a mesothelioma victim in upstate New York.

Local #6 Iron Worker represented by Lipsitz & Ponterio, received settlements exceeding $2.4 million for his asbestos-related injuries, which include mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.

On June 1, 2009, the U.S. government will implement the full requirements of the land and sea phase of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). The proposed rules require most U.S. citizens entering the United States at sea or land ports of entry to have a passport, passport card or WHTI compliant document. For those who live in New York State, this includes the much anticipated Enhanced Driver’s License.

Long-term care is different from traditional medical care. Someone with a prolonged physical illness, a disability, or a cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer’s Disease often needs long-term care.

The New York State Workers’ Compensation Board once held that a deceased worker’s lung cancer could not be attributed to occupational exposure to asbestos unless the disease asbestosis was present in the lungs of the deceased worker.

As part of our continued representation of clients suffering from asbestos disease, Lipsitz & Ponterio files claims against bankrupt asbestos companies. Because these companies have declared bankruptcy, it is impossible to sue them.  

In order to pursue a claim against a municipality, such as a city, town, village or municipal housing authority, it is necessary to file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the injury. Unbelievable as it may seem, this is true even for a child of the tender age of three. Filing a Notice of Claim is a prerequisite to the later filing of a lawsuit.

We are pleased to announce the launch of our re-designed website located at www.lipsitzponterio.com.

Where occupational disease is merely suspected and has not yet been diagnosed, an autopsy may be critical in proving the case and, without it, there may be no basis to go forward with a claim.  An autopsy is also an extremely useful tool in obtaining Workers’ Compensation benefits for the surviving spouse and/or family of the decedent.

We welcome new members of our staff to Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC

A dedicated attorney, Kathleen A. Burr is a key member of Lipsitz & Ponterio’s Lead Practice Group.  She has been with the Firm since 2002 and represents children injured by lead paint poisoning. 

Earlier this year, LIPSITZ & PONTERIO obtained a settlement in excess of 1.6 million dollars for the family of a former New York State trial judge.

After 14 months of litigation, LIPSITZ & PONTERIO obtained a 5.6 million dollar settlement for a 48-year-old former brake worker and his family.

LIPSITZ & PONTERIO has obtained a cash settlement, in excess of 2 million dollars, for the family of a 42-year-old woman who passed away due to her physician’s negligence.

The recent and pervasive news about toy recalls due to lead content or coating is disturbing, and parents everywhere have a right to be concerned. However, experts agree that lead poisoning suffered by children living in older dwellings within the city limits of Buffalo and Rochester is “almost entirely the result of deteriorated lead-based paint in housing.”

There are three types of asbestos exposure: exposure on the job, exposure through contact with people working with asbestos, and neighborhood exposure in manufacturing facilities.

A Buffalo area man, who as a teenager was employed part time remodeling homes, is battling for his life against the ravages of mesothelioma.

Many dedicated Americans worked on the top-secret Manhattan Project, and its aftermath, at Linde, Bethlehem Steel and elsewhere throughout the country. They were unwittingly exposed to varying levels of radiation day after day, for years.

You may not be aware, but the State of New York is currently holding billions of dollars in unclaimed funds.

You do not have to accept NO from your insurance provider! But how do you turn that no into a yes?

Durez Plastics in North Tonawanda, New York will always be remembered by the community surrounding it for its role in exposing workers, and their families alike, to asbestos dust.

As part of our representation of clients suffering from asbestos disease, LIPSITZ & PONTERIO files claims against a variety of bankrupt asbestos companies.

In 2005, our client came to LIPSITZ & PONTERIO seeking compensation for her husband’s 1999 death. Her husband spent his career working in the coke ovens at Bethlehem Steel in Lackawanna, New York.

A 28-year-old Buffalo man, who lost his left arm in an industrial accident, was retained by our firm. The worker, who was cleaning a furniture press manufactured in Italy, severed his forearm at the elbow when it became enmeshed in the machine’s moving parts. 

