An Overwhelming Diagnosis No One Ever Expected
In 2022, Teddy Fengarinas began to feel a heavy weight in his chest and struggled to breathe. He went to the hospital, where doctors discovered 5 liters of fluid around his lungs.
When Teddy was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma, his family knew they were facing something serious. What they didn’t know was how quickly the disease would change their lives.
“I had known what mesothelioma was. Everybody always hears about it, but nobody really knows anybody that's diagnosed with it,” said Teddy’s son, Steve. “So when you have a loved one that gets diagnosed with mesothelioma, it was pretty jarring and really confusing as to what was going to happen next.”
The family soon learned that Teddy’s cancer was connected to asbestos exposure that had taken place years earlier at his job.
As a leading mesothelioma law firm, Sokolove Law has fought on behalf of veterans and other victims of mesothelioma like Teddy.
“Hiring Sokolove Law was one of the best decisions that we made,” Steve said. “We just kind of sat back, and they did all the work themselves.”
My name is Steve, and my father was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He was incredibly proud of being in the military. He was drafted and sent to Germany, where he worked as a cook during the Vietnam War. Being a veteran was his whole life, and it was the proudest thing he shared with people. He would always salute random strangers who were wearing veterans’ hats. When my brother signed up for the military, watching my dad feel that same pride all over again—seeing his son follow the same path he did—was really special. He was a pretty special person.
After he came home from the military, he got a job with the county. He was hired as a mechanic’s helper and worked in a garage where they would blow out brake pads and dust. The brake pads he was changing all contained asbestos. We also had a summer house in Pennsylvania, and one summer he went there to chop wood and take care of things around the house. Suddenly, he couldn’t breathe. It felt like there was a heavy weight on his chest, and he just couldn’t catch his breath.
He ended up going to the hospital, where doctors discovered he had a pleural effusion. There were five liters of fluid in his chest. After surgery, the doctor came in and told us, “You have mesothelioma.”
At first, getting my dad to treatment was fairly easy because he was still somewhat healthy. About a year and a half in, it became much harder. Physically, he just wasn’t able to handle it anymore. Every three weeks he had treatment, and every other week he had an MRI or CAT scan. It was a constant cycle—treatment, CAT scan, MRI—over and over again. It was draining. It was draining for him, and it was draining for me. It was just a lot to handle.
I’m really upset because I had been looking forward to making him a grandfather. I dreamed of bringing a baby home to him one day, and now I can’t.
There was no reason for him to die. Asbestos is the cause of this entire thing. We decided to pursue a lawsuit because it wasn’t my dad’s fault, and it wasn’t fair what happened to him. He deserved compensation for what he went through.
Hiring Sokolove Law was one of the best decisions we made. The woman I spoke with on the phone made me feel comfortable right away. She made me feel safe, and she was incredibly compassionate and empathetic about our situation. It just felt like the right fit.
The law firm did so much for us. They helped us navigate the entire situation and were always calling to check on how we were doing. They checked on my dad’s treatment and wanted to know how things were going. I developed a real relationship with them. They would call to see how my dad was doing even when they didn’t have to, and that meant a lot.
Even months after my father passed, they still called to check in. They felt like family. We felt like part of their team—that they were truly there to take care of us. It was never about what they were going to get out of it. They genuinely wanted us to feel supported, safe, and cared for while dealing with the diagnosis my dad was given.
“Asbestos Kills, And I’ve Watched It Happen”
Teddy was a U.S. Army veteran who spent his working life serving his community and supporting his family. After leaving the military, he worked for Nassau County in New York, first as a mechanic’s assistant and later as a heavy equipment operator and highway maintenance supervisor.
Steve remembers hearing about the conditions his father worked in for years, never realizing at the time just how dangerous that environment really was.
“He was put into the garage where they were blowing out all the brake pads and dust and everything,” Steve said. “The whole garage was loaded with all sorts of heavy equipment that they were working on. All the brake pads that he was changing had asbestos in them.”
