General Motors was the largest automotive manufacturing company in the world for 77 years. During this time, it added asbestos to many of its products. This exposed thousands of individuals to asbestos-related illnesses and cancers. These victims can seek financial compensation for their conditions through the Motors Liquidation Company Asbestos Personal Injury Trust.
If you or a loved one worked for General Motors or had contact with one of their asbestos products and has been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, contact Bailey & Glasser, LLP for a free case consultation. Our asbestos attorneys can help you seek fair financial compensation for your illness and related losses.
Asbestos Exposure and Mesothelioma
Asbestos is a group of six minerals that were used in manufacturing in most of the 1900s due to low cost, easy availability, and natural ability to resist heat and corrosion. Asbestos was used in many products and building materials despite known health hazards. In 1987, the International Agency for Research on Cancer confirmed that all six types of asbestos were carcinogenic, meaning they cause cancer. Yet many manufacturing companies continued to distribute products with asbestos until the 1990s and beyond.
Exposure to asbestos is connected to serious adverse health effects. If asbestos fibers get inhaled or ingested, they can become lodged in the mesothelial tissues (the protective membrane that surrounds many internal organs) for decades. The particles can rub and irritate the surrounding area until cancerous tumors known as mesotheliomas are formed. Mesothelioma is a terminal and aggressive form of cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of 3,128 new cases of malignant mesothelioma are diagnosed each year.
Asbestos exposure is also connected to several other serious illnesses. One is lung cancer, which can be caused when asbestos particles become permanently lodged in the lung tissue rather than the pleura (the lining around the lungs). Another is asbestosis, a chronic lung disease that can cause symptoms such as a dry cough that won’t go away, chest pain, chest tightness and shortness of breath. These illnesses can arise when an individual is exposed to asbestos from a product that contains this mineral.
General Motors’ Asbestos Products
General Motors, founded in 1908, has manufactured a wide variety of automotive parts over more than 100 years in operation. Many major automobile brands were a part of the General Motors family, including Buick, Cadillac and GMC. Due to its ability to resist high temperatures, asbestos was used by General Motors in many of its products – especially friction products such as brakes.
Asbestos-containing products by General Motors include:
- Adhesives
- Brake drums
- Brake linings
- Clutch linings
- Disc brakes
- Electrical parts
- Engines
- Gaskets
- Injection-molded plastics
- Insulation
- Locomotive brake shoes
- Transmission parts
In the 1930s, General Motors expanded into the market of household appliances. It added asbestos to multiple appliances in its product line, including Delco-Heat boilers and Frigidaire brand appliances. Although General Motors ceased its use of asbestos in about 1998, this was already too late for thousands of victims who had been exposed.
What Is the General Motors Asbestos Trust Fund?
General Motors has faced hundreds of thousands of lawsuits from victims of exposure to asbestos from its products. These lawsuits allege that the company used asbestos despite being aware of the dangers of this mineral. They state that General Motors knowingly put its employees and the public at risk of harmful asbestos exposure. Ultimately, asbestos litigation led to the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009.
During the company’s bankruptcy restructuring, part of General Motors was renamed Motors Liquidation Company (MLC), which was then split into four asbestos trust funds. These funds offer financial compensation to victims who were exposed to asbestos through General Motors’ products. The Motors Liquidation Company Asbestos Personal Injury (PI) Trust was established in 2012 with an initial funding of $625 million.
Eligible claimants can receive a portion of the MLC trust according to their specific diagnoses, health status, age, occupation and other factors deemed relevant by the trustees. The trust has established a schedule of seven asbestos-related diseases with specified average and maximum claim values, which go up to $525,000 for mesothelioma. The trust uses a payment percentage of 12.2 percent as of 2022, which means claims will be paid at 12.2 percent of their assigned value. Payment percentages help maintain funds for future claimants.
Who Is Eligible for Compensation From the General Motors Asbestos Trust?
Anyone who has evidence of an asbestos-related disease and proof of exposure to an asbestos product that was created or distributed by General Motors may qualify for compensation from the MLC Asbestos Trust. General Motors factory workers and auto mechanics are the most at risk of harmful asbestos exposure from this company, although there are many other high-risk occupations.
Individuals who may have been exposed to asbestos by General Motors include:
- Aircraft mechanics
- Appliance installers
- Auto manufacturing workers
- Auto mechanics
- Boiler workers
- Engine room workers
- Engineers
- General Motors plant workers
- Metal workers
- Military veterans
- Railway workers
- Shipyard workers
- Warehouse workers
In addition, people who worked with or around General Motors asbestos products may have exposed their loved ones or household members to asbestos. Secondary asbestos exposure can occur when someone carries asbestos fibers into his or her home or vehicle on clothing, skin, hair or equipment from work. Anyone in the worker’s life could then be exposed to this toxic substance.
How to File a Claim With the General Motors Asbestos Trust
If you wish to file a claim with the Motors Liquidation Company Asbestos PI Trust, contact a mesothelioma attorney to review your case and determine if you are eligible. A lawyer can guide you through the claims filing process and help you fill out and submit the required claim form and supporting documentation. You may also be able to file a mesothelioma lawsuit against General Motors for negligence, depending on the circumstances. An attorney can help you understand your legal options.
Contact Bailey & Glasser, LLP Today
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with an illness or disease connected to asbestos exposure, including mesothelioma, and had contact with an asbestos-containing product manufactured by General Motors, don’t wait to contact Bailey & Glasser, LLP for a free case consultation. You may be entitled to financial compensation from the Motors Liquidation Company Asbestos PI Trust. Call (866) 871-7971 to speak to an asbestos attorney today.
