New York Mesothelioma Lawyer | Asbestos Claims, Lawsuits & Deadlines

If you or a loved one was diagnosed with mesothelioma after working in New York, your family may have several claims at the same time — lawsuits against the manufacturers and suppliers of the asbestos products, claims against the owners of the plants, power stations, and buildings where an outside contractor's employee was exposed, claims against asbestos bankruptcy trusts, and benefits for veterans, federal civil-service workers, Department of Energy contractor workers, and 9/11 responders and recovery workers.

New York gives a diagnosed worker three years to file a personal-injury claim. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. New York starts the three years when the illness was discovered, or should have been, even before anyone links it to asbestos. If symptoms or an earlier X-ray, CT scan or screening showed lung or abdominal disease, a New York court may count the three years from then, so call us right away. After a death, the family's wrongful-death claim must be filed within two years of the date of death, but if the worker's own three years ran out before the death without a lawsuit being filed, the family's claim is usually barred too. The safest step is to call as soon as possible after diagnosis.

You do not need to know the name of the asbestos product before you call. You do not need to have old employment records ready. Many strong New York cases begin with one sentence: "Dad worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard," or "my husband was an insulator in Manhattan for thirty years." We rebuild the exposure history from there.

You don't need the product names or old records. No fee unless we recover compensation for your family.

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Quick answers

How long do we have to file?	Three years for the worker's personal-injury case. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. New York starts the three years when the illness was discovered, or should have been, even before anyone links it to asbestos. If symptoms or an earlier X-ray, CT scan or screening showed lung or abdominal disease, a New York court may count the three years from then, so call us right away. After a death, the family has two years from the date of death, unless the worker's own three years ran out before the death without a lawsuit being filed.
Does a claim always mean filing a lawsuit?	No. Many families recover through asbestos bankruptcy trust claims and benefit programs without ever going to court. We will explain every path before you decide.
Who may be responsible?	The manufacturers and suppliers of the asbestos products and equipment your loved one worked around, sometimes the owners of other companies' job sites where an outside contractor's worker was exposed, and the bankruptcy trusts set up by companies that have already filed for bankruptcy.
What compensation may be available?	Medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and, where the evidence shows a company's own malice or reckless disregard, punitive damages. New York has no statutory cap on compensatory or punitive damages.
What evidence do we need?	A diagnosis, a general work history, and any names of employers, job sites, or coworkers you can remember. We rebuild the rest.
Can an adult child or spouse call?	Yes. Family members call on behalf of a parent or partner every day. We are used to working with the whole family.
Do I have to come to your office?	No. We handle New York cases by phone, video, mail, and home visit where needed. You do not need to travel.

“I started this firm after learning that the cancers that killed my father and grandparents were caused by asbestos, something we did not realize until it was too late to hold anyone accountable. That experience is why we built this site: so that no other family misses their chance to ask the questions, hear the options, and decide for themselves what to do.”

Justinian C. Lane, Founding Partner

Was the exposure at a New York industrial, shipyard, or construction site?

New York's asbestos exposure ran on two tracks. Downstate it was the harbor and the skyline: shipyards, the powerhouses that lit and heated New York City, and office towers, hospitals, and terminals fireproofed and insulated with asbestos. Upstate it was heavy industry along the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes, from the steel mills and chemical plants of the Niagara Frontier to the factory cities of Rochester, Syracuse, and Schenectady. On the asbestos trusts' own lists, New York has more than 7,500 entries across 730 communities, from 29 asbestos trusts. Dozens of our clients worked at New York job sites.

New York worksite	City	Why it matters
Bethlehem Steel Lackawanna plant	Lackawanna	Recognized by at least 15 trusts, including Johns-Manville.
Brooklyn Navy Yard (New York Naval Shipyard)	Brooklyn	Recognized by at least 13 trusts, including Johns-Manville. A Navy shipyard until 1966: its civil-service workers are covered by FECA, not by a lawsuit against the United States.
Eastman Kodak (Kodak Park)	Rochester	Recognized by at least 12 trusts, including Johns-Manville.
General Electric Schenectady Works	Schenectady	Recognized by at least 12 trusts, including Johns-Manville.
Idlewild / John F. Kennedy International Airport	Queens	Recognized by at least 12 trusts, including Johns-Manville.
Hooker Chemical (Occidental) Buffalo Avenue plant	Niagara Falls	Recognized by at least 11 trusts, including Johns-Manville.
Allied Chemical Solvay Process works	Solvay	Recognized by at least 11 trusts, including Johns-Manville.
Corning Glass Works	Corning	Recognized by at least 10 trusts, including Johns-Manville.
Con Edison — Waterside station	New York City	Recognized by at least 9 trusts, including Johns-Manville.
World Trade Center (original towers)	New York City	Recognized by at least 7 trusts, including Johns-Manville, for the construction era (spray fireproofing and insulation).
New York City construction trades	Manhattan and the five boroughs	Insulators, pipefitters, steamfitters, electricians, ironworkers, sheet-metal workers, and laborers on office towers, hospitals, the subway, and steam systems.
Watervliet Arsenal	Watervliet	Army arsenal: civil-service workers are covered by FECA.
Brookhaven National Laboratory	Upton (Long Island)	Department of Energy laboratory run by a contractor: its staff look to state workers' compensation and EEOICPA.

Check New York asbestos exposure sites

Not seeing the worksite? That does not mean your family has no claim. Many successful New York claims are built from product-handling reconstruction, coworker information, union records, historical invoices, trust documents, and records from similar worksites in the same trade and era.

Your legal options after a New York mesothelioma diagnosis

Think in terms of claim paths, not a single lawsuit. Most New York mesothelioma families have more than one claim, and they do not all require a courtroom. When to file each one is decided case by case.

Asbestos trust claims

Many of the companies that made the asbestos products workers handled have filed for bankruptcy and set up asbestos trusts. Trust claims are filed administratively: there is no jury and no courtroom. Twenty-nine asbestos trusts list New York worksites. In the New York City asbestos court, court rules set deadlines for trust claims and require them to be disclosed, so we plan trust claims and any lawsuit together. Learn more about asbestos trust claims.

Product liability lawsuits

A lawsuit against the still-solvent manufacturers and sellers of the asbestos products — insulation, gaskets, packing, refractory products, cement products — is usually the largest part of a recovery. New York allows claims for failure to warn, design defect, and negligence, and the manufacturer of equipment such as a valve or pump can have to warn about asbestos parts made by others when its product needed them to work. Proof matters: New York's highest court requires expert evidence that the worker's exposure to each company's product was enough to cause the disease. Pure comparative negligence means a worker's own share of fault reduces the recovery but doesn't block it, and New York has no statutory cap on damages. Learn more about product liability lawsuits.

