Set up by liable companies which entered bankruptcy protection, asbestos trust funds represent a very important source of financial compensation to people who were injured by occupational exposure. At the moment, there are 60 operating asbestos trust funds in the U.S. from which asbestos victims can request payment by filing a claim. Over $18 billion has been recovered so far, while approximately $37 billion is currently available for future claimants.
Asbestos ClaimsNearly one hundred other companies sought bankruptcy reorganization under section 524(g) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code afterward. Nevertheless, while some of them were not approved for bankruptcy reorganization at all, others had to file for Chapter 7 instead, which entailed the liquidation of their assets to pay debtors. There are currently 60 active asbestos trust funds in the U.S. and more than $18 billion has been paid to asbestos victims since the 1980s.
Nowadays, it is a well-known fact that asbestos exposure can cause devastating illnesses, including lung cancer and mesothelioma. Although it was in 1971 that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classified asbestos as a human carcinogen and began regulating it accordingly, the health risks associated with exposure had been known long before. The manufacturers of asbestos products were aware that asbestos exposure is responsible for pulmonary disease since the early 1930s, as more and more reputable medical studies on this topic were emerging throughout the country at the time, as well as in Europe. However, the executives of most asbestos companies chose to hide this information from employees for their own financial profit, insisting that exposure was safe, which resulted in a 40-year national conspiracy.
Diseases Caused By Asbestos ExposureShortly after the dangers of asbestos were publicly acknowledged, the number of people suing for personal injuries increased exponentially. As a consequence, a lot of asbestos companies soon became unable to compensate former employees and decided to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In order to be granted bankruptcy protection, each liable company was required to create a trust fund so that future victims of occupational asbestos exposure could receive the compensation they deserved. The first asbestos trust fund was set up by Johns Manville in 1988, with $2.5 billion available as compensation.
Companies Responsible for Asbestos Exposure| Pacor Incorporated | $2.5 billion |
| Johns Manville | $2.5 billion |
| Western MacArthur | $2 billion |
| Nicolet Keasbey & Mattison | $2.11 billion |
| Combustion Engineering | $1.43 billion |
| Babcock and Wilcox | $1.85 billion |
| A.P. Green Industries | $901 million |
| Kaiser Aluminum | $1.2 billion |
| GAF Corporation | $770 million |
| Pittsburgh Corning | $3.4 billion |
| Lummus 524(g) | $38 million |
| A&I Corporation | &13 million |
| A-Best | &18 million |
| API, Inc. | $94 million |
| ARTRA 524(g) | $74 million |
| Armstrong World Industries | $2 billion |
| ASARCO LLC | $830 million |
| Bartells Asbestos | $172 million |
| Brauer 524(g) | $1 million |
| Burns and Roe | $20 million |
| NGC Bodily Injury | $446 million |
| Owens Corning Fibreboard, Fibreboard Subfund | $1.5 billion |
| Porter Hayden Bodily Injury | n.a. |
| Raytech Corporation | n.a. |
| Stone and Webster | $6 million |
| Swan Asbestos and Silica | $120 million |
| T. H. Agriculture and Nutrition, LLC Industries | $901 million |
| United States Gypsum | $3.9 billion |
| Leslie Controls | n.a. |
| Narco | n.a. |
| Piper Aircraft Corporation | n.a. |
| Bondex | n.a. |
| EPI | n.a. |
| Plant | n.a. |
| Flexitallic Gasket Company | $635 million |
| Eagle Picher Industries Inc. | $730 million |
| Bell Asbestos Mines | $635 million |
| Federal-Mogul Corporation T&N Subfund | $635 million |
| AC$S | $528 million |
| General Motors | $625 million |
| Honeywell Heating | $452 million |
| Garlock | $480 million |
| Gold Bond | $347 million |
| National Gypsum | $347 million |
| Abex Corporation | $307 million |
| Owens Corning Fibreboard, Owens Corning Subfund | $3.4 billion |
| The Flintkote Company | $214 million |
| Congoleum Corporation | $270 million |
| J.T. Thorpe Inc. | $153 million |
| Plibrico Company | $205 million |
| Unarco | $114 million |
| Republic Powdered Metals | $140 million |
| H.K. Porter Inc. | $104 million |
| Shook and Fletcher | $109 million |
| C.E. Thurston and Sons | $53 million |
| Celotex Asbestos Settlement | $1.2 billion |
| DII Industries, LLC | $2.5 billion |
| Federal-Mogul, Fel-Pro Subfund | n.a. |
| Federal-Mogul, Vellumoid Subfund | n.a. |
| Federal-Mogul, FMP Subfund | $55 million |
| G-1 | $770 million |
| J.T. Thorpe Company Successor | $233 million |
| Keene Creditors Trust | $45 million |
| Lykes Tort Claims | n.a. |
| United States Mineral Products | $8 million |
| UNR Asbestos-Disease Claims | n.a. |
| Utex Industries, Inc | $10 million |
| APG | $333 million |
| North American Refractories Company | $6.3 billion |
| Quigley Company, Inc. | $569 million |
| Skinner Engine Co. | n.a. |
| Thorpe Insulation Company | $389 million |
| W. R. Grace and Co. Asbestos | $2.9 billion |
| Christy Refractories | n.a. |
| Energy Future Holdings Corp. | n.a. |
| Fuller-Austin | n.a. |
| Metex | n.a. |
