After 13 years, W.R. Grace & Co. is accepting and paying asbestos-related personal injury and death claims for which they, their predecessors, and their successors have legal responsibility, through a trust established under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.
In 2001, facing mounting personal injury claims arising primarily from the addition of asbestos to their various commercial and residential fire protection and plaster products and also from exposure to vermiculite from their Libby, MT mining operation, W.R. Grace & Co. filed for reorganization under Chapter 11. In 2008, a settlement was reached with lawyers representing clients injured by Grace’s asbestos-containing products that included a provision for the creation of an independent trust to pay all pending and future asbestos-related personal injury claims. After nearly six years of finalizing the settlement through the Chapter 11 plan and then concluding all remaining appeals, Grace emerged from bankruptcy on February 3, 2014 when their Joint Plan of Reorganization became effective.
From the Joint Plan came the WRG Asbestos PI Trust Distribution Procedures which outlines payment procedures for all past unsettled asbestos-related claims dating back over 13 years and for any future claims. The Trust Distribution Procedures, or TDP, recognizes 8 Scheduled Disease levels ranging from minor asbestos disease, asbestosis, and pleural disease to the most serious and life-threatening asbestos-related disease, mesothelioma. If significant past exposure to asbestos-containing Grace products can be proven, based on the disease level of the claimant, the Trust will pay out a scheduled value with the most severe diseases receiving the largest payments. The scheduled value amounts have been calculated with the goal of paying all past claims equitably while assuring funds will exist to pay all expected future claims.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or any other asbestos-related disease due to exposure to a W.R. Grace & Co. product, consult an attorney to learn more about filing a claim with the WRG Asbestos Trust.