Making the connection between Teddy’s past work and his diagnosis was devastating for Steve and his family. As a kid, he heard warnings about asbestos, but he never fully understood the danger.
“I remember growing up and being told, ‘Oh, that's asbestos, just don't touch it. If you don't touch it, it won't hurt you,’” Steve said. “But that's not true. Asbestos kills, and I've watched it happen.”
A Father’s Fight Against Mesothelioma
Following Teddy’s diagnosis, he began treatment, initially traveling from Long Island to Manhattan for the intake process. Later, his family was able to take a much shorter trip to a nearby satellite office.
Teddy’s health care providers started by administering immunotherapy, and his condition improved briefly. Soon, however, the effects wore off, and he had to switch to chemotherapy, which he received every three weeks for more than 2 years.
“At first, getting my dad to treatments was really easy because he was still somewhat healthy,” Steve said. “He still had a little bit of a spunk in him.”
Over time, that changed. As the debilitating side effects of chemotherapy took their toll and the cancer progressed, going to appointments became a physical struggle. For Steve, the hardest part was watching the father he loved suffer from an aggressive disease with no cure.
“It was tough to watch him get diagnosed with this and know that there was no outcome besides death," he said.
Finding Someone to Listen
After the diagnosis, Steve began searching for information about mesothelioma and what his family could do next. He didn't know then how badly he had wanted to talk to someone about his experience and what his dad was going through until he made the call.
“I really didn't know what to say or how to explain the whole situation,” Steve said. “And the woman that I had talked to really made me feel like it was okay to get vulnerable and share my story and tell her what was going on.”
The team walked him through information on the disease itself, support resources, and his legal options for seeking compensation.
“It felt really good that there were people out there that were willing to do whatever they could to help us in the situation that we were in,” Steve said.
Steve soon found himself faced with another difficult decision: Should his family file a mesothelioma lawsuit against the companies responsible for his dad’s exposure to asbestos?
“The Companies That Used Asbestos Deserve To Pay”
At first, Steve’s parents were hesitant about filing a lawsuit. To him, though, pursuing a legal claim was about more than compensation. It was about accountability for the companies that exposed his father and countless others to a dangerous substance.
“Mesothelioma is a horrendous disease,” Steve said. “The companies that used asbestos deserve to pay.”
Teddy’s exposure happened decades before his diagnosis, but the consequences followed him for the rest of his life. Steve wants other families to understand that it wasn't their fault and they are not alone in this.
“I hope people can understand that this isn't our fault,” Steve said. “This is a man-made thing, and we've all lost loved ones. We've all been there, we've struggled, and there's no reason to think that you're in this alone.”
Choosing Sokolove Law
What stood out to Steve when he reached out for help was not a sales pitch or a promise about the outcome of the case. It was how the person on the other end of the phone made him feel.
“The woman that I talked to on the phone really made me feel comfortable,” Steve said. “She really made me feel safe, and she was very compassionate and empathetic to the situation. It just felt like the right fit.”
That feeling continued when someone from the firm came to the family’s home for an initial in-person meeting. The conversation lasted nearly 4 hours.
“We just talked about my father's life,” Steve said. “We talked about what he did for a living, all the military experience that he had.”
The discussion focused on Teddy and what Steve’s family was going through, not simply building a case.
“The man that had come here to interview us was more interested in my father's story than how much money he was going to make,” Steve said. “And it just felt like home in a way.”
Since 1979, Sokolove Law has secured more than $5.5 Billion for thousands of mesothelioma victims and their families.
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“They Were On the Same Team”
As the case moved forward, the family’s legal team handled the paperwork and court proceedings while keeping Steve and his parents informed throughout the process.
“All we had to do was tell them my dad's story, and they took all the information and ran with it,” he said. “We didn't ever need to call them and ask them what's going on. They would fill us in all the time.”
The same support extended to Teddy. Preparing Teddy for his deposition was an emotional experience for the family, but Steve noted that the firm took the time to make sure his father felt prepared and comfortable.
“They took my dad and pretty much held his hand and walked him through the whole thing,” Steve said. “It was very comfortable, and it was very safe. They were on the same team. That's how it felt.”
