Cancer News, Treatment and Research

Attorneys for the hundreds of individuals whose health was destroyed due to exposure to asbestos-tainted vermiculite in Libby, Montana announced this weekend that they are “seeking a global resolution” for their clients, rallying for suitable settlements not only from W.R. Grace and Co., which owned the mine, but also BNSF Railway Co. and a handful of insurance companies as well. According to an article in The Daily Inter Lake, negotiations with W. R. Grace , the railroad, and the insurance companies have been going on for several years. Overall, the case is quite complicated because it involves different degrees of asbestos exposure as well as other factors, so plaintiffs get varying amounts of compensation according to date exposed, length of exposure, and other specifics, the article points out. These current settlements will be separate from compensation taken from the $43 million presented to the victims from the state of Montana last year. When the courts made that money available, they made it clear that they believed state officials knew that the dust from the Libby mine was killing people but failed to intervene. In the meantime, Grace’s portion of the “global” deal has been outlined in paperwork filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. It includes $19.5 million to fund the Libby Medical Program, which is now in place. Then, that program will be terminated when deemed appropriate and the money will be transferred to a local Libby Medical Plan Trust that will accept all current members of the existing program. BSNF Railway Co. has also been inundated with lawsuits due to its operations in the Libby area. Currently, advisors for the company have created a grid that itemizes the “estimated amount of money claimants with asbestos disease will get in an initial distribution, depending on the severity of their illness.” Specifically, BSNF will give $49,600 to those with severe asbestos disease, $41,000 to victims with moderate asbestosis , and $67,392 to individuals suffering from mes othelioma , asbestos-caused cancer. No specifics are yet available on settlements from Maryland Casualty, CNA, and Arrowood Indemnity, insurers for BSNF and the Libby mine.