01. History of Asbestos Use
Johns-Manville History of Asbestos Use
The Johns-Manville company has been around for over 150 years. For nearly as long, the company made and sold asbestos products. Experts believe it was the largest manufacturer of asbestos products and the largest supplier of raw asbestos in the United States from the 1920s to the 1970s.
The company became known as Johns-Manville in 1901 after a merger between two companies. One, called H.W. Johns Manufacturing Company, made asbestos textiles, roofing and insulation. The other was called Manville Covering Company.
The new Johns-Manville mined and sold raw asbestos. It also made and supplied asbestos materials to companies and the U.S. government.
From the 1920s to the 1970s, Johns-Manville continued to grow its asbestos product offerings. New asbestos products included asbestos cement, brake linings, sheet packaging, adhesives, gaskets, corrugated paper and other materials. Because they were exposed to asbestos, employees at Johns-Manville began developing related diseases by the late 1920s.
Yet, during World War I and World War II, the company thrived and continued to grow. Its asbestos products were heavily used in insulation for ships and aircraft.
The dangers of asbestos were known and documented by at least the 1920s. But it wasn’t until the 1960s that a bigger emphasis was placed on the harmful effects of asbestos exposure. At this time, the company’s growth and profits began to decline. Despite this, Johns-Manville continued as an asbestos company until 1985.
Johns-Manville’s continued use of asbestos led to more than 9,000 lawsuits by the early 1980s. The company officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1982 and established two asbestos trust funds for property damages and personal injuries a few years later. Asbestos claims against the company continue today.
Resources for Mesothelioma Patients
02. Asbestos Products
Johns-Manville Asbestos Products
Johns-Manville has been recognized as one of the nation’s leading manufacturers and distributors of both raw asbestos and asbestos-containing goods. For decades, the company focused on a wide array of asbestos materials, largely within the construction industry. They also expanded into automotive parts, producing products like clutch linings, brake blocks and brake linings. Common Johns-Manville asbestos products include:
- Adhesives
- Asbestos cement sheets
- Asbestos felt
- Asbestos shingles
- Asbestos textiles
- Automotive parts
- Cement (transite)
- Construction materials
- Fireproofing materials
- Friction materials
- Insulation
- Paper
- Pipe coverings
- Roofing products
You can find some specific asbestos products made by Johns-Manville in the expandable table below.
03. Occupational Exposure
Johns-Manville and Occupational Exposure
Workers across the country faced the risk of occupational asbestos exposure from Johns-Manville products and operations. Affected employees included construction workers, miners and factory workers. These workers may have handled asbestos insulation and construction materials, as well as raw asbestos.
At its peak asbestos use, reports estimate the company had at least 3,500 employees. Workers for other companies and in many industries also faced exposure. Johns-Manville products were used in countless buildings, homes, schools, ships and more.
Additionally, homeowners, vehicle owners and others may be at risk for exposure when making repairs or renovations. Families of workers and consumers also faced an increased risk of asbestos-related diseases, such as lung cancer and mesothelioma.
Any asbestos exposure may result in an individual developing an asbestos-related illness such as mesothelioma.
The Johns-Manville trust fund lists many of these occupations at “heavy exposure” risk levels. These include insulators, plumbers, railroad engineers and brakemen, shipyard workers and welders or other metal workers.
According to the trust, shipyard workers were particularly at risk of asbestos exposure and related illnesses. Building, repairing, maintaining and operating ships exposed millions of shipyard workers worldwide to asbestos.
04. Asbestos Lawsuits
Asbestos Lawsuits Against Johns-Manville
Johns-Manville employees began to complain about lung diseases and disability as a result of asbestos exposure on the job as early as 1929. Allegedly, Johns-Manville handled these early claims in private and settled in secrecy. However, the number of asbestos claims grew very quickly.
Sources stated Johns-Manville tried to discredit many of these claims. They argued that employees were also negligent because they knew or should have known of the dangers of asbestos. The corporation further argued that, until 1964, the company wasn’t legally required to have warning labels about asbestos on their products.
Despite such efforts, new asbestos lawsuits continued to rise, reaching 159 in 1976 and jumping to 792 within two years. By 1979, the company was a defendant or co-defendant in more than 1,500 lawsuits.
