Asbestos claims might reach billions of dollars for creditors of the GM bankruptcy estate, according to an article published on Bloomberg Businessweek (see “GM’s Estate May Face Billions in Asbestos Claims” for the original article.)  They were granted permission from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber to seek data from other parties to roughly determine the cost of such claims.

The plan formulated by Motors Liquidation Co., the former portion of General Motors that remains in bankruptcy, involves creating a trust.  This trust will allow Motors Liquidation Co. to leave bankruptcy with some funds earmarked for the payment of future tort claims.  The estate currently faces around $648 million for asbestos liability and might, down the road, face claims for up to 10 times that much.

Much of this asbestos liability comes from GM’s use of asbestos in their brake linings, something they used to do in the past.

Asbestos settlements are commonly reached because a worker has been exposed to asbestos in the past.  Much of this exposure occurs to workers in the shipbuilding and construction industries, both of which (historically) frequently used asbestos for its properties as a flame retardant and insulator.  A worker can inhale asbestos by working directly with it or by repairing something that was originally built or manufactured with the mineral.

The potential issues associated with asbestos exposure can be devastating.  Once inhaled in the lungs, asbestos fibers remain there because they cannot be broken down by the human body.  After a period of latency lasting anywhere from 10 to 50 years, mesothelioma can strike.  This cancer, once its symptoms manifest itself, moves incredibly quickly and is highly deadly: After all, though there are treatments for mesothelioma, there is no cure.  What’s more, the life expectancy of someone diagnosed with this disease is often measured in months.

If you think you may have suffered from asbestos exposure, you may want to consider contacting a mesothelioma law firm with a historical track record of success with settling asbestos claims.