News

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 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.

Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC, is pleased to announce that Ryan D. Ledebur has joined the firm as an associate attorney.

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.

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, 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:

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. 

Recently, Lipsitz & Ponterio had the opportunity to sit down and discuss the good old days in the City of Tonawanda with Donald Holdaway, a longtime volunteer firefighter.

You may have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease because you were exposed many years ago to asbestos-containing materials while working at one of the plants along the River Road.  Even if you never handled this material yourself, you may have been exposed to harmful concentrations of asbestos because your co-workers handled or installed asbestos-containing products.

Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford recently obtained over $3 million in a settlement for a local union boilermaker for injuries resulting from job-related exposure to asbestos.

Regular skin contact with rubber products poses a risk of allergic contact dermatitis to a small but significant percentage of the population. Unless it is diagnosed and treated early, this type of dermatitis can result in total and permanent disability.

As our firm continues to grow, we are pleased to welcome new staff members to our office: Ian Buchalski, Charmain Jozwiak, and Courtney Bajdas.

Starting in 1985, wrecking crews began to demolish the buildings that made up the old General Motors’ foundry on Irene Street in the Town of Tonawanda. Since the 1970’s, government regulations have required that all asbestos be removed from a building prior to its demolition.

Lipsitz & Ponterio recently represented a gentleman from Holland, Michigan, who died at the age of 63 as a result of malignant mesothelioma. Our client worked at the General Motors/Chevrolet Foundry on River Road in Tonawanda, New York, from 1966 to 1984.

John N. Lipsitz, Esq, is a founding partner of Lipsitz & Ponterio. Since 1985, he has represented workers suffering from industrial diseases, such as mesothelioma and asbestosis.

This summer, a Buffalo jury delivered a $3 million verdict in the case of a former Ashland Oil employee who was diagnosed with mesothelioma caused by his job-related exposure to asbestos.

Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford recently launched a campaign to raise funds for Roswell Park Cancer  Institute (RPCI). For every new page “like” that Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford's Facebook page receives, the firm will donate one dollar to RPCI for its research focusing on asbestos-related cancers, including mesothelioma and lung cancer. 

In October 2013, Lipsitz & Ponterio obtained a substantial settlement for the family of a former Bethlehem Steel laborer. Our client, a resident of Hamburg, New York, worked as a furnace helper in the #3 Open Hearth Mold Yard. In the fall of 2012, at the age of sixty-seven, he was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma.

In October 2013, Lipsitz & Ponterio reached a sizeable settlement for the family of a long-time employee of a local blacktop manufacturer.  This case illustrates the hazards of working with coal tar, a by-product of the coking process.

The attorneys at Lipsitz & Ponterio recently embarked on a new journey by filming several on-location videos at a variety of asbestos-contaminated job sites throughout Western New York. Many men and women who worked at these facilities were exposed to asbestos dust created by the application, removal, wear and tear and replacement of asbestos-containing materials.

Most people don’t resist the temptation to start collecting Social Security benefits as early as they are eligible, that is, at age 62.  On the other hand, experts generally suggest that you wait as long as you can to commence benefits, even as late as age 70, the reason being that the increase in monthly payments between those starting at age 62 and age 70 is close to 75%.

Michael J. Jarosz has joined Lipsitz & Ponterio as an associate attorney. Mr. Jarosz will focus his practice on asbestos and mesothelioma litigation, childhood lead poisoning and workers’ compensation matters. 

Since 2005, Ms. Joynt has been a key member of the firm’s lead practice group, which represents children suffering from lead poisoning. Anne has also practiced in the areas of asbestos litigation and personal injury.

In October 2012, a jury in Buffalo, New York, delivered a verdict in the amount of three million dollars to the family of Gerald Suttner. In the fall of 2010, Mr. Sutter, age 76, was diagnosed with mesothelioma caused by his job-related exposure to asbestos-containing products.

The Tonawanda Coke Corporation, a local coke producer, has been in the news recently because of a federal prosecution for violations of the Clean Air Act. The plant discharged industrial wastewater containing cyanide, ammonia and naphthalene into the local sewer system and storm sewers that lead to the Niagara River. Improper handling of coal tar sludge also contaminated soil in the area.

Lipsitz & Ponterio has the privilege of representing the families of workers who died as a result of the conditions at Tonawanda Coke.

After a week-long trial in September 2012, Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford obtained a cash settlement in excess of $2.5 million on behalf of a former Durez plant worker for injuries resulting from job-related exposure to asbestos.

Although substances like asbestos no longer pose such widespread hazards in the work place as they did some thirty years ago, today there are many highly toxic substances still used in factories and at construction sites causing serious injuries to workers here and abroad. 

We’ve compiled a list of legal documents that everyone should assemble in a file to guide their loved ones.  Many of these things will also be very helpful in the event of serious illness. 

Grace Gannon has joined Lipsitz & Ponterio as associate attorneys in our mesothelioma and asbestos litigation practice groups.

Lipsitz & Ponterio attorney, Anne E. Joynt, has been selected to serve as a member of the Steering Committee of the Women’s TAP Fund.

Lipsitz & Ponterio recently obtained a $2.4 million settlement on behalf of a former steamfitter for injuries resulting from job-related exposure to asbestos.

In a recent written decision, Judicial Hearing Officer and Retired Supreme Court Justice, John P. Lane,  held that a valve manufacturer may be liable for injuries arising from the use of its products. 

The production and refining of coal tar and its use in various other products involves a substantial risk of exposure to a group of chemicals known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).  Exposure to these chemicals can lead to a variety of diseases, including lung and other respiratory cancers, bladder cancer, and skin cancer.  Harmful exposure occurs when the tar, or refined products made from the tar, are heated and give off dust and fume, called coal tar pitch volatiles (CTPVs).

A wide variety of asbestos-containing products are implicated by the trusts, including pipe covering, insulating cement, joint compound, vermiculite insulation, fireproofing material, acoustical plaster, roofing materials, floor and ceiling tiles. Depending upon your job classification, and where you worked, you may be able to file claims with a few or many of the trusts.  Every case in this respect is different.

We are pleased to announce that Zachary James Woods has joined Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC as an associate.

Because of increasing awareness of the hazard, more stringent governmental regulations and improved workplace conditions, the  threat of asbestos and mesothelioma has diminished greatly.

Lipsitz & Ponterio represents a 56-year-old man who worked at a Buffalo area pizza parlor. He was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in March 2011, and his only known exposure to asbestos was transite blocks.

We are pleased to announce that we have recently redesigned the firm’s website, www.lipsitzponterio.com. The redesign will allow the firm to better provide current and potential clients with key information about exposure to toxic substances at New York State job sites.

Federal law requires that personal injury plaintiffs, who are eligible for Medicare, take into consideration the interests of Medicare when settling their claims. 

This year, the CDC announced it is reducing the level of concern from 10 μg/dl to 5 μg/dl. 

A jury in Buffalo, New York, recently delivered a verdict in the amount of two million dollars in favor of Gerald Failing, a former factory worker, who was represented by Lipsitz & Ponterio.

We now have the pleasure to report that SEC status has also been recommended for men and women who worked at Linde between 1947 and 1954. Once this recommendation becomes final later this year, it will close the gap between the SEC for 1942 to 1947 and the SEC for 1954 to 1969, and establish SEC coverage from 1942 through 1969.  

Exposure to aerosolized coal tar and coal tar products, including coal tar pitch, has been known for many decades to cause skin, lung, and other respiratory cancers in both humans and in experimental animals.