Watch Senior Partner John N. Lipsitz discuss asbestos exposure in and around the Durez Plant in North Tonawanda, NY. Join Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC for a free seminar on April 21, 2020 if you believe you’ve been exposed to asbestos.
John P. Comerford, Esq. of Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC appears on WKBW’s AM Buffalo to discuss asbestos exposure and mesothelioma.
Jury Awards $8 Million Verdict to Former Eastman Kodak Engineer in Mesothelioma Case. Lipsitz & Ponterio represented Wayne Meissner, who was diagnosed with mesothelioma in July of 2018.
We are proud to announce that Founding Partner, Attorney Michael A. Ponterio has been recognized as one of the Top-10 Asbestos/Mesothelioma attorneys in New York State by the National Trial Lawyers Association. The Asbestos/Mesothelioma Trial Lawyers Association – Top 10 is an “invitation-only professional organization composed of and limited to the Top 10 attorneys from each state or region who […]
Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC is proud to announce the opening of their Rochester office located in the historic Powers Building, 16 West Main St., Suite 707, Rochester, NY 14614.
On September 25, 2019, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center held its first annual Day of Giving, an online campaign to fund important cancer research.
Michael Ponterio appears on AM Buffalo and discusses the harmful effects of vaping and e-cigarettes. Lipsitz & Ponterio is accepting vaping/e-cigarette personal injury cases.
Michael Ponterio, John Comerford and Anne Joynt selected as 2019 Legal Elite of Western New York
John Lipsitz Appears on AM Buffalo And Discusses Dangers of Coke Ovens and Vaping
John Comerford Appears on A.M. Buffalo – Lipsitz & Ponterio Helps Mesothelioma Patients
Appellate Victory – manufacturer has a duty to warn about the latent dangers of the machinery it sells – even if its machines are very large, or are constructed into a larger building. This decision is a victory for common sense and for the rights of New Yorkers injured by industrial negligence.
AM Buffalo -Senior Partner John Lipsitz discusses asbestos exposure at work, and what options you have if you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma as a result.
Anne Joynt Nominated for the 2019 ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award Each year the Buffalo Niagara Partnership recognizes contributions made by individuals to advance the status of women in the Buffalo Area. As stated on the Buffalo Niagara Partnership’s website, the ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award® honors emerging leaders under 40 years of age who demonstrate […]
Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC, is holding a FREE SEMINAR on asbestos disease (mesothelioma and lung cancer) and your legal rights for Niagara Falls area plant workers and their families.
Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC will host a free seminar for Steelworkers and their families on Wednesday, July 18, 2018. The seminar will cover asbestos disease and your legal rights. Reserve your space today.
Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC will host a free seminar for Kodak retirees and their families on Tuesday, May 8, 2018. The seminar will cover asbestos disease and your legal rights. Reserve your space today.
On July 19, 2017, after a two-week jury trial, Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford attorney Michael Ponterio obtained a $1.2 million dollar verdict in a medical malpractice lawsuit against doctors from the University of Rochester Medical Center.
As a 20-year old college student in the late 1960s, our client went to work at Norton Labs, a well-known plastic mold shop located on Mill Street in Lockport, New York. Norton Labs used large quantities of asbestos-containing plastic molding compounds to make hard plastic products for the automotive and electrical industries.
Lipsitz & Ponterio recently obtained workers’ compensation benefits for a widow whose husband was employed as a service manager at a local commercial equipment company for 24 years.
After celebrating 22 years of practice in Buffalo, we are pleased to announce that our office has relocated to the historic Liberty Building at 424 Main Street in the heart of downtown Buffalo.
For over 20 years, the attorneys at Lipsitz & Ponterio have represented men and women suffering from diseases caused by exposure to toxic substances in the workplace. These dangerous substances include asbestos, benzene, coal tar pitch volatiles and beryllium.
From 1962 to 1972, the Pittsburgh Corning Corporation made asbestos-containing pipe covering and insulation products under the brand name Unibestos, which was widely used in industrial settings, including oil refineries, chemical plants, steel mills and power houses.
