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Asbestos suits 'catastrophic'
12/01/2005 08:42 - (SA)
Washington - A top US lawmaker said on Tuesday that a multi-billion dollar fund is needed to settle a rising number of asbestos-related lawsuits that are forcing scores of companies out of business.
Some estimates have said up to $140bn will be needed and Senator Arlen Specter, Republican chairperson of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said asbestos litigation has become a "catastrophic" problem for US firms.
"We now have some 74 companies which have gone into bankruptcy, thousands of individuals who have been exposed to asbestos with deadly diseases, mesothelioma and cancer, and are not being compensated," Specter told the committee.
Specter said the size of the proposed fund is still open to discussion, but noted that past efforts in Congress had settled on a figure of around $140bn.
"The number of asbestos defendants has risen sharply from about 300 in the 1980s to more than 8 400 today, and most are users of the product," Specter said.
"It spans some 85% of the US economy, some 60 000 workers have lost their jobs, employees' retirement funds are said to have shrunken by some 25%, and beyond any question the issue is one of catastrophic proportions."
The lawmaker said the reform would also aim to curb abuses of the legal system by litigants claiming asbestos-related health problems.
"About two-thirds of the claims, oddly enough, are being filed by people who are unimpaired," said Specter, who said he hoped to present a bill before the Senate by the beginning of next month.
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