Asbestos Trust Funds Explained: Filing a Claim Even If the Company No Longer Exists

A Brief History of Asbestos Litigation

For much of the 20th century, asbestos was used widely across American industry for its heat resistance and durability — in insulation, shipbuilding, brake linings, construction materials, and countless industrial products. As the serious health consequences of asbestos exposure became undeniable, a wave of lawsuits began in the 1970s and accelerated through the 1980s and 1990s. Many of the companies that manufactured asbestos-containing products, or that knowingly exposed workers to asbestos without adequate protection, faced an overwhelming volume of claims — far more than they could pay through ordinary litigation.

Why Trust Funds Exist

Asbestos-related illnesses like mesothelioma often take decades to appear after the original exposure, which means many of the companies responsible have continued to face new claims long after the exposure occurred — and long after many of those companies filed for bankruptcy. The first asbestos trust fund was established in 1988, when Johns-Manville, once the largest manufacturer of asbestos-containing products in the country, reorganized under Chapter 11 bankruptcy and was required to set aside billions of dollars specifically to compensate people harmed by its products — both those already diagnosed and those who would be diagnosed years or decades later.

Since then, dozens of other companies facing asbestos liability have followed a similar path as a condition of their bankruptcy reorganization. Today, there are more than 60 active asbestos trust funds, holding a combined total of more than $30 billion set aside specifically to compensate asbestos exposure victims. Some of the larger, better-known trusts include those established by Johns-Manville and Owens Corning, among many others across industries ranging from insulation and construction materials to shipbuilding and industrial manufacturing.

How the Claims Process Works

Trust fund claims are handled separately from a traditional lawsuit against an operating company, and the process is generally faster and less adversarial. Each trust maintains its own Trust Distribution Procedures, which set out the specific medical and exposure criteria a claimant must meet, the documentation required — typically including medical records, a diagnosis, and evidence of exposure to that company's products or worksites — and the payment percentage applied to claims.

Because trusts are required to have enough money on hand to pay both current and future claimants for years or decades to come, they typically pay out a percentage of a claim's full scheduled value rather than 100% of it. That percentage varies significantly from trust to trust, and can change over time as a fund's assets are used by successive waves of claimants. Most trusts also offer two review tracks: an expedited review for claims that clearly meet pre-set medical and exposure criteria, and an individual review process for claims that don't fit neatly into those categories but may still have strong supporting evidence.

Many people diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related illness were exposed at more than one job site, or through more than one company's products, over the course of their working life. In these situations, an individual may be eligible to file claims with several different trusts simultaneously, which can meaningfully affect the total compensation available — and is one of the main reasons it's worth having an attorney review your full occupational history rather than filing a single claim on your own.

Trust Funds vs. Lawsuits Against Companies Still in Business

Not every company tied to a person's asbestos exposure has gone bankrupt. In many cases, a claimant's exposure history involves a mix of companies that have since closed and filed for bankruptcy protection, and companies that are still operating today. An experienced attorney will typically pursue both paths at once: filing trust fund claims against the bankrupt companies while also evaluating whether a direct lawsuit against any still-solvent, responsible companies is appropriate. Pursuing only one path when both may be available can leave real compensation on the table.

Connecticut's Industrial and Shipbuilding History

Connecticut has a long industrial and shipbuilding history, and many residents were exposed to asbestos through workplaces that, in many cases, no longer exist today in their original form. You can read more about specific Connecticut asbestos exposure sites, including facilities connected to Electric Boat in Groton, Sikorsky in Stratford, Pratt & Whitney, and General Electric facilities in Connecticut. If you worked at any of these sites, or a similar industrial or shipbuilding facility in Connecticut, that work history may be directly relevant to which trust funds you're eligible to file with.

What Documentation You'll Need

Filing a trust fund claim requires assembling specific documentation, and the strength of that documentation often determines how quickly a claim is processed and how much it's worth. Generally, this includes:

• A confirmed medical diagnosis of mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease, typically supported by pathology reports, imaging, and a treating physician's records.
• Evidence of your work history and exposure, which can include employment records, union records, military service records, and sworn statements from coworkers who can confirm you worked around asbestos-containing products at a specific site.
• Product identification evidence connecting your specific worksite or job to a particular company's asbestos-containing products, which is often the most time-consuming part of building a claim, especially for exposure that occurred decades ago.

Because so much of this evidence depends on records and testimony that can become harder to obtain over time — witnesses pass away, companies' records get lost, memories fade — it's generally advisable not to delay in starting this process once a diagnosis is confirmed.

Who Can File a Claim

Trust fund claims aren't limited to the person who was directly exposed to asbestos. If a loved one has passed away from mesothelioma or another asbestos-related illness, surviving family members — typically a spouse, children, or the estate — can often file a wrongful death claim with the same trust funds the individual would have been eligible to file with while alive. This is an important point many families aren't aware of, particularly when a diagnosis wasn't made, or wasn't fully understood, until after death.

How Long the Process Typically Takes

One advantage of the trust fund system is speed. Claims that qualify for a trust's expedited review process — meaning they clearly meet the trust's pre-established medical and exposure criteria — can sometimes be resolved in a matter of months, which stands in contrast to traditional litigation against a solvent company, which can take years to reach resolution. Claims that don't fit neatly into expedited criteria, and instead require individual review, generally take longer, since the trust's claims reviewers evaluate the specific facts and evidence submitted rather than applying a pre-set formula. An attorney experienced in this area can help determine which track a given claim is likely to fall into, and build the strongest possible submission from the outset.

Why Experience With These Specific Claims Matters

Because each of the 60-plus active trusts operates under its own distinct rules, deadlines, and documentation requirements, successfully navigating multiple simultaneous claims — which is common, given how often asbestos exposure occurred across more than one job site or product — requires familiarity with the individual procedures of each relevant trust. An attorney who regularly handles these cases will generally already have relationships with the trusts most commonly relevant to Connecticut's industrial and shipbuilding history, along with a working knowledge of which types of evidence each trust tends to find most persuasive.

Even though trust fund claims are handled outside the traditional court system, Connecticut's statute of limitations for asbestos-related disease claims still matters, particularly for any claim pursued against a company that hasn't gone through bankruptcy. You can find more detail on these deadlines on our Connecticut personal injury statute of limitations page. Because trust fund rules and deadlines vary by trust, and can be complex to navigate alone, it's important not to delay in having your situation reviewed.

You May Still Have a Claim

A common misconception is that if the company responsible for asbestos exposure no longer exists, there's no one left to hold accountable. In the vast majority of cases, that's simply not true — the trust fund system exists specifically to prevent that outcome. Our Connecticut mesothelioma attorneys regularly help clients identify which of the 60-plus active trusts may apply to their specific work and exposure history, and file claims with each of them.

Next Steps

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related illness, contact us for a free case evaluation. We can help determine which trust funds — and which other legal options — may apply to your situation.

A Final Note on Patience and Persistence

The trust fund system, while designed to be more accessible than traditional litigation, can still feel overwhelming to navigate while also managing a serious diagnosis. Having an attorney manage the claims process — tracking deadlines, coordinating documentation across multiple trusts, and following up on claim status — allows you and your family to focus on what matters most during a difficult time, with the confidence that the legal side of things is being handled thoroughly and correctly.

Jazlowiecki & Jazlowiecki LLC has represented mesothelioma and asbestos exposure victims for decades. Free case evaluations, no fee unless we win.