ACandS Asbestos Settlement Trust

ACandS Inc opened in the early 1900s as Armstrong Cork Supply, manufacturing, installing and servicing cork insulation for low-temperature applications such as cold storage and cold pipe coverings. As the company grew and expanded into high-temperature application products, it changed names to Armstrong Contracting and Supply Corporation and, later, ACandS.

ACandS, which continued to manufacture, install and service insulation, changed its main insulating materials from cork to asbestos early in the company’s history. The company also sold, used and installed asbestos-containing insulations made by other companies.

By 2002, ACandS faced thousands of legal claims as a result of its asbestos use. The company settled almost 300,000 asbestos lawsuits, but the financial strain became too overwhelming. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2002.

Why was the ACandS Asbestos Trust Formed?

ACandS, based in Pennsylvania, sold and manufactured insulating blocks, cements and sprays from the late 1950s through 1974. The company was once the world’s largest insulation contractor.

Medical authorities established a clear link between asbestos and asbestos-related diseases in the 1940s and 1950s. Despite the known dangers, ACandS did not supply gear or clothing to protect workers from breathing in the asbestos fibers. The company did not start distributing facemasks, respirators and other protective equipment until the 1970s.

From the late 1980s through 2002, the company paid nearly 300,000 legal claims. The company entered bankruptcy proceedings when it could not pay its financial obligations from its reckless use of asbestos.

ACandS Asbestos Exposure

The U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry estimated 27 million workers were exposed to toxic asbestos between 1940 and 1979. Asbestos exposure is a known cause of diseases that include mesothelioma.

The ACandS trust lists nearly 1,500 sites that are considered approved locations where ACandS exposure may have occurred. The sites include food manufacturers, colleges and universities, steel manufacturing plants and chemical plants.

Are there specific places ACandS lists for known asbestos exposure locations?

What ACandS Workers Were Exposed to Asbestos?

Many ACandS employees were continually exposed to asbestos-containing insulation. Thousands of former employees have already received a financial settlement due to exposure. In addition, thousands of other occupations have an increased risk of exposure to ACandS asbestos-containing products:

Litigation against ACandS Inc.

Before ACandS filed bankruptcy, the company had begun dealing with lawsuits from employees claiming they had developed diseases after being exposed to asbestos.

Five asbestos victims, including a woman who got cancer after washing her father’s asbestos-covered clothing, received settlements ranging from 3.5 to 15 million dollars.

ACandS was specifically found liable for the case involving the woman who developed cancer from washing her father’s clothing.

How to File an ACandS Trust Claim

ACandS trust was created in response to the thousands of people sickened by exposure to the company’s asbestos products. Claimants to the company’s trust can elect either an expedited review or individual review.

Specific Instructions to filing an ACandS Trust Claim:

1. Submit a completed Claim Form along with all of the required supporting documentation
2. Register with the trust in order for the trust to confirm tax identification numbers prior to disbursements as required by the Internal Revenue Service.
3. Make sure your law firm is also registered with the trust.
4. Claims must be filed before the expiration of the relevant statute of limitations.

All claims on the ACandS trust settlement require supporting documents that include medical records that show a claimed disease level, proof of exposure to ACandS products and a death certificate (if applicable). ACandS trust settlements are handed in a first in, first out (FIFO) order or the order in which they were received.

Average ACandS Claim Amounts

ACandS Expedited Claim

Disease	Compensation
Mesothelioma	$150,000
Lung Cancer	$50,000
Other Cancer	$14,000
Severe Asbestosis	$40,000
Asbestosis/Pleural Disease	$7,500
Other Asbestos Disease	$3,000

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When applying the 5.78 payment percentage, the expedited claims would be paid as follows:

Disease	Compensation
Mesothelioma	$8,670
Lung Cancer	$2,890
Other Cancer	$809
Severe Asbestosis	$2,312
Asbestosis/Pleural Disease	$433.50
Other Asbestos Disease	$173.40

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If the trustees determined the claim did not meet the presumptive medical and exposure criteria, the claim could be rejected. If the claims application is denied or the claimant rejects the offer from the expedited review, the claimant may request an individual review.

ACandS Individual Claim Review

The individual review process allows claimants to have separate reviews of their claims, based on personal circumstances. All lung cancer claims must undergo individual reviews. If an individual review is approved, the claim pays an average value, as follows:

Disease	Compensation
Mesothelioma	$220,000
Lung Cancer	$12,000 to $55,000
Other Cancer	$15,000
Severe Asbestosis	$45,000

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Written and legally reviewed by Daniel Wasserberg

Attorney and On-Site Legal Advocate

Daniel Wasserberg was a New York metropolitan area “Super Lawyer Rising Star” from 2013 to 2018 (attorneys under age 40), and a Super Lawyer in 2019. In 2017, Daniel was named a “Top 100 Civil Litigator” by the National Trial Lawyers organization. This recognition is rarely awarded to attorneys under the age of 40. Daniel is proud to call himself a Trial Lawyer, and is often asked to speak at gatherings of the nation’s leading attorneys, from both sides of the bar.

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