Asbestos Act

Mesothelioma

This year the House of Representatives passed The Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act (H.R.982) and it is currently heading to the Senate. This bill is argued that it will make it harder for plaintiffs injured by asbestos to get fair compensation because it would allow asbestos companies to demand information from the trusts for virtually any reason, forcing the trusts to devote limited resources to responding to fishing expeditions what will slow the process paying claims.

Asbestos is the cause of mesothelioma, a rare an aggressive form of cancer that has injured millions of workers. Over the years, thousands of lawsuits have been filed against asbestos companies which lead them to declare for bankruptcy and established trusts to pay the present and future claims filed against them. Because of the high volume of lawsuits, the trusts usually pay only a small percentage of the value of the claim because they are running out of money.

The Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act came about after the House Judiciary Committee revealed concrete examples of plaintiffs’ filing conflicting claims among separate asbestos bankruptcy trusts and state courts. The Wall Street Journal made the claim that personal-injury claims have piled up at a rate of 85 per day. If passed into law, the trusts will have to give to the public the name of who has made claims against what trusts.

If you have been victimized or injured because of exposure to asbestos, contact an attorney at The Byrd Law firm who is well-informed, knowledgeable and experienced in asbestos lawsuits.