The Story: Garlock Sealing Technologies is attempting to exit bankruptcy by proving that it is not liable for the totality of its victims’ claims. The company is disputing the claimants’ $1.3 billion in damages, asserting that it will owe only $125 million in payments.
Garlock is a maker of asbestos gaskets; asbestos is proven to cause lung cancer to those who are exposed to the dangerous and harmful material. In 2010, Garlock filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 due to the thousands of lawsuits that had been brought against it from those who had inhaled the asbestos within its products. To climb out of bankruptcy, the company has to confirm the full amount of its future liability to the claimants; Garlock asserts that it will owe far less than is estimated by the plaintiffs in the case, and it hopes to prove this by showing that the claimants have been exposed to higher levels of asbestos from competitors’ products and thus Garlock is not fully responsible for their illnesses.
If you’ve been made ill with cancer due to asbestos exposure, you should speak to a personal injury lawyer. The injury attorneys at our North Carolina-based law firm have years of experience working with victims of asbestos exposure, and we know both how devastating such injury can be and how to argue for the compensation to which you are entitled. We have seen, for instance, how many asbestos manufacturers will attempt to argue that you contracted the illness from anywhere other than their own product; they will do anything they can to avoid paying for that which they are liable.
You can also click this link to read about two separate settlements we secured for victims of asbestos inhalation. Tragically, both victims passed away, but we were able to achieve the settlements for their surviving family members, ensuring that the company paid for their negligence and that the family members would be taken care of in their loved ones’ absence.