NEW YORK, Nov. 21, 2011 — The last thing Robin Veraldo wanted was to sue.
But suing was among the final wishes of her dying, cancer-stricken husband.
So, the Montvale, N.J., woman went out to seek justice — and found it for the two of them.
Now, Veraldo rests easier, both for having kept the solemn promise she made to her late husband and for having won a substantial out-of-court settlement from the maker of an asbestos product believed to be the cause of 52-year-old Randy Veraldo's death in 2009.
"Randy decided to go after the company in court as soon as he was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma cancer," she says. "He felt very strongly that the company should be held accountable because there were things they could have done that would have protected him, and they didn't. He felt the public should know about this.
"But he knew he wasn't going to live long enough to see it through. That's why, before he died, he made me promise to go forward with the case. He said, 'Please, I need to know that you're going to follow through with this after I'm gone.'
"I didn't want to sue because I knew that it would mean going to court and reliving all this sorrow."
Emotions ran the gamut
Before he passed away, Randy Veraldo hired the New York-based mass tort and personal injury litigation law firm of Weitz & Luxenberg P.C. to act as counsel in a suit ultimately filed in New Jersey Superior Court [docket L-4883-09 AS, Middlesex County], with Robin Veraldo in the role of plaintiff. Case documents reveal that Randy Veraldo worked from 1978-85 as a parts handler at a Teterboro, N.J., warehouse where the job required him to unpack clutch plates delivered on a near-daily basis from various suppliers. The clutch plates were said to contain asbestos.
Asbestos is a mineral once widely used in the U.S. as a cheap insulating material. However, contact with it is known to cause mesothelioma cancer and other life-threatening health problems that can surface long years after exposure, explained attorney Leonard Feldman, Esq., leading asbestos litigator in the Cherry Hill, N.J., office of Weitz & Luxenberg.
Scientists have studied at length the asbestos-mesothelioma connection, but remain perplexed as to how exposure to asbestos triggers mesothelioma cancer. They know only that asbestos exposure is the most common cause of mesothelioma, that mesothelioma is generally fatal within eight to 16 months of initial onset of symptoms, and that people who worked with asbestos products before the federal government banned further manufacture of such wares beginning in the late 1960s are the most likely to develop the horrific disease.
Robin Veraldo says she at first didn't know what to think — or feel — upon learning her husband had contracted mesothelioma from handling a seemingly benign industrial product. "My emotions ran the gamut. Anger. Frustration. Fear. I felt it all," she says. "Once we realized what it meant to have mesothelioma, Randy said he basically felt like he'd been murdered."
Seven months later, Randy Veraldo lay dead.
Robin Veraldo recalls how much she appreciated that her Weitz & Luxenberg attorneys handled matters in a way that allowed her to somewhat mentally disengage from the case while she attempted to put back together the pieces of her shattered life. "They were sensitive to my need to grieve and figure things out in my life, so they tried to work around that as much as possible," she says.
"They were very good about making it easy for me to fill out paperwork that was needed and to comply with other requests they had. Yet I always felt like I was in the loop when it came to case progress, without being overwhelmed by it. I didn't feel like decisions were being made for me. I felt very much included, part of the team. My thoughts and views were respected. As a result, I had complete confidence in Weitz & Luxenberg."
Took the correct approach
According to mesothelioma attorney Feldman, the defendant manufacturer believed it could escape liability by asserting that the type of clutch plates Randy Veraldo handled contained no asbestos. But, during deposition questioning of a company official, the Weitz & Luxenberg team easily punctured that claim. "I asked if the non-asbestos clutch plates made dust and the company representative said no," Feldman recounted. "I then pointed out that Mr. Veraldo before he died stated there was a lot of dust from the clutches. Therefore, by the company representative's own definition, Mr. Veraldo could only have handled asbestos clutch plates."
The company's defense unraveled further when Weitz & Luxenberg called world-class expert witnesses to testify. "The combination of these pressures forced the defendant's legal team to recognize that it was going to have to pay a very high amount either way, so they decided to cut their losses by settling and not risk an even higher verdict from the jury," said Feldman.
The amount paid by the defendant is undisclosed under the terms of the settlement, Feldman indicates.
Meanwhile, a victorious Robin Veraldo says she believes Weitz & Luxenberg took the correct approach in bringing the defendant to account. Moreover, "Weitz & Luxenberg was very caring, very compassionate, very understanding of what my husband and I were each going through," she adds.
Now that the legal battle is behind her, Veraldo hopes other mesothelioma victims or their survivors will similarly take steps to right the wrongs done to them. "My husband's mindset was, who knows how many other people have been affected by asbestos products? He wanted to sue because he thought his case would give others who were harmed the desire to go forward with cases of their own. I hope that's exactly what happens. I hope he gets his wish."
About Weitz & Luxenberg
Founded in 1986 by attorneys Perry Weitz and Arthur Luxenberg, Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C., today ranks among the nation's leading law firms. Weitz & Luxenberg's numerous litigation areas include: mesothelioma, defective medicine and devices, environmental pollutants, accidents, personal injury, and medical malpractice. Victims of accidents are invited to rely on Weitz & Luxenberg's more than 20 years of handling such cases — begin by contacting the firm's Client Relations department at 1-800-476-6070 or at Email and ask for a free legal consultation. More information: http://www.weitzlux.com.
Contact:
Weitz & Luxenberg P.C.
David Kufeld, 1-800-476-6070
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