Another notable case filed against Johns-Manville reached a decision in 1985. The plaintiff was a boilermaker who developed lung cancer after beginning work in the industry in 1939. He explained that he had worked in close proximity with insulators. He was exposed to so much asbestos during his shifts that he likened it to having a barrel of flour dumped on him. Johns-Manville supplied upwards of 90% of the insulation materials on these jobsites.
As a result of his prolonged exposure, the man developed asbestos lung cancer and his health quickly declined. The jury awarded him and his wife $2.3 million.
The verdict was upheld on appeal, citing the company’s negligence in exposing employees and clear knowledge of the dangers of asbestos.
In 2014, the families of 11 residents of Manville, New Jersey, were cumulatively awarded $90.5 million. The families sued two foreign companies that had sold asbestos to Johns-Manville.
Major manufacturing plants operated in the area, exposing numerous workers and residents to asbestos. The 11 New Jersey residents all died of asbestos-related cancer and diseases. Many were workers at the plants, but some were also victims of secondhand exposure from family members employed at Johns-Manville’s facilities.
Successful Settlements Against Johns-Manville
Victims of Johns-Manville’s asbestos use may receive settlement offers during the lawsuit process. It is up to the person who files the lawsuit to decide if they wish to accept the settlement offer.
Successful asbestos settlements from Johns-Manville include:
- A 74-year-old pipefitter in Denver, Colorado, named Johns-Manville in their exposure case. They won $2,815,728.
- A 96-year-old Navy worker and chemist in Chicago, Illinois, named Johns-Manville as a source of asbestos exposure. They received $1,609,462.
- A 62-year-old construction and plant worker in Long Beach, California, named Johns-Manville as the source of their asbestos exposure. They won $1,367,964.
05. Asbestos Trust Fund
Johns-Manville Asbestos Trust Fund
The number of lawsuits against Johns-Manville rose through the 1970s and early 1980s. By this point, the company faced over 9,000 lawsuits, with juries consistently awarding plaintiffs large verdicts.
The current payment percentage for successful claims is 5.1%.
In 1982, Johns-Manville filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to combat the effects of declining profits coupled with the cost of these liabilities.
The company’s asbestos trust fund was confirmed four years later. The bankruptcy court confirmed their reorganization plan and established two trusts:
- The Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust to pay personal injury claims, initially funded with $2.5 billion
- The Manville Property Damage Settlement Trust to pay claims for property damage from asbestos removal, initially funded with $125 million
The personal injury trust began accepting claims in 1988. Within that first year, those maintaining the trust noted it had settled over 12,600 claims for nearly $500 million. By 1992, more than 190,000 claims had been filed against the trust.
It quickly became clear that the trust was underfunded, and payments stopped twice. Payout percentages have been lowered accordingly, and the trust has been able to continue offering asbestos victims an opportunity to seek mesothelioma compensation for the company’s wrongdoings.
The current payout percentage is 5.1%, but claimants’ actual compensation amount may vary according to a number of factors, including age, exposure history, type of asbestos disease and their firm’s settlement history.
The trust’s year-end 2023 report revealed, as of December 31, 2023:
- $600.1 million left in the personal injury trust
- 1,121,571 claims filed against the trust
- 998,910 successfully settled and paid claims
- 11,686 claims currently eligible for settlement
If you developed an asbestos disease after using Johns-Manville’s products, you may be able to get compensation. A mesothelioma lawyer can explain legal options, including trust fund claims and lawsuits. Lawyers at mesothelioma law firms have decades of experience securing compensation for victims of asbestos exposure.
06. Common Questions
Common Questions About Johns-Manville
-
Does Johns-Manville fiberglass insulation contain asbestos?
- Johns-Manville used asbestos to make insulation for much of the 20th century. People should assume the company’s insulation made before the 1980s has asbestos in it. Today, Johns-Manville does not make products with asbestos.
-
When did Johns-Manville stop using asbestos?
- Johns-Manville fully stopped its asbestos use in 1985. Like many companies, Johns-Manville only stopped using asbestos after public pressure and increased litigation forced its hand. It decreased asbestos use over several years before finally giving it up completely.