| Hercules Chemical Company, Inc | n.a. |
Asbestos trust funds provide financial compensation to individuals who developed a disease following on-the-job asbestos exposure. Former employees whose health was severely affected by occupational exposure are eligible for filing a claim with one or multiple asbestos trust funds, depending on the number of companies at fault. While each asbestos trust fund makes use of a different series of requirements people who intend to seek compensation have to meet, the majority of them operate on the following eligibility criteria:
With 27 years of experience in asbestos litigation, the attorneys at Environmental Litigation Group, P.C. have been assisting and representing over 25,000 asbestos victims. So far, over 150,000 asbestos claims prepared by our experienced lawyers have resulted in financial compensation. If you suffer from cancer as a consequence of occupational asbestos exposure, we highly encourage you to seek legal help immediately, as time is unfortunately limited. Our standard fee is a 40% contingency fee. This means we only collect that fee when our claim is successful and we recover compensation for you. If we do not collect anything, you will not have any expenses out of pocket.
Claim EvaluationAsbestos trust funds operate on behalf of liable companies. Each of them is managed by a board of trustees who do not have any relation to company executives, employees, or staff. Trustees are in charge of processing the claims submitted by asbestos victims, calculating the amount of money each individual qualifies for, making monthly payments to those whose claim was approved, as well as ensuring the trust has sufficient funds to compensate future claimants. It is worthy of note that asbestos trust funds pay out only a certain percentage of the entire sum of money a claimant is eligible for, depending on their financial resources. The percentage may change over time due to various factors.
In general, mesothelioma claims will result in substantial compensation, as this is the most severe disease asbestos exposure can cause, whereas people who suffer from other types of cancer will receive slightly less. Although non-malignant conditions like asbestosis are worth a relatively small amount of money, a lawyer specialized in asbestos litigation can negotiate with trustees for a more satisfying outcome.
Regardless of the asbestos trust fund you file with, the claim must be accompanied by the following:
The evidence you will need to submit along with your claim depends on the asbestos trust fund you seek compensation from, but also on your illness, as the requirements are different for each qualifying disease. It is important to know that there are three ways of submitting a claim:
Deciding which one is appropriate for your particular case might be challenging. For this reason, it is highly recommended to navigate the entire legal process with the aid of an experienced attorney whose primary area of practice is asbestos litigation. After submission, your claim will be reviewed accordingly. The claims which entail the shortest waiting time are those filed for mesothelioma, which are usually liquidated within 1 to 2 years. If your request for compensation is approved, you will receive the sum of money assigned to your claim in monthly payments. Other factors that might influence how fast your claim will be processed include:
Another advantage of working with a lawyer is that they can negotiate the amount liquidated with the trust if your claim was submitted via individual review. This way, you are very likely to recover considerably more money than what you were initially scheduled to receive.
If the hazardous products you handled or were exposed to on the job were manufactured by more than one company, you can file with multiple asbestos trust funds. Provided you meet the eligibility criteria, you have the legal right to seek compensation from the asbestos trust fund of each company responsible for your injury.
As you may have also concluded by now, navigating the process of seeking financial compensation from asbestos trust funds is not a simple task. From gathering enough evidence to support the connection between your disease and asbestos exposure to deciding how to submit your claim, there are many aspects that need to be assessed before filing a claim for compensation.
While you can choose to file a claim on your own, it is not the wisest idea. In addition to being a very exhausting and time-consuming endeavor, it entails a high risk of failing to recover compensation.
Plenty of important details can easily be overlooked during claim preparation, which may result in the asbestos trust fund denying you compensation. A lawyer who specializes in asbestos cases can be of invaluable help from numerous points of view.
Here are five benefits of having a well-versed asbestos attorney submit your claim. Nevertheless, there are many others, which you will certainly discover during the process if you decide to work with a lawyer.
Asbestos law firms generally work on a contingency fee, so paying your attorney should be your least concern. Unless they successfully recover compensation on your behalf, you do not have to pay your attorney anything. After claim liquidation, attorney fees will be deducted from the amount of money you receive from the trust fund.