Our client’s husband died of lung cancer at the age of 61. Originally, the lawsuit proceeded on the theory that the cancer resulted from occupational exposure to asbestos-containing products encountered in the course of the decedent’s work as a brakeman, switchman, conductor or fireman.

Childhood lead poisoning continues to be a serious public health problem, especially in the inner cities of Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, and has received increasing publicity.

We dedicate much of our time to representing children who have been injured by lead poisoning. We have sued dozens of negligent landlords in Erie, Monroe, Onondaga, and other Western New York counties.

Embedded within our legal system is the attorney-client privilege which protects your right to talk to a lawyer about the facts of your case in order to obtain professional assistance.

Our client’s husband, who was diagnosed with lung cancer, was screened for asbestos disease by an out-of-town law firm in 1999.

When most people think of asbestos exposure, they think of tradesmen exposed to such materials as pipe insulation and raw asbestos fiber.

The Tutuskas traveled to Washington, D.C., in April 2004 and lobbied against a Senate bill that would have established a national trust fund and eliminated asbestos lawsuits, releasing corporations from any further responsibility.

As part of representation of clients occupationally exposed to asbestos, we file claims against bankrupt asbestos companies.

We represent a resident of Erie County who is suing several officers and staff members of the Erie County Holding Center for a lack of attention to his medical needs, which left him in a diabetic coma for three days.

In August of 2004, our client began to experience symptoms of contact dermatitis. He continued to work with the air brake hose until May 9, 2005, since then he has been unable to return to work due to his disability despite continued treatment. 

The Erie County Department of Health is operating a LEADSAFE program funded by two grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development totaling $3.7 million.

Our firm proudly represents the families of approximately 200 former and retired workers from Durez Plastics in North Tonawanda, New York. Attorneys Michael A. Ponterio and John Ned Lipsitz first began representing Durez workers in the mid 1980s. Since that time, the death toll from mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis has been steadily climbing.

Drafting a Will involves legal knowledge and the making of decisions requiring the experienced professional judgment of an attorney. Only a practicing attorney can avoid numerous pitfalls and can advise you of the best course for your personal situation.

After a lengthy battle with the lawyers and insurance carriers for local doctors accused of medical malpractice, LIPSITZ & PONTERIO has obtained a  cash settlement for a thirteen-year-old Niagara County girl suffering from severe learning disabilities.

As reported in a recent article published in “The International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health,” Niagara County ranks sixth in the nation for the highest death rate from malignant mesothelioma.

Childhood lead poisoning continues to be a major public health problem, especially in the inner cities of Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse.

The attorneys at Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford dedicate much of their time to representing children who have been injured by lead poisoning.

LIPSITZ & PONTERIO represents a Buffalo man who worked in the Coke Oven Division at Bethlehem Steel Corporation for over thirty years.

The former companies responsible for making the lead-concentrated pigment in lead paint that contaminates much of the nation’s older housing stock were found liable for clean-up costs in the State of Rhode Island in a landmark jury case in February 2006.

The Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act, (FAIR) which came before the Senate earlier this year, has been tabled for now yet the question still exists, who would stand to benefit should the Act resurface?

Libby, Montana: population: approximately 3,000 – a sportsman’s paradise known for its breathtaking scenery and pristine mountains – is home to one of the worst cases of asbestos exposure in U.S. history.

When Congress authorized the Medicare program’s new prescription drug benefit, known as Part D, two years ago, it let private companies offer the coverage instead of mandating that the government provide it as it does traditional Medicare benefits.

LIPSITZ & PONTERIO represents the family of a former brake mechanic admitted to the hospital in the fall of 2004 after complaining of shortness of breath.

LIPSITZ & PONTERIO has settled an automobile negligence case for a Buffalo woman whose car was hit from the side as she proceeded through the intersection at Oak and Genesee Streets in January 2004.

We are pleased to announce that Anne E. Joynt and Keith R. Vona have joined our firm.

