June 22nd, 2005
Earlier this week, a US Senate Committee approved legislation for the asbestos trust fund bill of $140 billion. The trust fund will be used to compensate victims of asbestos injuries, and aims to eliminate the court system. Asbestos victims would be unable to sue through the court and would instead receive compensation from the trust fund. The cash has been injected by various companies and insurance companies, and these companies will then be immune from further litigation for asbestos injuries. It is hoped that this will end the spate of bankruptcies seen recently, where companies have gone under after paying out millions in compensation.
It is also hoped that many people that have been left out in the cold could benefit from the fund. Senator Arlen Specter, who has been heading the bill, stated, "It will enable thousands of victims of asbestos ... who have been able to collect nothing, to collect now from this fund."
Senator Patrick Leahy stated, "We have thousands of people who are suffering various degrees of asbestos poisoning, many of whom are going to die, in a court system that cannot handle these cases." Senator Dianne Feinstein added, "When you have more than six dozen companies that have gone into bankruptcy, many of whom have never made or handled asbestos, but the company has simply been bought ... why can't you get a no-fault fund, where without spending years in court ... you have an opportunity to redress your grievance?"
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