Premises liability lawsuits

The owner of a plant, power station, or building where an outside contractor's employee was exposed can sometimes be sued separately from the product manufacturers. In New York, an owner is usually responsible for a contractor's worker only if it supervised or controlled the work, or created or knew of the dangerous condition; a New York appeals court dismissed a claim against Con Edison for that reason, but the same court upheld a verdict against Con Edison where its own specifications required asbestos insulation and it monitored the work. A worker's own employer is different: workers' compensation is the remedy against the employer. Learn more about premises liability lawsuits.

New York workers' compensation is generally the only remedy against a worker's own employer, and an occupational-disease claim has its own deadlines. Comp also takes a share of a lawsuit recovery, and settling a lawsuit for less than the comp due needs the insurer's consent or a court order. Federal civil-service workers at the Brooklyn Navy Yard (until 1966) and Watervliet Arsenal are covered by FECA, which is their only remedy against the United States; workers at private shipyards and repair yards may qualify for federal Longshore benefits (LHWCA). Contractor employees at Brookhaven National Laboratory may qualify for EEOICPA. Responders, recovery workers, and others present in lower Manhattan after September 11, 2001 may qualify for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund or the World Trade Center Health Program, which cover mesothelioma and have different eligibility rules. Veterans may be eligible for VA service-connected disability; a federal civil-service worker who is also a veteran generally must choose between FECA and VA benefits for the same disease. Social Security disability is available only to workers under full retirement age.

Learn more about asbestos disability claims.

"Can we choose not to sue?"

Yes. Some families pursue only trust claims and federal benefit programs and never set foot in a courtroom. We respect that decision. Our job is to lay out every option and what each path may mean in your specific situation — and then to follow your lead. We will not pressure you into a court case you do not want.

Uncomfortable with the idea of a lawsuit? So was Clarence Borel. He spent 33 years as an insulator on the Gulf Coast and didn't believe in suing anyone — until he realized his coworkers would die the same way he was dying. His 1969 lawsuit helped establish the product-liability law that protects families today, and the cases that followed it eventually led to the bankruptcy trusts that pay claims now. Read his story.

How long do I have to file a New York mesothelioma claim?

New York gives a diagnosed worker three years to file a personal-injury case. Because mesothelioma has a 20-to-50-year latency, the clock does not start at the long-ago job. Under New York's toxic-exposure discovery rule, the three years start when the worker discovered the illness, or reasonably should have. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. New York starts the three years when the illness was discovered, or should have been, even before anyone links it to asbestos. If symptoms or an earlier X-ray, CT scan or screening showed lung or abdominal disease, a New York court may count the three years from then, so call us right away.

After a death, New York has two claims: the family's wrongful-death claim and the estate's claim for the worker's own losses before death, both brought by the executor or administrator. The family's wrongful-death claim must be filed within two years of the date of death, but New York allows it only if the worker could still have sued on the day he died: if the worker's own three years ran out before the death without a lawsuit being filed, the family's claim is usually barred too. The estate's claim keeps the worker's own three-year deadline, or one year after the death if that is later. A case filed during the worker's life continues after death through the executor or administrator, and filing while the worker is alive also lets him testify about where he worked and what he handled.

Other deadlines can be shorter. A workers' compensation claim for an occupational disease must be filed, and the employer told, within two years after the worker became disabled and knew or should have known that the disease came from the work.

Call 833-4-ASBESTOS — free case review, no fee unless we recover compensation.

Legal detail: New York filing deadlines

Personal injury — 3 years. N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 214(5), except as provided in § 214-c. For "personal injury ... caused by the latent effects of exposure to any substance," the three years "shall be computed from the date of discovery of the injury by the plaintiff or from the date when through the exercise of reasonable diligence such injury should have been discovered by the plaintiff, whichever is earlier" (C.P.L.R. § 214-c(2)). The clock runs from discovery of "the primary condition on which the claim is based," not from learning its cause (Matter of New York County DES Litig. (Wetherill), 89 N.Y.2d 506 (1997)). C.P.L.R. § 203(a) computes the period from accrual to interposition of the claim.

Later discovery of the cause. C.P.L.R. § 214-c(4) allows one year from discovery of the cause if it was discovered less than five years after the injury was discovered or should have been; past the ordinary three years, the plaintiff must prove that the "technical, scientific or medical knowledge and information sufficient to ascertain the cause of his injury had not been discovered." Because the link between asbestos and mesothelioma has long been known, this rarely helps in asbestos cases.

Wrongful death — 2 years from death. N.Y. EPTL § 5-4.1: the personal representative may sue "a person who would have been liable to the decedent by reason of such wrongful conduct if death had not ensued," "within two years after the decedent's death." The decedent "must have had a viable cause of action against defendant on the day he died" (Marlowe v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., 112 A.D.2d 769 (4th Dep't 1985)). Wrongful death is a creature of statute (Carrick v. Central Gen. Hosp., 51 N.Y.2d 242 (1980)). The proposed Grieving Families Act, which would lengthen the period and add grief damages, has passed the Legislature four times and been vetoed each time (most recently S.4423, December 5, 2025); it is not law.

Survival. N.Y. EPTL § 11-3.2(b): a personal-injury claim survives the injured person's death and may be brought or continued by the personal representative. If the person dies before the period expires, the representative may sue "within one year after his death" (C.P.L.R. § 210(a)); this does not revive a claim already barred. A pending personal-injury complaint may be enlarged to add the wrongful-death claim (EPTL § 11-3.3(b)(2)).

Workers' compensation. An occupational-disease claim must be filed "within two years after disablement and after the claimant knew or should have known that the disease is or was due to the nature of the employment" (N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law § 28), with notice to the last employer within two years after disablement or after the claimant knew or should have known that the disease was due to the employment, whichever is later (§ 45).

Borrowing statute. C.P.L.R. § 202: a claim that accrued outside New York in favor of a nonresident must be timely under both New York law and the law of the place where it accrued.

Who can be sued in a New York asbestos case?

Most New York asbestos cases involve more than one kind of defendant, and each follows its own rules.

Product manufacturers and suppliers

The companies that made and sold the asbestos-containing products — insulation, gaskets, packing, refractory products, cement products, brake and clutch parts — are the principal defendants in most cases. New York recognizes strict liability and negligence for design defects, manufacturing defects, and failure to warn. New York's highest court has held that a manufacturer must warn about the danger of using its product with another company's part when its product needed that part to work as intended, as with valves sold for use with asbestos gaskets and packing. Each company's product must be shown, through expert evidence, to have caused enough exposure to cause the disease.

