Over the years, dozens of asbestos companies have filed for bankruptcy in response to overwhelming liability to mesothelioma victims and others harmed by exposure to asbestos, and now another has joined their ranks. Trane Technologies PLC, a company with a history of selling asbestos-contaminated pumps, compressors, and HVAC equipment, announced that two newly created business units will be placed into bankruptcy in order to free them from asbestos lawsuits in the future.
Bankruptcy Filing Creates Asbestos Trusts for Mesothelioma Victims
When a company with a record of causing asbestos-related diseases is driven into bankruptcy by mounting mesothelioma liabilities, they are required to form asbestos bankruptcy trusts that provide compensation to victims of their equipment. This is exactly the path that Trane Technologies is pursuing with its Aldrich Pump LLC and Murray Boiler LLC divisions.
In placing the two companies into a position of seeking Chapter 11 relief, Trane will be able to channel personal injury claims filed by mesothelioma victims and other asbestos-related disease victims into a regulated claims process rather than leaving themselves vulnerable to individual personal injury claims that frequently resolve in settlements and jury awards worth millions of dollars.
Bankruptcy Filing Is a Response to Annual Mesothelioma Payments Of Almost $100 Million
The Trane company has seen itself defending against roughly 900 mesothelioma and other asbestos-related disease lawsuits each year as a result of their company’s history of exposing people to asbestos. The suits have resolved in either settlements or jury awards representing nearly $100 million in costs for the company each year.
The corporate restructuring that will result from the filing will help them to manage these costs while addressing the needs of those afflicted with asbestos-related diseases in a simpler and more efficient manner. A company spokesperson said, “The debtors’ goal in these chapter 11 cases is to provide current and future claimants with a simpler, more streamlined process to get funds to legitimate claimants in a timely manner.”
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease and you would like information on asbestos bankruptcy trusts, we can help. Contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.
