Simmons Hanly Conroy

Simmons Hanly Conroy represents families affected by mesothelioma and asbestos-related cancer.

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Millions of Americans have selflessly served in the U.S. military, prioritizing our nation’s freedom over their personal well-being. For many citizens, their courage holds a significance far beyond a commitment to defend our country.
Celebrated annually on November 11, Veterans Day is a tribute to veterans and a token of thanks for their noble service, including those who suffered trauma, injuries, and illnesses due to their time in the military.
Some of these ailments are psychological in nature, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), while others may appear decades after service as a result of exposure to toxic substances like asbestos.
Continue Reading Veterans Day 2024: Honoring U.S. Veterans and Their Fight Against Mesothelioma

On September 26, 2024, communities across the country will join together to recognize Mesothelioma Awareness Day, which is dedicated to bringing attention to this rare asbestos-caused cancer and raising funds for mesothelioma treatments.
The day coincides with the annual Miles for Meso 5K Run and 3K Fun Run & Walk, an event organized by Simmons Hanly Conroy since 2009. This year’s race was held both virtually and in-person on September 21 and supported the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO).
Over the years, our asbestos law firm has pledged more than $21 million to mesothelioma and cancer research while fighting
Continue Reading Mesothelioma Awareness Day 2024: Hope, Help, and Health

Exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer that doesn’t discriminate based on wealth, job title, or social status. 
Mesothelioma is considered a rare disease, with only 3,000 Americans diagnosed each year. Despite this, it has taken the lives of many well-known public figures, including musicians, politicians, actors, and athletes. 
Many celebrities have passed away from mesothelioma, including the beloved actor Steve McQueen, the musician Warren Zevon, the football player Merlin Olson, and more.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, get a free consultation now to see how we may be able to help. 
Continue Reading 8 Famous Deaths Caused by Mesothelioma & Asbestos Exposure

Asbestos lawsuits are complex, and choosing the right mesothelioma lawyer to represent you can make all the difference in the outcome of your case.
An attorney can help you take legal action and pursue compensation from the manufacturers of the asbestos products you were exposed to — but only a few have the experience and resources to go toe-to-toe against some of the biggest companies in the world.
Your legal team will be responsible for performing extensive research to determine how you were exposed to asbestos, identify which companies may be at fault, and assess all of the compensation options available
Continue Reading How to Choose a Mesothelioma Lawyer

“I have not received a penny…I should have had nine weeks wages now through no fault of my own,” said Nellie Kershaw — a young, hard-working British woman who died in poverty from asbestosis in 1924.
Nellie was a wife and mother who unknowingly went to a job for 14 years that slowly poisoned her. She, and later her husband, begged for rightful compensation as she lay on her deathbed, but ultimately received nothing.
Her death would become the first documented case of occupational asbestos exposure in medical literature — but Nellie never knew that exposure to asbestos could cause
Continue Reading Nellie Kershaw: An Inspiration to Stand Up Against Asbestos Exposure

Every year, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) dedicates the first full week of April to Global Asbestos Awareness Week (GAAW). From April 1 to April 7, Simmons Hanly Conroy will join advocates across the world in the fight to ban asbestos.
For 20 years now, the ADAO has dedicated itself to generating much-needed awareness of the dangers of asbestos, preventing exposure to the carcinogen and fighting to ban all use and imports of asbestos in the United States.
This year, GAAW falls just weeks after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a ban on the importation and use of
Continue Reading April 1-7 Marks the 20th Annual Global Asbestos Awareness Week — Here’s What to Know

On March 18, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the agency would be banning the use of chrysotile asbestos.
An asbestos ban was first passed in 1989, but it was overturned in 1991. Since then the government has failed to protect the public from asbestos and its resulting health issues like mesothelioma. As a result, 40,000 people die from asbestos-related diseases every year.
One of the few options for justice victims have had is through mesothelioma lawsuits filed long after the damage was already done.
The EPA’s asbestos regulation is a historic move to protect workers in industries that
Continue Reading EPA Bans Chrysotile Asbestos in Historic Announcement

As soon as asbestos became an industrial commodity in the late 19th century, the clock began ticking. Sooner or later, the public would find out just how deadly this carcinogenic substance really was.
The only question was how long it would take — and how many people would have to suffer needlessly before asbestos companies were no longer able to hide or deny a growing body of medical research proving the health hazards of asbestos.
From the early 1900s through the 1970s, the asbestos industry would find itself in a golden era, hailing asbestos as a “miracle mineral” due to
Continue Reading History of Asbestos, Pt. 4: Asbestos from Its Prime to the Era of Regulation