Premises owners and site operators

The owners of plants, power stations, and buildings where an outside contractor's employee was exposed can sometimes be responsible. New York doesn't sort visitors into categories; owners must keep property reasonably safe. But for a contractor's worker exposed by the contractor's own work, an owner is usually liable only if it supervised or controlled the work, or created or knew of the dangerous condition. Federal installations, such as the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Watervliet Arsenal, are not premises defendants.

Asbestos bankruptcy trusts

Many of the largest asbestos manufacturers filed for bankruptcy and set up trusts. Trust claims are administrative rather than litigated. In the New York City asbestos court, they must be filed and disclosed on the court's schedule.

Employers

Workers' compensation is generally the only remedy against a worker's own employer. That is why most New York asbestos cases are brought against the product manufacturers and the owners of other companies' sites. While the worker is alive, the companies sued generally can't bring the employer into the case or have the jury count the employer's share of the fault; New York allows that only for a "grave injury," a list that includes death.

Legal detail: New York product liability, premises liability, and workers' compensation

Strict products liability. New York's own case law: Codling v. Paglia, 32 N.Y.2d 330 (1973); Voss v. Black & Decker Mfg. Co., 59 N.Y.2d 102 (1983) (design defect). Failure to warn: Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig. (Dummitt), 27 N.Y.3d 765 (2016): "the manufacturer of a product has a duty to warn of the danger arising from the known and reasonably foreseeable use of its product in combination with a third-party product which, as a matter of design, mechanics or economic necessity, is necessary to enable the manufacturer's product to function as intended." A warranty claim under N.Y. U.C.C. § 2-725 runs four years from delivery of the product, so it is usually barred for decades-old products.

Government-contractor defense. Makers of products built to military specifications often raise the federal government-contractor defense, which requires reasonably precise specifications approved by the United States, conformity with them, and a warning to the government of dangers known to the supplier but not to the government (Boyle v. United Technologies Corp., 487 U.S. 500 (1988)). Such cases are often removed to federal court.

Causation. A toxic-tort plaintiff must prove exposure to the substance at levels sufficient to cause the illness (Parker v. Mobil Oil Corp., 7 N.Y.3d 434 (2006)). In Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig. (Juni), 32 N.Y.3d 1116 (2018), the evidence was "insufficient as a matter of law" that Ford's brake products caused the decedent's mesothelioma under Parker and Cornell v. 360 W. 51st St. Realty, LLC, 22 N.Y.3d 762 (2014); Nemeth v. Brenntag N. Am., 38 N.Y.3d 336 (2022), set aside a talc verdict for lack of proof of a sufficient dose.

Premises liability. Basso v. Miller, 40 N.Y.2d 233 (1976), abolished the trespasser, licensee and invitee categories in favor of reasonable care under the circumstances. For a contractor's employee, owner liability under common law and N.Y. Labor Law § 200 requires supervision or control of the work, or a dangerous condition the owner created or knew of (Comes v. New York State Elec. & Gas Corp., 82 N.Y.2d 876 (1993)). Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig. (Philbin), 25 A.D.3d 374 (1st Dep't 2006), granted summary judgment to Con Edison on a roofer's asbestos claim: "the mere presence of Con Edison personnel at the work site ... does not suffice to create an inference of supervisory control." By contrast, Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig. (Brown), 146 A.D.3d 461 (1st Dep't 2017), reinstated a Labor Law § 200 verdict against Con Edison because "Con Edison's specifications affirmatively required the use of hazardous asbestos-containing insulation materials, and Con Edison monitored work for compliance with those specifications" (following Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig. (North), 142 A.D.3d 408 (1st Dep't 2016), detailed power-plant specifications).

Take-home exposure. The Port Authority, as the worker's employer, owed no duty of care to his wife, who laundered his asbestos-laden work clothes (Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig. (Holdampf), 5 N.Y.3d 486 (2005)). The Court of Appeals has not decided whether manufacturers owe such a duty.

Workers' compensation exclusivity. N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law § 11: the employer's liability is "exclusive and in place of any other liability whatsoever," unless the employer failed to secure compensation. An employer is not liable to a third party for contribution or indemnity unless the employee sustained a "grave injury," which "shall mean only" a listed injury beginning with "death," or the employer agreed in a written contract made before the injury to indemnify. The grave-injury rule applies to actions brought after the 1996 amendment (Majewski v. Broadalbin-Perth Cent. Sch. Dist., 91 N.Y.2d 577 (1998)). Where the grave-injury rule bars a claim against the employer, the employer's share of fault is not counted (C.P.L.R. § 1601(1)).

Employer intentional tort. Narrow: knowingly exposing workers to asbestos has not been enough (Acevedo v. Consolidated Edison Co., 189 A.D.2d 497 (1st Dep't 1993), the 1990 Gramercy Park steam-pipe explosion).

Comp lien and settlement consent. N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law § 29(1): the comp carrier has a lien on a third-party recovery, after the reasonable costs of the recovery, including attorney's fees, which the court apportions equitably between the worker and the carrier. If a worker takes comp, the third-party action must be started within six months after the comp award and within a year of accrual; otherwise, after the carrier's written 30-day notice, the claim is assigned to the carrier, which pays the worker two-thirds of any excess (§ 29(1)-(2)). A settlement for less than the compensation due needs the carrier's written consent or a court compromise order (§ 29(5)). There is no comp lien on a September 11th Victim Compensation Fund award (§ 29(1-b)).

What compensation can a New York mesothelioma case recover?

New York has no statutory cap on compensatory damages and no statutory cap on punitive damages.

Personal-injury compensation

Medical expenses — past and reasonably necessary future medical care
Lost wages and lost earning capacity — past and future, supported by expert testimony where future earnings are projected
Pain and suffering — physical pain, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life
Punitive damages — New York has no cap on punitive damages. They require proof that a company itself acted with malice or reckless disregard for others' safety. In the New York City asbestos court they were put on hold from 1996 until 2014; under the court's current rules they may be sought with advance notice, and a case seeking them is tried on its own.

After a verdict, the court reduces economic damages that insurance or another source has already paid or will pay, with exceptions such as life insurance and benefits that must be paid back.

Wrongful-death and survival compensation

If your loved one has already passed away, New York's wrongful-death claim pays the family's financial losses from the death — lost support and services — plus medical and funeral expenses, with interest from the date of death. New York doesn't allow damages for grief or loss of companionship in a wrongful-death claim. The recovery is divided among the family members by each one's financial loss.

