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Editor: M. Brandon Smith
Profession: Attorney at Law

Category: Asbestos News

A settlement fund has been approved for Owens Corning, a building material manufacturer and producer, that will compensate over 2,000 Puget Sound residents after being exposed to and suffering from asbestos related fibers and materials.

According to the Seattlepi.com:

To recover, claimants must be seriously ill from exposure to asbestos at a job site where Owens Corning's products were used. The spouses of people killed by exposure can also recover. About 200,000 claims likely will be filed nationwide... Asbestos causes several diseases, including mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis. They can develop 20 years after exposure to asbestos, making it difficult to predict exactly how many people will share in the settlement fund.

The plan shifts Owens Corning's $7 billion in asbestos liabilities off company books and into a trust to be established for the plaintiffs. As part of the plan, the company will pay $5.1 billion to asbestos claimants and as much as $2.27 billion to holders of bank debt

This is great news for former Owens Corning workers and employees because in 2000 the company filed for bankruptcy after facing thousands of asbestos related claims and other business related problems. Now with the approval of this fund, many of those adversely affected and exposed to its asbestos containing products and materials may finally get the compensation they deserve after all these years.