More Than a Lawsuit: Someone Has Your Back
For Steve, one of the most meaningful parts of his time with Sokolove Law was the communication and personal attention his family received.
“If I ever had a question or something that I had to worry about or think about, I would call up my lawyer, and he would answer the phone, no problem,” Steve said. “I had a direct line to the legal team.”
His team also regularly checked in on Teddy’s health and treatment.
“They were reaching out constantly, making sure everything was okay, talking to my dad, seeing how he was feeling,” Steve said. “It really felt like they wanted to take care of us more than the lawsuit.”
That relationship continued even after Teddy had passed away, with someone from the firm reaching out months later to check in on how the Fengarinas were doing.
“They didn't even have to,” Steve said. “So that was really special. They felt like family.”
Sharing His Dad's Story
Since his father’s diagnosis and death, Steve has become more willing to talk about mesothelioma and asbestos exposure with others.
“If I ever hear somebody talk about mesothelioma or asbestos or anything like that, my ears perk up, and I'm like, ‘Hey, tell me your story,’” said Steve.
Steve knows firsthand how isolating the experience can feel and wants other families to know that there are families out there that understand what they're going through and are going through something similar.
“I thought I was alone dealing with this and going through this whole situation,” he said. “As time has gone on, I realized how many people are out there struggling with this and suffering and watching loved ones die. And they don't need to feel like they're alone.”
For Steve, that realization is part of why he continues to share his father’s story.
Steve’s Advice to Other Families
Steve had spent much of his father’s final years trying to help him fight against mesothelioma. He pushed Teddy to get up, exercise, and fight through the symptoms.
Looking back, however, Steve wishes he had focused less on pushing his father to keep fighting and more on simply being there for him.
“My biggest regret in the whole situation was that I wasn't there for him as emotionally as I could have been,” he said. “I kept trying to fix the situation. My advice would just be to find a way to somehow emotionally support them in a way that you didn't think that you were capable of doing before.”
Steve also encourages other families facing mesothelioma to take legal action for the harm they’ve suffered.
"I would absolutely recommend other families to pursue litigation,” expressed Steve. “It's important for families to understand that no one deserves this and that they should be compensated for what happens to them."
Remembering Theodore “Teddy” Fengarinas
Teddy passed away on June 20, 2025, after living with mesothelioma for 3 years. Watching his father decline was one of the hardest experiences of Steve’s life.
“I want people to know how much of a struggle it can be to watch somebody go through what he went through that wasn't his fault,” Steve said. “He pretty much suffocated to death.”
Steve knew the disease would eventually take his father’s life, but knowing that did not make it easier to watch.
“I knew he was going to die,” Steve said. “And I wish that I was just there a little bit more, just being able to sit next to him and ask him how he's feeling, see what he's going through.”
Even as the disease took away more of Teddy’s strength, Steve remembered the man his father had always been: funny, outgoing, and deeply loved by his family.
“He was always the life of the party,” Steve recalled. “He would always make jokes and everybody would always come over to him and want to hear him talk and tell stories.”
To Steve’s friends, Teddy was a hero. To his family, he was the person children ran toward when they saw him. That is the man Steve wants people to remember — the father, grandfather, husband, veteran, and friend he was before mesothelioma took so much from him.
“My dad was really something special,” Steve said. “It was special being able to call him my dad.”
Sokolove Law: Fighting for Families Impacted by Mesothelioma Nationwide
A diagnosis can leave families feeling overwhelmed, confused, and unsure of what comes next. Having someone who can walk you through your legal options can help take some of that burden off your shoulders, allowing you to focus on your loved one.
After his father’s mesothelioma diagnosis, Steve's family needed more than a skilled legal team — they needed people who understood what they were going through.
In Steve’s case, that support went beyond handling a lawsuit. It meant he knew that his family and his father weren’t facing the fight alone.
Contact Sokolove Law now if you or a loved one is battling mesothelioma. Our team is here to offer support after a diagnosis and help you seek justice.
