Asbestos Exposure Lawyer
Apartments and Asbestos
An apartment complex fire that happened in July of last year has left more than 50 residents homeless due more to the asbestos found during clean up than the fire itself. While the fire burned for several hours in early July which forced residents to flee the building while fire crews worked on containing the fire.
The next day, clean-up crews arrived to start clearing the debris and working on getting the evacuated residents back into their apartments. Unfortunately, the environmental crews that arrived with the clean-up crews found asbestos fibers in the wreckage. This is expected to keep the apartment complex uninhabitable at least until the air quality tests come back with levels of toxins at an acceptable level.
The fire raises the important issue of what to do in the event of asbestos in an apartment. By law in many jurisdictions, landlords or leasing agents are required to inform a tenant of the presence or potential presence of asbestos in an apartment. While this is a good step to take, it is frequently not enough.
An individual who has been informed of the possibility of asbestos in his or her apartment should not, under any circumstances, drill into the walls or ceiling. If the landlord says exactly where he or she thinks the asbestos is, the tenant should then be very careful not to disturb the integrity of the asbestos.
When the integrity of the asbestos-containing compound is disturbed, the fibers become airborne and deadly. Asbestos that is merely present in a wall or wrapped around a pipe is not a problem. It is when the asbestos is disturbed and allowed to release fibers into the air that it becomes a deadly substance.
Contact an Asbestos Exposure Lawyer
If you have been exposed to asbestos in your apartment through a fire, construction, renovations, or other circumstance that has somehow disturbed the integrity of the fibers, there may be legal options available to you. To determine these legal options and to discuss your case, contact the asbestos exposure lawyers of Williams Kherkher at 1-800-781-3955 today.