The estate's survival claim carries on the worker's own case: medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering up to death. Punitive damages can be sought in both claims where the evidence supports them.

Legal detail: New York damages and wrongful death

No statutory caps. No statutory cap on compensatory damages (economic or noneconomic) or on punitive damages.

Collateral source. N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 4545(a): the court reduces awards for medical care, lost earnings, and other economic loss that "was or will, with reasonable certainty, be replaced or indemnified" by a collateral source, "except for life insurance and those payments as to which there is a statutory right of reimbursement," less two years of premiums and the cost of keeping the benefit. C.P.L.R. 4533-a makes a certified, itemized paid bill of up to $2,000, served with notice at least ten days before trial, prima facie evidence of reasonable value.

Structured judgments. C.P.L.R. § 5041 (Article 50-B): past damages and future damages up to $250,000 are paid in a lump sum; the rest of a large future-damages award is paid over time. (C.P.L.R. § 5031 applies only to medical, dental and podiatric malpractice.)

Punitive damages. Available for conduct showing malice or a conscious, wanton disregard of others' rights (Home Ins. Co. v. American Home Prods. Corp., 75 N.Y.2d 196 (1990)). Evidence of a defendant's wealth is admissible only on a punitive claim. Awards are subject to federal due-process review (BMW of N. Am., Inc. v. Gore, 517 U.S. 559 (1996); State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Campbell, 538 U.S. 408 (2003)).

Punitive damages in the New York City asbestos court. Punitive claims were deferred under the NYCAL case management order from 1996. The deferral was lifted in 2014; the First Department upheld the coordinating justice's authority but required procedures that give defendants notice (Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig., 130 A.D.3d 489 (1st Dep't 2015)). The case management order entered June 23, 2017 sets notice and discovery rules for punitive claims (section XXIV), and the First Department declined to reinstate the deferral (Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig. (All NYCAL Cases), 159 A.D.3d 576 (1st Dep't 2018)).

Wrongful death. N.Y. EPTL § 5-4.3(a): "fair and just compensation for the pecuniary injuries resulting from the decedent's death," plus medical, nursing and funeral expenses, with interest from death. Punitive damages: for deaths on or after September 1, 1982, "punitive damages may be awarded if such damages would have been recoverable had the decedent survived" (§ 5-4.3(b)). Distribution to the distributees in proportion to their pecuniary injuries (§ 5-4.4).

Survival. N.Y. EPTL § 11-3.2(b) bars punitive damages in the estate's personal-injury action only "where the death occurs on or before August thirty-first, nineteen hundred eighty-two." Section 11-3.2(a)(1) bars punitive damages against the estate of a deceased wrongdoer. Survival damages are limited to those accruing before death, plus funeral expenses (§ 11-3.3(a)).

What evidence do we need to prove a New York asbestos case?

You do not need to gather everything before calling. Most of what we need we develop ourselves once you retain us. What we ask families to start with is whatever they already have or can remember.

Evidence	Why it helps	What if you do not have it?
Pathology report or diagnosis paperwork	Confirms the mesothelioma diagnosis, anatomical type, and histological subtype	We can request medical records directly from the treating hospital with your authorization.
General work history	Identifies the employers, job sites, and trades that drive product identification	We reconstruct work history from Social Security earnings records, union records, and family interviews.
Names of employers and job sites	Lets us check the asbestos trusts' New York lists, with more than 7,500 entries across 730 communities	A general description ("he was an insulator in Manhattan in the 1970s") is enough to start.
Names of coworkers	Coworker testimony often identifies the products used	Union records and our existing case files often reveal coworkers we can contact.
Military discharge papers (DD-214)	Establishes military service for a VA claim	Replacement copies can be requested from the National Personnel Records Center.
9/11 response or recovery documentation	Shows presence in lower Manhattan after September 11, 2001, for VCF and World Trade Center Health Program eligibility	Employer and union records and other proof of where and when the person worked can help.

If you have very little, that is fine. New York cases are built every week from a diagnosis and a general recollection of where someone worked.

How does New York divide responsibility when many asbestos companies were involved?

New York uses pure comparative negligence: the worker's own share of fault, if any, reduces the recovery but doesn't block it. In occupational asbestos cases it is rarely a large issue, but juries can assign some fault to a worker.

When several companies are found responsible, each one still owes the full medical bills and lost wages. For pain and suffering, a company found 50% or less at fault usually pays only its share, and the jury can assign shares to bankrupt companies. That limit does not apply to a company found to have acted with reckless disregard for others' safety, which New York juries have found against asbestos companies. Whether it applies depends on the proof against each company. Settlements with other companies also reduce what the remaining companies owe.

Legal detail: comparative negligence, joint and several liability, and settlement credits

Pure comparative negligence. N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 1411(a): in actions for personal injury, property damage, or wrongful death, the culpable conduct of the claimant or decedent, "including contributory negligence or assumption of risk, shall not bar recovery," and damages are diminished in proportion to it. A 2026 amendment added subsection (b), a greater-fault bar limited to motor-vehicle cases under Insurance Law article 51. Culpable conduct is an affirmative defense (§ 1412).

Limited liability for noneconomic loss. C.P.L.R. § 1601(1): in "an action or claim for personal injury," a defendant found "fifty percent or less of the total liability" pays no more than its equitable share of non-economic loss (pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of consortium: § 1600). Economic loss remains joint and several. A nonparty's fault, including a bankrupt company's, counts unless the claimant proves it couldn't obtain jurisdiction over that party; an employer's fault doesn't count where the grave-injury rule bars a claim against it. Wrongful-death damages are pecuniary (EPTL § 5-4.3(a)); the survival claim's pain and suffering is noneconomic and is covered.

Exceptions. Article 16 does not apply to "actions requiring proof of intent" (C.P.L.R. § 1602(5)); to "any person held liable for causing claimant's injury by having acted with reckless disregard for the safety of others" (§ 1602(7)); to a defendant in a product-liability action where the manufacturer is not a party and the claimant proves that jurisdiction over it could not with due diligence be obtained and that it would have been strictly liable, to the extent of the manufacturer's share (§ 1602(10)); or to parties who "acted knowingly or intentionally, and in concert" (§ 1602(11)). Section 1602(2)(iv) preserves liability arising from a non-delegable duty or respondeat superior for the share of those the defendant answers for; it does not bar apportionment to independent tortfeasors (Rangolan v. County of Nassau, 96 N.Y.2d 42 (2001)). The party claiming an exception must prove it, and a defendant claiming limited liability must prove its share (§ 1603). In Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig., 121 A.D.3d 230 (1st Dep't 2014), the First Department upheld New York City asbestos juries' reckless-disregard findings against Tishman Liquidating (Konstantin, aff'd 27 N.Y.3d 1172 (2016)) and Crane Co. (Dummitt, aff'd 27 N.Y.3d 765 (2016)).

