From MEMA Washington Insider
WASHINGTON, DC — According to Congressional sources, the outlook of asbestos reform legislation remains uncertain.
The Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act (FAIR) would create a $140 billion trust fund to compensate people sickened by asbestos exposure.
The Senate Judiciary Committee favorably reported the measure (S. 852) on May 26, but some members of the panel who voted to support the bill, admitted that substantial changes still needed to be made before they could give their full support on the Senate floor.
MEMA has learned that the Senate is unlikely to take up the measure before its July 4 recess. Congressional sources are reporting that the Senate may not take up asbestos reform legislation until September.
The following is a summary of main provisions of S. 852:
* Removal from courts: Most lawsuits seeking compensation for the health effects of asbestos exposure would be removed from federal and state courts.
* Funding: Claimants would be compensated out of a $140 billion trust fund created with $90 billion from companies that were defendants in asbestos lawsuits, $46 billion from insurers and $4 billion from trusts representing bankrupt asbestos companies.
* Administration: The fund would be administered by a new Office of Asbestos Disease Compensation housed within the U.S. Department of Labor.
* Payments: A series of medical criteria would determine claimants’ compensation levels. The biggest payments, totaling $1.1 million, would go to claimants diagnosed with mesothelioma. Unlike earlier versions of the bill, smokers who did not show signs of asbestos-related scarring on the lungs would not qualify. Claimants without symptoms might still qualify for medical monitoring.
* Exigent claims: The sickest claimants would be paid fastest under provisions strengthened during the course of the committee’s markups.
* Lawyers: Attorney fees would be capped at 5 percent of the final award.
* Sunset: If the fund did not have sufficient resources to pay claimants, the administrator would have an opportunity to recommend ways to return to solvency. If the fund sunsets, claimants would be allowed to return to the federal or state court in the state where they lived or where the exposure occurred.
* Ban: Products containing asbestos would be banned, but exemptions would protect various uses, such as those by the Defense Department.
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