subject: Settlement Trust Established for Personal Injury Claims [print this page] Settlement Trust Established for Personal Injury Claims
A Houston-based manufacturer of electrical products named Cooper Industries has agreed to pay approximately $307 million into a settlement trust to help cover asbestos-related personal injury claims. This resolves a July 2010 mesothelioma lawsuit filed by the Pneumo Abex company challenging a joint-venture between Cooper and manufacturer Danaher to fulfill personal injury claims.Cooper will invest the $307 million in a trust with Pneumo Abex to help those who have filled asbestos-related claims. Additionally, Pneumo Abex will invest an additional $5 million into the trust. Cooper will also pay Pneumo Abex $15 million to continuing resolving any additional personal injury claims that are related to asbestos exposure. Asbestos exposure has been linked mesothelioma, and other health problems like asbestosis and lung cancer. Mesothelioma is a rare but deadly form of cancer of the protective lining of the lungs, heart, chest and abdomen. Symptoms of mesothelioma include pain in the chest, persistent coughing, and pain in the abdominal region and those affected are only given about six months to a year to live. Additionally, those affected may not become symptomatic for up to thirty years after initial exposure. It is estimated that between 2,000 and 3,000 mesothelioma diagnoses are given each year in the United States alone. Mesothelioma makes up about three percent of all cancer diagnoses. Mesothelioma is more likely to occur in men than in women; the cancer occurs four times more frequently in men than in women. All forms of mesothelioma, except for benign mesothelioma, are terminal since there is no cure for the disease. There has been an increase in the number of settlements related to asbestos exposure in recent years because manufacturers of asbestos knew about its dangerous affects long before the general public was made aware. Used primarily in construction during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, asbestos is a highly toxic material. When the fibers are inhaled or ingested, they can lodge themselves in human tissue, causing inflammation or infection. Pneumo Abex has been named in several lawsuits alleging asbestos-related negligence. Since mesothelioma patients only live an average of six months past diagnosis even when treatment is given, many patients and their families' choose to hire a mesothelioma lawyer. Treatment includes chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. Studies have shown that combining two or more of these treatment options can increase the patients' length and quality of life.Warnings were issued in the mid- 1970s and use of the product began to decline. Approximately 30 percent of veterans are diagnosed.
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