We are pleased to announce that Lipsitz & Ponterio junior partner, Anne E. Joynt, was installed as the 33rd President of the Western New York Chapter of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York at its Annual Installation and Awards Ceremony on July 20th.
Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC, a personal injury litigation firm celebrating 22 years of practice in Buffalo, has relocated to the historic Liberty Building at 424 Main Street in the heart of downtown Buffalo.
Lipsitz & Ponterio attorneys Michael A. Ponterio, John P. Comerford and Anne E. Joynt have been selected as 2017 Legal Elite honorees by Buffalo Business First.
Effective Monday, August 28, 2017 the law office of Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC, has moved to the Liberty Building.
On June 22, 2016, Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC, held an open meeting for former workers and retirees of Norton Labs at Elks Lodge #41 on North Canal Road in Lockport.
Lipsitz & Ponterio recently settled a mesothelioma case on behalf of a former warehouse worker whose only exposure to asbestos occurred during summers while he was a college student.
Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC, recently represented two former Republic Steel workers who died from mesothelioma, a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.
Many of our clients, as well as the Western New York community as a whole, identify our firm with asbestos litigation, especially mesothelioma cases. While this area is certainly where we concentrate our practice, it is important to know that asbestos litigation is part of a broader area of law known as products liability.
In the wake of the Flint, Michigan, water crisis, Western New York’s lawmakers are reviewing the effectiveness of laws and policies aimed at protecting children from lead poisoning. While lead-contaminated water was the culprit in the recent public health crisis in Flint, lead paint in older homes (particularly in inner-city areas) remains the primary source of childhood lead poisoning in New York State.
Gerald Suttner never lived to see his landmark court victory. The former pipefitter at General Motor Co.’s engine plant in Tonawanda died at age 77 in 2011, well before New York’s highest court upheld a verdict on behalf of his widow.
In October 2016, Lipsitz & Ponterio hosted a discussion with a group of students and their professor from Buffalo State College on the subject of the ethical responsibilities that a manufacturer has to the users of its products.
We are pleased to announce that Ryan D. Ledebur has joined the firm as an associate attorney. Mr. Ledebur focuses his practice on representing individuals suffering from occupational diseases, including mesothelioma and lung cancer.
The court, in a decision anxiously awaited by industry and business groups across the country, ruled against Crane Co., the Connecticut manufacturer found partially responsible for Suttner’s death. Suttner, who retired from GM in 1996 after more than 30 years of employment, was diagnosed with mesothelioma two years before his death.
New York’s highest court upheld a wrongful death verdict on behalf of a Buffalo-area widow who lost her husband to mesothelioma. In a landmark, forty-eight page majority opinion, Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam reaffirmed that New York’s longstanding rule that a manufacturer who sells products in New York assumes a serious responsibility to warn end-users about non-obvious dangers of intended uses of its products.
If you or a loved one worked at Norton Labs in Lockport, New York, we invite you to attend an important luncheon on Wednesday, June 22, 2016.
Buffalo is promising a more aggressive and coordinated approach to the city’s lead paint problem, putting a greater onus on landlords to ensure that houses are safe while also promising more lead testing, screening and remediation by government agencies
Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC, is pleased to announce that Ryan D. Ledebur has joined the firm as an associate attorney.
Topics include: Experienced Trial Team Handles Automobile Accident Cases; Judge Awards $5.6 Million to Former Durez Employee; Asbestos Deaths are Higher than State and National Averages in WNY; Local Judge Recognizes Depth of Mesothelioma Victim's Pain and Suffering; Lipsitz & Ponterio Represents Individuals Injured by Home Waxing Kits; and more...
The attorneys at Lipsitz & Ponterio would be happy to sit down with you and discuss your legal rights in the event you or a family member is involved in a motor vehicle accident and suffers a serious injury.
