(Mesothelioma News) - A Pennsylvania manufacturer that has paid out more than $25 million in asbestos lawsuits-and faces nearly 1,000 more claims-has filed for bankruptcy.
United Gilsonite Laboratories, which makes paints, coatings and sealants, petitioned the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania to reorganize under Chapter 11.
Asbestos-which can cause deadly diseases like mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer that strikes the protective lining covering many internal organs-was long used in many industrial products, such as the joint compound that UGL sold. The company stopped using asbestos in the late 1970s, but mesothelioma lawyers say the long latency period between asbestos exposure and the onset of disease-typically decades-explains why so many lawsuits are only now being seen.
UGL and its insurers have paid more than $2 million in asbestos and mesothelioma claims in the past three months alone, company president Thomas White said in a court document.
UGL seeks court approval to establish a trust fund to settle outstanding asbestos claims. But mesothelioma lawyers caution that such a fund must be big enough to adequately account for the severe harm-both medically and financially-asbestos-related diseases cause.
Mesothelioma, in particular, can be devastating. Although the disease can take many years after asbestos exposure to manifest, few victims survive more than a couple of years after diagnosis.
And while mesothelioma lawyers have obtained large, often multimillion-dollar verdicts against companies that manufacture products containing asbestos, researchers still struggle to understand-and beat back-the disease. There is no known cure for mesothelioma, and even the most advanced treatments typically add only months to life expectancy.
According to White's declaration with the court, UGL still faces more than 900 ongoing asbestos claims. Given that the company stopped using the material some 30 years ago and mesothelioma cases have been diagnosed even a half century after asbestos exposure, more-potentially many more-claims may be coming.
This news story was brought to you by the mesothelioma lawyers at Cooney & Conway. For more than half a century, we have been advocates for those injured because of the wrongful actions of others. We have litigated and resolved some of the nation's most significant asbestos lawsuits, bringing justice-and compensation-to victims of asbestos exposure and the lung cancer, mesothelioma and other deadly diseases it can cause.
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