Settlement credits. N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 15-108(a): a release of one tortfeasor reduces the claim against the others by the amount stipulated, the consideration paid, or the released tortfeasor's equitable share, "whichever is the greatest." Article 16 does not impair § 15-108 (C.P.L.R. § 1601(2)).

How trust claims, lawsuits, and benefits can work together

Most New York mesothelioma families recover through more than one channel. How they fit together depends on the program: a civil or trust recovery doesn't reduce VA disability, but workers' compensation takes a lien on a civil recovery, FECA requires a refund from it, LHWCA gives the employer a credit for it against the compensation owed, EEOICPA benefits are reduced by lawsuit and trust recoveries for the same illness, the 9/11 fund reduces its awards by certain other payments, and VA and FECA benefits for the same disease generally require an election.

Path	Who it targets	Typical timeline
Bankruptcy trust claims	The asbestos manufacturers that filed for bankruptcy and set up trusts	Filed when the documentation supports them; in the New York City asbestos court, court rules set the deadlines. No lawsuit required.
Civil lawsuits	The manufacturers, suppliers, and owners of other companies' worksites still in business	Filed in New York state court (New York City cases are handled in the New York City Asbestos Litigation, NYCAL, which has an accelerated docket for the most seriously ill) or federal court. Most cases settle; some go to trial.
Benefits — workers' comp, LHWCA, FECA, EEOICPA, the 9/11 programs, VA, SSDI	Workers with comp claims, private shipyard workers, federal civil-service employees, DOE contractor employees, 9/11 responders and others present in lower Manhattan, veterans, and disabled workers under full retirement age	Coordinated with the civil case; some carry repayment rights or offsets against a civil or trust recovery.

New York shipyard, Navy, federal-facility, and 9/11 exposure

The Brooklyn Navy Yard, officially the New York Naval Shipyard, built and repaired Navy warships until it closed as a naval shipyard in 1966. Its civil-service workers were federal employees, covered by FECA; workers at private shipyards and repair yards in the harbor may qualify for federal Longshore benefits (LHWCA). Makers of products built to Navy specifications often raise the federal government-contractor defense.

Watervliet Arsenal, West Point, Fort Drum, and Stewart Air National Guard Base are military installations, and Brookhaven National Laboratory is a Department of Energy laboratory run by a contractor. These federal installations are not premises defendants.

Benefits are coordinated with the civil case and trust filings, and some of them take a refund out of a civil recovery.

FECA (Federal Employees' Compensation Act) — federal civil-service employees at the Brooklyn Navy Yard (until 1966), Watervliet Arsenal, and other installations. FECA is their only remedy against the United States (5 U.S.C. § 8116(c)) and takes a refund out of any third-party recovery (§ 8132); a worker who is also a veteran generally must choose between FECA and VA benefits for the same disease (§ 8116(b))
LHWCA (Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act) — private shipyard and harbor workers. LHWCA is the exclusive remedy against the shipyard employer (33 U.S.C. § 905(a)); a third-party settlement for less than the compensation due needs the prior written approval of the employer and its insurer (§ 933(g)); after a worker accepts compensation under an award, the claim against third parties is assigned to the employer if the worker doesn't sue within six months (§ 933(b)); the employer owes only the compensation that exceeds the worker's net third-party recovery (§ 933(f)); and failing to tell the employer about any third-party settlement or judgment ends the right to compensation and medical benefits (§ 933(g)(2))
EEOICPA (Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act) — contractor employees at Brookhaven National Laboratory, if the Department of Labor covers the facility and period. Asbestos disease is a Part E claim (DOE contractor employees only), capped at $250,000 and reduced by state workers' compensation; EEOICPA benefits are also offset by lawsuit and trust recoveries for the same illness
September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Program — both cover mesothelioma, but they are separate programs with different eligibility rules. The fund requires presence in its New York City exposure zone (Manhattan south of Canal Street, East Broadway, and Clinton Street, plus debris-removal routes such as barges and the Fresh Kills landfill for those who handled the debris) between September 11, 2001 and May 30, 2002, or at the Pentagon or Shanksville sites in the weeks after the attacks. The Health Program has its own categories for responders and for survivors who lived, worked, or went to school in Manhattan south of Houston Street or nearby parts of Brooklyn. Work at the World Trade Center before 2001 doesn't count for either. The fund reduces its awards by certain other payments, including lawsuit recoveries, and filing a fund claim gives up the right to sue over 9/11 exposure, so we review both before anyone files
VA service-connected disability — veterans whose service involved asbestos exposure. The VA has no automatic presumption for asbestos diseases, but it treats in-service asbestos exposure as likely for many Navy ratings; a claim still needs a diagnosis and a doctor's opinion linking the disease to service
Social Security disability — workers under full retirement age

What happens after you call?

A free case review is a conversation, not a commitment to file a lawsuit. Here is what to expect.

The first call. Fifteen to thirty minutes, by phone, on your schedule. We listen first. We ask about the diagnosis, the work history, and the family situation.
No-pressure follow-up. If we think there may be a claim, we explain the paths in plain English — trust claims, civil lawsuit, benefit programs. You decide whether to move forward.
Retention. If you choose to retain us, we sign a contingent-fee agreement. No fee unless we recover.
Exposure reconstruction. We pull employment records, union records, Social Security earnings records, military records, and (if applicable) 9/11 documentation, and check the worksites against the asbestos trusts' New York lists and our exposure database.
Trust claims. We prepare claims against the bankruptcy trusts the evidence supports.
Civil filing. Where a lawsuit makes sense, we file it — New York City cases in the New York City Asbestos Litigation (NYCAL), with a request for its accelerated docket where the medical situation warrants it. When to file each claim is decided case by case.
Benefits. Workers' compensation, LHWCA, FECA, EEOICPA, the 9/11 programs, VA, and Social Security claims are coordinated with the lawsuit and trust claims as eligibility supports.
Settlement or trial. Most asbestos cases settle. If a defendant makes a formal offer to allow judgment under New York's rules that is turned down and the final judgment is not more favorable, those rules can shift that defendant's court costs incurred after the offer. We discuss every settlement offer with the family before anyone responds to it.

Call 833-4-ASBESTOS when you are ready.