In July 2014, Joseph Muir, age 57, was diagnosed with mesothelioma as a result of his job-related and secondhand exposure to asbestos. Following a non-jury trial in October 2015, the Court issued a decision and verdict awarding Mr. Muir over $5 million in his lawsuit against a Canadian asbestos mining company, Hedman Resources Limited.
The asbestos-related death rate in Niagara County is the highest in the state. Erie County, which has a population of nearly five times that of Niagara County, experiences about 8.1 deaths per 100,000 residents. The death rate in Erie County is nearly double the rate statewide. Cattaraugus County has a much smaller population, but has an average annual asbestos-related death rate well above the state average.
On July 23, 2015, after a nine-day trial, a Buffalo jury delivered a $1.42 million dollar verdict to the widow of a United States Navy veteran, who died of mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer. The trial was presided over by Supreme Court Justice Deborah A. Chimes. The jury determined that the misconduct of defendant, John Crane Inc., a Chicago-based manufacturer of asbestos gaskets and packing material, contributed to the death of William R. Voelker.
This past November, during Lung Cancer Awareness Month, Roswell Park hosted its seventh annual Breath of Life Celebration. Roswell Park oncologists, physicians and support staff gave presentations highlighting the most recent advances in lung cancer treatment, diagnosis and screening.
At Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, we will not allow a large corporation to blame you for injuries you suffered as a result of using their poorly designed product. If you have been burned using the Sally Hansen Microwavable Eyebrow, Face & Lip Wax Kit, call our office today for a free consultation.
In the early 1990s, two former union officials, Ralph Krieger and Joe Sebastian, called John Lipsitz to see if Lipsitz & Ponterio could help one of their union members from Local 8-215, Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union (OCAW) at the Linde Division of Union Carbide. This union worker had been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Our client worked throughout the Bethlehem Steel facility, including the Open Hearths, the Mold Yards, the Basic Oxygen Furnace, the Coke Oven Division, the Soaking Pits and the Blast Furnaces. As a bricklayer, he worked with bricks, asbestos-containing refractories and insulation materials.
In October 2015, we celebrated our 20 year anniversary. Here are some photographs of our attorneys and staff throughout the past several years.
In July 2015, on the eve of a jury trial, Lipsitz & Ponterio obtained a $2.5 million settlement for the family of a retired millwright/pipefitter.
Mathew J. Morton has been a key member of our asbestos/mesothelioma practice group since 2009. He represents clients who have suffered injuries as a result of exposure to asbestos and other toxic substances, including coke oven emissions and coal tar pitch.
For those who harbor doubts about regulation of business, this is where government oversight starts and why it is necessary: Insurance companies on the hook for millions of dollars in judgments owed to suffering individuals made backdoor deals allowing them to avoid liability.
And then, in 2014, at the age of 56, his career as a project manager flourishing, Joseph L. Muir learned that he had mesothelioma. He died a year later but lived long enough to see a jury in Buffalo attribute his illness to asbestos exposure and his two summers 40 years ago working at Durez.
It’s no surprise that young children in Western New York suffer from the highest rate of lead poisoning in upstate New York. Eighty-seven percent of the homes in Erie County were built before 1978, the year the federal government banned toxic lead-based paint from use in residential structures.
After learning that 14 percent of children in Erie County – 1 out of every 7 – tested positive for lead poisoning, New York’s attorney general is earmarking $346,825 in lawsuit settlement money toward local lead prevention and remediation.
Young children in Western New York suffer from the highest rate of lead poisoning in the upstate region – a rate that’s more than three times higher than that in Flint, Mich., where a cost-driven switch to an alternate water system left 4 percent of children tested with signs of lead exposure.
The court, in a ruling that came just weeks after the case was heard, upheld the company’s criminal convictions and dismissed its suggestion that the lower court overstepped its bounds in ordering it to pay for the public health study.
The appeals court also upheld a $12.5 million fine against the company.
A national environmental group whose goal is to outlaw the use of asbestos said Thursday that asbestos-related deaths in three Western New York counties are far above the national average.
Before taking on several cases for former Durez Plastics workers exposed to asbestos, attorney Michael Ponterio had never seen this type of ploy by an insurance company in these matters.