For thousands of years, asbestos remained in the margins of ancient society, bewildering onlookers with its magical fire-resistant properties while concealing its more harmful ones. But as civilization matured, so did its use of asbestos.
In our previous installments, we learned how ancient and medieval societies used this mysterious, naturally occurring mineral to protect cremated remains, clean fabrics, mystify travelers and besiege castles.
However, asbestos use reached new heights in the 19th century, when ambitious industrialists found ways to make extraordinary profits from mining the mineral and manufacturing asbestos-containing products, like insulation, roofing tiles, brake pads and cement.
This
Continue Reading History of Asbestos, Pt. 3: Asbestos in the Industrial Age

On February 1, 2024, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), in partnership with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), launched a new campaign to broadcast the dangers of asbestos and urge lawmakers to ban asbestos in the United States.

Asbestos is a highly toxic mineral that causes mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer. Despite more than 70 countries banning the material, asbestos is still legal in the U.S., putting innocent lives at risk.
“ADAO and IAFF’s message in Times Square is clear: Asbestos remains a killer, and our firefighters are disproportionately affected,” said Linda Reinstein, ADAO co-founder
Continue Reading ADAO and IAFF Fight for Asbestos Ban During National Cancer Prevention Month

In our last post on the history of asbestos, we explored how ancient civilizations made use of this seemingly unthreatening fibrous mineral.
Centuries ago, before asbestos was found to be the primary cause of mesothelioma, asbestos mining could be traced back thousands of years to before the construction of the Great Pyramids.
For most of that ancient history, though, asbestos was used for one of two purposes:

  • To keep ashes from mixing with the funeral pyre during cremations, when the body would be wrapped in a flame-resistant asbestos cloth
  • To impress visitors from foreign lands with fire-resistant party


Continue Reading History of Asbestos, Pt. 2: Asbestos in the Middle Ages

Asbestos is a known health hazard and is highly regulated by both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Damaged or worn-down asbestos-containing products may release fibers that can be inhaled or swallowed. Once asbestos particles enter the lungs or digestive system tissues, they can remain there forever.
Over time, asbestos fibers can cause mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer, as well as other deadly diseases.
“Although the use of asbestos and asbestos products has dramatically decreased in recent years, they are still found in many residential and commercial
Continue Reading Top 10 Occupations at Risk of Asbestos Exposure in 2024

It’s hard to believe asbestos was only recognized to be toxic a little over a century ago. This naturally occurring mineral was already being mined when the Great Pyramids were built, and for thousands of years, humanity handled it without the slightest of precautions.
Today, we know asbestos is highly dangerous and the primary cause of mesothelioma, one of the most lethal cancers. That bit of knowledge is a privilege of the scientific and medical understanding in the modern era.
Despite decades of research on how dangerous it is, asbestos remains legal to use in the United States. Millions
Continue Reading History of Asbestos, Pt. 1: Asbestos in the Ancient World

December 7, 1941: “A day that will live in infamy,” remarked President Franklin D. Roosevelt after Pearl Harbor was attacked by some 350 Japanese fighter planes, which drove the United States to join the Allied Forces in the fight against the Axis powers in the Second World War.
This year marks the 82nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, which took the lives of thousands of American soldiers and civilians stationed at the sprawling military base in Oahu, Hawaii. We honor them by recognizing Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day each year.
Frank Curre, who was only 17 years old
Continue Reading Honoring U.S. Navy Veteran and Mesothelioma Warrior Frank Curre on National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

Millions of Americans have selflessly served in the U.S. military, prioritizing our nation’s freedom over their personal well-being. For many citizens, their courage holds a significance far beyond a commitment to defend our country.
Celebrated annually on November 11, Veterans Day is a tribute to veterans and a token of thanks for their noble service, including those who suffered trauma, injuries and illnesses due to their time in the military.
Some of these ailments are psychological in nature, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), while others may appear decades after service as a result of exposure to toxic substances like asbestos.
Continue Reading Veterans Day 2023: Honoring U.S. Veterans and Their Fight Against Mesothelioma

Asbestos is a known health hazard and is highly regulated by both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Damaged or worn-down asbestos-containing products may release fibers that can be inhaled or swallowed. Once asbestos particles enter the lungs or digestive system tissues, they can remain there forever.
Over time, asbestos fibers can cause mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer, as well as other deadly diseases.
“Although the use of asbestos and asbestos products has dramatically decreased in recent years, they are still found in many residential and commercial
Continue Reading 10 Top Occupations at Risk of Asbestos Exposure in 2023