How New York's laws may work in practice

Anthony's story. Anthony is a 71-year-old retired insulator from Bayside, Queens. From 1973, when he was 18, through 2007 he worked as a union insulator for insulation contractors across New York City — installing and removing thermal insulation on steam pipes, boilers, and HVAC systems in Manhattan office buildings, on the fit-out of the original World Trade Center towers in the early 1970s, and on Con Edison steam work across the boroughs. He did no work in lower Manhattan after September 11, 2001, and he never served in the military. He retired in 2007.

In early 2026 Anthony developed abdominal pain, bloating, and weight loss. Imaging showed thickening of the abdominal lining with fluid, and in March 2026 a laparoscopic biopsy confirmed peritoneal mesothelioma of the sarcomatoid subtype.

What Anthony's family may recover. Anthony's case is filed in the New York City Asbestos Litigation (NYCAL) in Manhattan, well before early 2029, counting three years from his early-2026 symptoms, with a request for the court's accelerated docket. It is brought in negligence and strict liability for failure to warn against the still-solvent companies that made and sold the insulation, gaskets, packing, and cement he worked with, and against makers of equipment, such as valves, pumps, and boilers, that needed asbestos parts to work. Each company's product has to be tied to his exposure through expert evidence. Trust claims are filed with the trusts the evidence supports: the World Trade Center is recognized by at least 7 trusts and Con Edison's Waterside station by at least 9, each including Johns-Manville. He also files a workers' compensation claim against his last insulation-contractor employer; the comp insurer will take a share of any lawsuit recovery, a settlement for less than the comp due needs its consent, and because he takes comp, the lawsuit must also be filed within the comp law's shorter time limits or the insurer can take it over. He has no claim against Con Edison or the building owners unless they controlled his work. He is past full retirement age (no Social Security disability) and, with no work in lower Manhattan after 9/11, has no 9/11 fund claim.

His wife and children lived with the asbestos dust on his clothes for decades. As part of our representation, we offer free asbestos health screening to family members of every client who may have been exposed at home. The screening is a chest X-ray read by a B-reader, with a CT scan if needed; it looks for asbestos-related changes in the lungs and isn't a diagnosis or a reliable way to find mesothelioma early. If Anthony dies while the case is pending, his estate continues his claim and adds the wrongful-death claim; punitive damages can be sought in both if the evidence supports them. His wife and any children who depended on him share the wrongful-death recovery by their financial loss; New York doesn't allow grief damages.

Legal analysis of this hypothetical

Deadline analysis. Three years under C.P.L.R. § 214(5), computed under § 214-c(2) from discovery of the injury or when it should have been discovered. Under Wetherill, symptoms that were manifestations of the mesothelioma may start the clock before the March 2026 diagnosis, so the safe deadline counts from early 2026. If he dies while the case is pending, the personal-injury complaint may be enlarged to add the wrongful-death claim (EPTL § 11-3.3(b)(2)).

Venue. NYCAL in New York County Supreme Court, under its case management order (entered June 23, 2017; Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig. (All NYCAL Cases), 159 A.D.3d 576 (1st Dep't 2018)), with a request for the accelerated docket.

Pleading theory. Strict liability and negligence for failure to warn against the solvent manufacturers and sellers of the insulation, gaskets, packing, and cement he handled, and against equipment makers whose products needed asbestos parts to function (Dummitt, 27 N.Y.3d 765 (2016)). Bankrupt manufacturers are paid through their trusts, not sued. No premises claim against Con Edison or building owners without evidence that they supervised or controlled his work or created or knew of the condition (Philbin, 25 A.D.3d 374 (1st Dep't 2006); Labor Law § 200); Con Edison specifications that required asbestos insulation, with Con Edison monitoring compliance, would be such evidence (Brown, 146 A.D.3d 461 (1st Dep't 2017)). No warranty claim: U.C.C. § 2-725 runs from delivery. Punitive damages, if pleaded, follow the case management order's notice and discovery rules, and the case would be tried alone.

Causation. Expert proof of exposure to each defendant's product at levels sufficient to cause his mesothelioma (Parker, 7 N.Y.3d 434 (2006); Juni, 32 N.Y.3d 1116 (2018); Nemeth, 38 N.Y.3d 336 (2022)).

Comparative fault and joint liability. Pure comparative fault (C.P.L.R. § 1411). Economic damages joint and several; a defendant found 50% or less at fault pays only its share of non-economic damages (§ 1601), with bankrupt companies' shares counted, unless it acted with reckless disregard (§ 1602(7)). Settlements credited under Gen. Oblig. Law § 15-108.

Workers' compensation. Occupational-disease claim against the last employer in the insulating work (Workers' Comp. Law § 45), filed and noticed within two years after disablement and knowledge of the work link (§§ 28, 45). The carrier's lien and the consent requirement apply to the lawsuit recovery (§ 29(1), (5)), and the third-party action is filed in time to avoid the § 29(2) assignment. While he is alive, the defendants can't bring his employers into the case or have their fault counted; after a death, which is a "grave injury" under § 11, they can (C.P.L.R. § 1601(1)).

Damages. No statutory caps. Collateral-source reduction (C.P.L.R. § 4545); structured payment of future damages over $250,000 (§ 5041).

Federal programs. None: no federal employment, no military service, past full retirement age (no SSDI), and no presence in the 9/11 disaster area.

Post-death framework. Wrongful-death claim under EPTL § 5-4.1 for the distributees' pecuniary losses (§§ 5-4.3(a), 5-4.4), with punitive damages available under § 5-4.3(b); the survival claim under § 11-3.2(b) for his pre-death damages, with punitive damages available for deaths after August 31, 1982.

This example is general. Every case depends on the diagnosis, exposure history, dates, defendants, applicable law, and available evidence.

Why families choose our firm

Our firm has recovered over $400 million for asbestos clients nationally. We routinely get claims approved by many asbestos trusts.

No investigation lag. We often know on day one which trusts recognize your worksite. The Bethlehem Steel Lackawanna plant alone is recognized by at least 15 trusts, including Johns-Manville, and 29 asbestos trusts list New York worksites.
Steel, chemical, power-station, shipyard, and construction documentation — Bethlehem Steel Lackawanna, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Eastman Kodak, General Electric Schenectady, Hooker Chemical, Allied Chemical Solvay, Corning Glass Works, the Con Edison stations, the World Trade Center, and the New York City construction trades.
Pleading strategy built for New York law — failure-to-warn claims against equipment makers under Dummitt, expert causation proof that meets Parker, reckless-disregard proof under Article 16, and punitive damages where the evidence supports them.
Benefits coordination — workers' compensation, LHWCA for private shipyard workers, FECA for federal civil-service employees, EEOICPA for DOE contractor employees, the 9/11 programs, VA benefits for veterans, and SSDI for workers under full retirement age, coordinated with the civil case and trust claims, including the repayment rights some of them carry.
Filing during life. A worker who files while alive can testify about where he worked and what he handled, and filing early protects the deadline for the whole family. Call as soon as possible after diagnosis.
Remote case handling. We work with New York families by phone, video, mail, and home visit. You do not need to travel to our office.
No fee unless we recover. Contingent fee.