Shortly before the start of trial in Ithaca, New York, a Lipsitz & Ponterio client received an out-of-court settlement.
The firm of Lipsitz & Ponterio is very happy to welcome a new staff member this year, Katherine Kulczycki.
Despite the well-documented health dangers associated with asbestos, this mineral has never been completely banned in the United States. There is indeed no level of exposure low enough to guarantee the prevention of a form of cancer known as mesothelioma. Given the grave danger it poses to human health, why has our government not instituted an outright asbestos ban?
Many assume that asbestos disease afflicts only retirees or those approaching retirement age. There is a misconception that asbestos disappeared from the work environment when stricter government regulations were enacted in the early 1970s. This is only partially true.
Hiring a mesothelioma attorney is an important decision that should not be taken lightly. Experience is required to develop the skill and judgment necessary to provide effective representation to the victims of asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma.
Two Eastman Kodak workers represented by Lipsitz & Ponterio recently received significant settlements for their asbestos-related injuries. Our clients, a machinist millwright and a pipefitter, were previously employed by the Eastman Kodak Company located in Rochester, New York.
It can take decades for a person exposed to asbestos to show signs of disease. Because of this, lawyers sometimes have to do some detective work to find out who is responsible for the products that injured their client.
Interview with George Roehling who retired in 1991, after a career spanning nearly thirty years, with Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers Local Union No. 4 in Buffalo, NY.
Joseph T. Kremer, Esq. is an experienced trial lawyer, who has represented personal injury victims since 1989. As an attorney at Lipsitz & Ponterio, Joe practices in the areas of lead paint poisoning, asbestos litigation, product liability, construction accidents, medical malpractice and automobile accidents.
Too often, home owners begin renovations unaware that asbestos may be present in the materials they are disturbing. The question then becomes, “What should the property owner do before beginning renovations?”
In the past year, our attorneys have made dozens of trips throughout the United States to assist clients exposed to toxic materials, such as asbestos, while living and working in New York State.
After more than five years of litigation before the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board, Lipsitz & Ponterio has succeeded in establishing that the death of Joseph “Joe” Mahoney (close friends and family also knew of him as “Herk”), a former employee of the Linde Division of Union Carbide in Tonawanda, New York, was caused by his workplace exposure to asbestos.
Joseph (“Joe”) J. McNeil retired in 1992 after a career spanning over 35 years with Ashland Oil. A couple of months ago Joe graciously agreed to be interviewed by Lipsitz & Ponterio concerning his memories of working at Ashland Oil.
Despite the distraction of New York State’s budget crisis, some Albany lawmakers are slow to recognize that childhood lead poisoning remains a serious public health problem that needs to be addressed.
Many items are still being debated for inclusion in President Obama’s $838 billion economic stimulus package, including nationwide lead remediation programs costing $100 Million.
Lawyers, especially those who represent plaintiffs in asbestos disease lawsuits, tend to think a good deal about warnings. After all, the claim that the defendant companies failed to warn the plaintiff about the potential health hazards of exposure to asbestos dust from their products is at the core of every asbestos lawsuit. Similarly, the failure to warn constitutes the basis of many other types of toxic exposure lawsuits, as well as lawsuits involving consumer goods and medications.
Attorney Mathew J. Morton joins Lipsitz & Ponterio.
By making your health care wishes known now, you can provide the authority to individuals who you trust to carry out those directions and preferences when necessary. In the best of circumstances, you will openly and honestly discuss your wishes with your appointed agents. The following are several legal documents that you should consider and discuss with your legal advisor or health care provider:
Neil J. McKinnon, Esq. is a key member of Lipsitz & Ponterio’s Lead Practice Group, which represents children suffering from lead poisoning.
The law firm of Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC is pleased to announce that Anne E. Joynt, Esq., has been selected to serve as a member of the Steering Committee of the Women’s TAP Fund.
Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC, is pleased to announce that Grace M. Gannon has joined the firm as an associate attorney. Ms. Gannon will focus her practice in the areas of mesothelioma and asbestos litigation.
The law firm of Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC, will launch a campaign to raise funds for Roswell Park Cancer Institute. For every new page “like” that Lipsitz & Ponterio’s Facebook page receives, the firm will donate one dollar to Roswell Park Cancer Institute for its research focusing on asbestos-related cancers, including mesothelioma and lung cancer.
We are pleased to announce that seven of the firm’s attorneys have been named to the Super Lawyers list for 2014.
Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC and Nan L. Haynes, Esq., announce that they have defeated a motion for summary judgment brought by the defendants in a §1983 action involving a Cheektowaga, New York man who was denied adequate medical care while a pretrial detainee at the Erie County Holding Center.
After three hours of deliberations last night in the Hall of Justice in downtown Rochester, a Monroe County Supreme Court jury returned the first verdict for a plaintiff in a lead poisoning case in Western New York history.
Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC is pleased to announce that the firm has been recognized by Newsweek magazine as a prominent leader in the representation of mesothelioma victims. With over 50 years of combined legal experience in New York State, Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC represents victims of mesothelioma and lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.
Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC is pleased to announce that Mathew J. Morton, Esq. has joined Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC as an associate. Mr. Morton will practice in the areas of asbestos and mesothelioma litigation as well as automobile accidents.
The New York State Court of Appeals yesterday reaffirmed an important decision released in February that will greatly help New York State policyholders and promote fairer claims handling practices by first-party insurers, who are covering the homes, the automobiles, the health and the very lives of this State’s consumers.
In honor of her late husband, Denise Pokorney has established a scholarship fund endowment for students enrolled in the farrier course at Cornell. Doug was passionate about his horses and the time he spent giving presentations at numerous conventions and horse shows throughout the country.
We are pleased to announce the launch of two new websites: Plastics and Mesothelioma, located at www.asbestosplastic.com and Carpenters and Mesothelioma, located at www.mesotheliomacarpenter.com.
Until it ceased production in 1982, Donner Hanna was, at one time, one of three coke oven operations in the Buffalo area. This facility produced metallurgic coke, a vital material used in the steel making process, as well as other coke by-products, including various chemicals, coke oven gas and coal tar.
Lipsitz & Ponterio had the opportunity to sit down with Eugene Jackson, a former employee of Durez Plastics. Gene talked about the years he spent fighting in the Korean War and the jobs he held upon his return to North Tonawanda.
Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford recently represented the widower of a seventy-six year old Ransomville, New York, resident who died from injuries suffered in a motor vehicle accident on December 11, 2008.
Congress passed the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) in 2000. The purpose of EEOICPA was to provide monetary compensation and medical benefits to atomic weapons workers who developed cancer as a result of radiation exposure, as well as to workers employed by atomic weapons producers who have developed chronic beryllium disease.
Jim Hawley worked as an asbestos pipe coverer and insulator for almost forty years. He was a member of the Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers Local Union No. 4 in Buffalo, New York.
The plaintiff worked throughout the Bethlehem Steel facility, including the Coke Oven Division, the Open Hearths, the Basic Oxygen Furnace, the Strip Mills, the Bar Mills and the Blast Furnaces. As a bricklayer, his work frequently involved relining the ovens and the furnaces and working in close proximity to outside contractors applying asbestos-containing insulation to steam pipes and other hot surfaces.
Michael Ponterio and I formed our law partnership in 1995. At that time, we had no way of knowing that fifteen years later our firm would become a leader in representing Western New Yorkers with claims for exposure to toxic substances and occupational disease.
As part of our continued service to the community of Western New York, we are pleased to announce the launch of our new website, Brakes and Mesothelioma, located at www.mesotheliomabrakes.com.
In mediation, there are no judges or juries to make final, binding decisions; the parties themselves make their own agreements, and a mediator oversees discussions between parties. Benefits of mediation vary, depending upon a client’s needs and interests. In short, pretrial mediation is a useful tool in obtaining early resolution of cases.