Over the course of the last two years, many more of our clients have lost family members and friends to cancer resulting from asbestos exposure at the former Durez Plastics in North Tonawanda.

Childhood lead poisoning continues to be a major public health problem, especially in old urban centers where most homes were built before 1978.

We think it can be said that attorneys who have sued the former manufacturers of lead-based paint products to hold them accountable for their part in causing the scourge of lead poisoning in our cities, have, in some measure, helped push those manufacturers into limited community action aimed towards eradicating dangerous lead-based paint in old houses.

A Buffalo resident who worked in the Coke Oven Division at Bethlehem Steel Corporation for over thirty years and is suffering from lung cancer is suing asbestos companies and the companies that built, designed and maintained the coke ovens.

Fast facts concerning coke oven facilities.

On November 5, 2004, a Niagara County jury delivered a stunning verdict against two asbestos companies held responsible for the mesothelioma cancer of a retired employee of the Ashland Oil Refinery in Tonawanda, New York.

In the City of Rochester, two proposed bills have been introduced in the Common Council to amend the City Charter to promote a reduction of lead based paint hazards in city dwellings.

Last September the nation and the world learned that Merck, the manufacturer of Vioxx, knew that the drug significantly increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes but did everything it could to keep this information from the general public.

Most New Yorkers are aware that state and county expenditures on Medicaid coverage have been a source of budget woes, but how many are aware that our representatives may be inclined to adopt measures to restrict the rising costs that will put millions of people in harm’s way?

We have sued dozens of negligent landlords and pushed our cases with countless hours of work to bring about settlements that will make a difference in the lives of these children.

Last September, Lipsitz & Ponterio negotiated a settlement on behalf of a 60-year-old West Seneca woman who had recently contracted mesothelioma from asbestos she inhaled while washing her husband’s work clothes nearly thirty years ago.

The death of a loved one or a family member is always a traumatic event. If the deceased has a history of occupational exposure to asbestos, one of the particulars that needs to be attended to is the question of an autopsy.

Unfortunately, our state and local governments have failed to fix the problem of lead-contaminated housing in our urban communities.

Today’s home buyers are much more aware of potential hazards that barely rated a second thought a decade or two ago.

A Buffalo landlord’s insurance company has agreed to pay $225,000 to the guardian of a 5 year old boy.

According to a recent U.S. Department of Labor Hazard Information Bulletin, cases of chronic beryllium disease (CBD) are continuing to occur among dental laboratory technicians working with dental alloys containing beryllium.

The number of retired and former Durez workers diagnosed with mesothelioma continues to grow at an alarming rate.

Lipsitz & Ponterio represents one family from Niagara County in a lawsuit against Ashland Oil for benzene-induced leukemia which caused the death of a former Durez worker exposed to pure benzene used in the production of phenol.

In August 2000, a Southtown volunteer firefighter was injured at a firefighter convention in Little Valley, New York. The volunteer claimed that a member of another Fire Department plowed over him during a series of ongoing pranks between fire companies.

While some toxic substances encountered in the work place have their own distinct warning properties, the fine dust particles resulting from work with asbestos, beryllium, lead, silica and other minerals used in industry are often present in harmful but invisible concentrations in the air.

On October 13, 1999, the Howard Johnson Hotel in Niagara Falls, New York suffered extensive property damage from a severe wind and rain storm.

During the past seven and one-half years, we have sued dozens of negligent landlords and collected millions of dollars for children seriously injured by lead poisoning.

Lately, conservative newspaper columnists are arguing that trial lawyers are to blame for the general bankruptcy of the asbestos business.

Robert DiPirro died of asbestos-caused mesothelioma on September 4, 2002.

When you show a jury of six reasonable members of the community real evidence of negligence, common sense usually wins out.

Here at Lipsitz & Ponterio, it is our mission to ensure that each injured worker, or the family of a deceased worker, is treated fairly and reasonably by the insurance company under the Workers’ Compensation Law.

A power of attorney is an essential document in planning for the possibility of physical or mental incapacity.