Learn more about our firm and asbestos database

Court decisions: 711 asbestos cases from New York courts

Frequently asked questions

What is the statute of limitations for mesothelioma in New York?

Three years. Exactly when the clock starts varies, so to be safe, count from the date of diagnosis. New York starts the three years when the illness was discovered, or should have been, even before anyone links it to asbestos. If symptoms or an earlier X-ray, CT scan or screening showed lung or abdominal disease, a New York court may count the three years from then, so call us right away.

How long do families have to file a wrongful-death claim?

Two years from the date of death. But New York allows a wrongful-death claim only if the worker could still have sued on the day he died, so if the worker's own three years ran out before the death without a lawsuit being filed, the family's claim is usually barred too. The estate's claim for the worker's own losses keeps the worker's three-year deadline, or one year after the death if that is later.

Can my family still call if my loved one already died?

Yes. The family's wrongful-death claim pays its financial losses from the death, and the estate's claim carries on the worker's own case, including pain and suffering. Punitive damages can be sought in both where the evidence supports them. Call as soon as possible: the two-year wrongful-death deadline runs from the date of death, and if the worker's own three years ran out before the death without a lawsuit being filed, the family's claim is usually barred too.

Do I need to know the asbestos product names?

No. Most families do not. We rebuild product identification from employer records, union records, coworker testimony, historical industrial-hygiene literature, and the asbestos trusts' worksite lists. A general description of the work is enough to start.

Do I need old employment records before calling?

No. We pull Social Security earnings records, union records, military records, and other employment documentation under our standard authorizations after retention. If you have anything already, great — but please do not wait to call while you search.

Can an adult child call for a parent?

Yes. This is the most common entry-point call we receive. Adult children call on behalf of a parent every day. We are used to working with the whole family.

Will we have to file a lawsuit?

Not necessarily. Many New York families recover meaningful compensation through asbestos trust claims and benefit programs alone. We lay out every path and follow your lead. We will not push you into a courtroom you do not want.

Are trust claims separate from lawsuits?

Yes. Trust claims are administrative claims against bankruptcy trusts set up by companies that already filed for bankruptcy. But they are connected: in the New York City asbestos court, trust claims must be filed and disclosed on the court's schedule, and at trial the jury can assign a share of the fault to bankrupt companies. We plan trust claims and any lawsuit together.

Can I file a New York claim if I no longer live in New York?

Often, yes, if the exposure happened in New York. Whether a New York court can hear the case also depends on each company's connections to New York. If you live outside New York and your claim arose in another state, New York applies the shorter of its own deadline and that state's. We walk through this on the call.

What if the exposure happened at work?

Workers' compensation is generally the only remedy against your own employer, and it has its own deadlines. Most New York asbestos cases are brought against the product manufacturers and, sometimes, the owners of other companies' sites. Comp takes a share of a lawsuit recovery, and a settlement for less than the comp due needs the insurer's consent or a court order.

What if the exposure happened through a spouse's work clothes?

Family members exposed to asbestos dust brought home on a worker's clothes may have their own claims against the product manufacturers and trusts. But New York's highest court has held that a worker's employer owed no duty to a wife who laundered his work clothes (Holdampf, 2005), and it has not decided whether manufacturers owe such a duty, so these claims are uncertain. Our representation includes free asbestos health screening for family members of clients who may have been exposed at home.

Are punitive damages available in New York asbestos cases?

They can be. New York has no cap on punitive damages. They require proof that a company itself acted with malice or reckless disregard for others' safety. In the New York City asbestos court they were put on hold from 1996 until 2014; under the court's current rules they may be sought with advance notice, and a case seeking them is tried on its own.

Where will my New York case be filed?

New York City exposure cases are usually filed in the New York City Asbestos Litigation (NYCAL) in New York County Supreme Court in Manhattan, which has an accelerated docket for the most seriously ill. Cases from elsewhere in the state are filed in the supreme court of the county where the claim arose or a party lives — for example, Erie County for Bethlehem Steel Lackawanna, Monroe County for Kodak in Rochester, Onondaga County for Allied Chemical Solvay, and Schenectady County for GE. Where federal jurisdiction exists, cases can also be filed in federal court.

What about 9/11 exposure?

The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and the World Trade Center Health Program both cover mesothelioma, but they are separate programs with different eligibility rules. The fund requires presence in lower Manhattan south of Canal Street (or on the debris-removal routes, such as the barges and the Fresh Kills landfill, for those who handled the debris) between September 11, 2001 and May 30, 2002, or at the Pentagon or Shanksville sites in the weeks after the attacks. The Health Program has its own categories for responders and for survivors who lived, worked, or went to school in Manhattan south of Houston Street or nearby parts of Brooklyn. Work at the World Trade Center before 2001 doesn't count for either. The fund reduces its awards by certain other payments, including lawsuit recoveries, and filing a fund claim gives up the right to sue over 9/11 exposure, so we review the whole picture before anyone files.

Was the exposure at Bethlehem Steel, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Kodak, General Electric, or Corning?

The trusts' New York lists document each of them. Bethlehem Steel's Lackawanna plant is recognized by at least 15 trusts, the Brooklyn Navy Yard by at least 13, Eastman Kodak's Kodak Park and General Electric's Schenectady Works by at least 12 each, and Corning Glass Works by at least 10, each including Johns-Manville.

Talk with a New York mesothelioma lawyer

Whether your family is dealing with a new diagnosis, a very sick loved one, or a death from mesothelioma, our New York team is ready to help. Whether the exposure was at Bethlehem Steel Lackawanna, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Eastman Kodak in Rochester, General Electric in Schenectady, Corning Glass Works, Hooker Chemical in Niagara Falls, a Con Edison station, Watervliet Arsenal, Brookhaven National Laboratory, in the New York City construction trades, in 9/11 response or recovery work, or anywhere else across the state, we can help your family understand every path open to it.

You do not need to know the product names. You do not need to have all the records. You do not need to travel to our office. A spouse or adult child can call for the family.

