Johns Manville was one of the first major companies to use asbestos in its produ

Question

Johns Manville was one of the first major companies to use asbestos in its products. From the late 1800s through the 1900s, Johns Manville employees were exposed to asbestos through a number of materials. In the mid-1970s, Johns Manville was still one of the leading U.S. manufacturers of asbestos-containing construction materials. Shortly thereafter, the company began phasing out the use of asbestos and all asbestos products were eliminated by 1985.

During the creation, installation or removal of these products, asbestos exposure is a serious hazard. Inhaling airborne asbestos fibers is known to cause mesotheliom, lung cancer and asbestosis. While symptoms do not immediately arise, exposed workers should understand the potential of developing one of these conditions in the future.

Please use the article below to discuss the impact of this firm’s actions on commercial insurance coverage.

http://overlawyered.com/2008/05/asbestos-litigation-the-manville-trust/

Explanation / Answer

THe firm created a trust which was supposed to pay the people who got injured or got chonically sick due to prolong contact to the asbestose . BUt the plaintiffs’ attorneys controlled the trust’s claimants committee and set up procedures for the trust that were advantageous to themselves, rather than potential claimants. The trust rules minimized requirements of proof of actual injury or causation The trust thus paid out a lot of money quickly to the attorneys, all the while exhausting its funds for potential future claimants.

Because of the above reason the trust could not pay most of the actual claimants .

The trusts was created to pay out claimants from these bankrupt entities (Johns-Manville corporation) instead it became a big business which was swamped with claimants and unable to fairly or efficiently process the claims.

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