Legal compensation is available for asbestos exposure victims who suffer from serious health conditions, such as mesothelioma. Currently there are two independent systems to receive asbestos related payouts:

• Trusts: Claims can be filed with the trust system that is set up for paying asbestos liabilities of former producers of asbestos that are now bankrupt
• Litigation: Individuals can also pursue litigation with a business that is still in operation, these are often small companies such as local hardware stores

Unfortunately, with this two-track system, plaintiffs’ lawyers use both the courts and the bankruptcy trusts to file claims. Since claims and relevant evidence in the asbestos trust system are confidential, plaintiff’s lawyers are able to secretly extract money from the trust, while also receiving a lawsuit payout – otherwise known as double-dipping.

Every person harmed by asbestos deserves to recover their claim from these serious, health-related lawsuits. However, the current system is being abused by self-serving trial lawyers who are draining finite resources from trusts that should go to future victims.