Call 833-4-ASBESTOS Request a free case review

Sources and references

Statutes and rules

N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 214(5) — three-year personal-injury statute of limitations.
N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 214-c(2), (4) — latent-exposure claims: three years from discovery of the injury or when it should have been discovered; one-year extension for later discovery of the cause in narrow circumstances.
N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 203(a) — computation from accrual to interposition of the claim.
N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 210(a) — one year after death for the representative of a person who dies before the period expires.
N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 202 — borrowing statute for nonresidents' claims that accrued outside New York.
N.Y. C.P.L.R. §§ 1411, 1412 — pure comparative negligence (subsection (b), added 2026, applies only to motor-vehicle cases under Insurance Law article 51); culpable conduct as an affirmative defense.
N.Y. C.P.L.R. §§ 1600–1603 — limited liability for non-economic loss of a defendant 50% or less at fault; exceptions including reckless disregard (§ 1602(7)); burdens of proof.
N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 3221 — offer to compromise; cost shifting when an offer is rejected and the judgment is not more favorable.
N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 4545 — collateral-source reduction of economic damages.
N.Y. C.P.L.R. 4533-a — itemized paid bills up to $2,000 as prima facie proof of reasonable value.
N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5041 — structured payment of future damages over $250,000 (Article 50-B).
N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 8101 — costs to the prevailing party.
N.Y. U.C.C. § 2-725 — four-year warranty period, running from delivery.
N.Y. EPTL § 5-4.1 — wrongful-death action by the personal representative; two years from death; only against a person who would have been liable to the decedent.
N.Y. EPTL §§ 5-4.3, 5-4.4 — wrongful-death damages (pecuniary injuries; punitive damages for deaths on or after September 1, 1982); distribution by pecuniary injury.
N.Y. EPTL §§ 11-3.2, 11-3.3 — survival of personal-injury claims; punitive damages barred only for deaths on or before August 31, 1982, and against a deceased wrongdoer's estate; survival damages limited to those before death.
N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 15-108 — settlement credits: greatest of the amount stipulated, the consideration paid, or the released tortfeasor's equitable share.
N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law § 11 — exclusive remedy; "grave injury" limit on third-party claims against the employer.
N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law §§ 28, 45 — occupational-disease claim and notice deadlines.
N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law § 29 — third-party actions, the carrier's lien, settlement consent, and assignment of the claim if not timely brought.
N.Y. Labor Law § 200 — owners' and contractors' general duty to protect workers.
NYCAL Case Management Order (entered June 23, 2017) — accelerated docket, trust-claim deadlines, and punitive-damages procedures in the New York City Asbestos Litigation.
5 U.S.C. §§ 8116(b), (c), 8132 — FECA exclusivity, VA election, and refund from third-party recoveries.
33 U.S.C. §§ 903(b), 905(a), 933 — LHWCA exclusion of federal employees, exclusivity, and third-party settlement rules.

Cases

Matter of New York County DES Litig. (Wetherill), 89 N.Y.2d 506 (1997) — § 214-c clock runs from discovery of the primary condition, not its cause.
Marlowe v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., 112 A.D.2d 769 (4th Dep't 1985) — a wrongful-death claim requires a viable cause of action on the day of death.
Carrick v. Central Gen. Hosp., 51 N.Y.2d 242 (1980) — wrongful death as a creature of statute.
Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig. (Holdampf), 5 N.Y.3d 486 (2005) — no duty owed by the worker's employer to a household member who laundered his work clothes.
Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig. (Dummitt), 27 N.Y.3d 765 (2016) — manufacturer's duty to warn of third-party parts needed for its product to function.
Parker v. Mobil Oil Corp., 7 N.Y.3d 434 (2006) — toxic-tort causation requires exposure at sufficient levels.
Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig. (Juni), 32 N.Y.3d 1116 (2018) — insufficient causation evidence against a brake manufacturer.
Nemeth v. Brenntag N. Am., 38 N.Y.3d 336 (2022) — talc verdict set aside for lack of proof of a sufficient dose.
Cornell v. 360 W. 51st St. Realty, LLC, 22 N.Y.3d 762 (2014) — expert causation proof.
Codling v. Paglia, 32 N.Y.2d 330 (1973) — strict products liability.
Voss v. Black & Decker Mfg. Co., 59 N.Y.2d 102 (1983) — design defect.
Basso v. Miller, 40 N.Y.2d 233 (1976) — reasonable care replaces entrant categories.
Comes v. New York State Elec. & Gas Corp., 82 N.Y.2d 876 (1993) — owner liability under Labor Law § 200 requires supervision or control.
Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig. (Philbin), 25 A.D.3d 374 (1st Dep't 2006) — no Con Edison liability to a contractor's roofer without supervision or control.
Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig. (Brown), 146 A.D.3d 461 (1st Dep't 2017) — Con Edison liable where its specifications required asbestos insulation and it monitored compliance.
Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig. (North), 142 A.D.3d 408 (1st Dep't 2016) — detailed specifications for asbestos work supported a Labor Law § 200 verdict.
Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig. (Konstantin; Dummitt), 121 A.D.3d 230 (1st Dep't 2014), aff'd 27 N.Y.3d 1172 (2016) and 27 N.Y.3d 765 (2016) — reckless-disregard findings against asbestos defendants upheld.
Rangolan v. County of Nassau, 96 N.Y.2d 42 (2001) — the non-delegable-duty provision does not bar apportionment.
Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig., 130 A.D.3d 489 (1st Dep't 2015) — authority to lift the punitive-damages deferral; procedures required.
Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig. (All NYCAL Cases), 159 A.D.3d 576 (1st Dep't 2018) — 2017 case management order upheld; punitive deferral not reinstated.
Majewski v. Broadalbin-Perth Cent. Sch. Dist., 91 N.Y.2d 577 (1998) — reach of the 1996 grave-injury amendment.
Acevedo v. Consolidated Edison Co., 189 A.D.2d 497 (1st Dep't 1993) — employer intentional-tort exception in an asbestos-release case.
Home Ins. Co. v. American Home Prods. Corp., 75 N.Y.2d 196 (1990) — punitive damages standard.
BMW of N. Am., Inc. v. Gore, 517 U.S. 559 (1996) — federal due-process review of punitive damages.
State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Campbell, 538 U.S. 408 (2003) — federal due-process review of punitive damages.
Boyle v. United Technologies Corp., 487 U.S. 500 (1988) — federal government-contractor defense.

Last reviewed: November 2026. The Law Offices of Justinian C. Lane, Esq. — PLLC | Round Rock, TX · Mesa, AZ · Redmond, WA. We partner with firms in every relevant jurisdiction so claims can be handled in the appropriate court or claims system.

This page is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Every asbestos case turns on its own facts, exposure history, diagnosis, deadlines, available evidence, and applicable law. Reviewing this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, call 833-4-ASBESTOS for a free case review.