General Electric manufactured a variety of asbestos-containing products, including electrical components and steam turbines. Unlike other asbestos companies, it never filed for bankruptcy or set up a trust fund. It continues to handle asbestos litigation through the courts and settlement offers.
Consumer products, energy, aviation, health care and finance
Asbestos Trust:
No
Bankruptcy Status:
Not bankrupt
Overview of General Electric Company Asbestos Compensation
General Electric Company has never filed for bankruptcy protection or established a trust fund to address the hundreds of thousands of asbestos claims against it. The company handles asbestos litigation through the court system and insurance.
Depending on individual circumstances, people can file an asbestos personal injury lawsuit, a wrongful death lawsuit or a claim for workers’ compensation with the help of a lawyer. These forms of mesothelioma compensation can help cover medical expenses and lost wages related to your diagnosis.
Key Facts About Compensation From GE
People have filed more than 400,000 asbestos lawsuits against the company over the years.
From 2022 to 2024, GE paid out more than $610 million related to worker asbestos exposure claims and environmental cleanup costs.
The company has more than $2 billion in reserve for asbestos and other health exposure claims.
One of the largest manufacturers in the U.S., GE generated nearly $70 billion in revenue in 2023. In addition to large capital reserves, the company has significant insurance coverage for asbestos litigation related to its steam turbines. There is no question of the ability of GE to cover the full amount of a mesothelioma settlement or jury verdict, which is why it hasn’t needed to create an asbestos trust fund.
Legal Help for People Exposed to General Electric Asbestos Products
It’s normal to find the legal process overwhelming after receiving a mesothelioma diagnosis. But you don’t have to handle the process alone. The company’s long history of asbestos exposure means that top mesothelioma lawyers have significant experience successfully fighting the company in court.
The first step is finding a lawyer with experience in cases like yours and whose communication style and overall approach helps you and your family feel comfortable throughout the process. A Patient Advocate can match you to the right lawyer for the details of your work history,
Your Patient Advocate can also find the right mesothelioma specialist to help you explore the best treatment options for you and schedule appointments for you. They can also help you navigate insurance, manage your VA benefits claims and access free medical and financial assistance resources.
Exposed to Asbestos by General Electric Products?
Gain access to trust funds, grants and other forms of compensation for you or your loved ones.
Many lawsuits against General Electric Company involve asbestos exposure from the company’s steam turbines. Workers around the country have developed mesothelioma and lung cancer decades after working around the company’s many asbestos products.
Lawsuits Against GE for Asbestos Compensation
$22.5 million: In May 2024, a Connecticut jury awarded $15 million to Kathryn Barone, the surviving wife of Nicolas Barone, who passed away from mesothelioma in 2023. Mr. Barone was exposed to asbestos while working as a process engineer at a General Electric plant in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The court also awarded the Barone family $7.5 million in punitive damages.
$1.47 million: The New York Supreme Court awarded electrical worker Howard Plumb this amount in compensation for asbestos exposure and mesothelioma. The court found General Electric 98% responsible for Plumb’s injuries. He used General Electric’s asbestos-containing electric cable while working in the 1940s.
Undisclosed settlement: In 2019, General Electric settled out of court with plaintiff Lynda Berry, who developed mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos fibers that her husband brought home from his job at a paper mill. A Louisiana jury later awarded Berry $2.25 million from the remaining defendants.
GE continues facing mesothelioma lawsuits and has been required to maintain insurance coverage for future claims since a 2010 court ruling. Legal strategies in these cases can significantly impact outcomes, as demonstrated in the 2025 Horton v. GE case where focusing on civilian rather than military asbestos exposure kept the case in state court, potentially improving the family’s chances of compensation.
General Electric’s Connection to Asbestos
As a manufacturer of light bulbs, electrical components, power-generating equipment and electronics, General Electric used asbestos in many of its products, including steam turbines, consumer electronics, appliances and plastic molding compounds used in electrical boxes. The company’s early consumer electronics, such as radios, contained asbestos panels to help with the tremendous amount of heat the devices generated.
General Electric Company also used products from other asbestos manufacturers. Historical evidence shows GE power production plants used asbestos-containing cabling, wiring, furnace components and insulation. The toxic mineral added significant thermal and fire resistance, making it popular for insulating products and electrical shielding.
Asbestos fibers were frequently used in high-heat applications within the power and electrical industries. GE used asbestos parts heavily to manufacture tens of thousands of steam turbines. Exposure to asbestos in these turbines primarily occurred between 1966 and 1986.
General Electric Company’s Asbestos Products
General Electric sold asbestos-containing wires and cables under the brand name Deltabeston. It also produced infrared ovens under the brand name Wil-Son Patent-Flex.
Infrared ovens were used during World War II for commercial, industrial and military drying processes, such as applying coatings to equipment. Oven temperatures could reach more than 6,500 degrees Fahrenheit, so asbestos fibers were used for fire resistance.
GE’s Asbestos-Containing Products
Deltabeston cables
Deltabeston wires
Electrical arc chutes
Furnaces
Phenolic molding material
Steam turbines
Stovetops
Wil-Son Patent-Flex infrared ovens
Over the decades, GE grew into one of the world’s largest and most diverse manufacturers. Its products included early thermoplastics, consumer electronics, jet engines and nuclear reactors.
By 1969, the company was manufacturing roughly 60 million pounds of phenolic resin compounds, most containing asbestos. At trial, Nicolas Barone testified that toxic asbestos dust was present “everywhere” in the General Electric phenolic resin plant where he worked. He said: “It came in bulk in boxcars. It was manually unloaded. Guys used to screw around, having snowball fights with it.”
Who Was at Risk of Asbestos Exposure From General Electric?
Anyone who installed, repaired or worked near General Electric products that contained asbestos may have been exposed to harmful amounts of the dangerous material. When maintenance technicians scraped away and reapplied asbestos insulation, the toxic fibers became airborne. Asbestos dust didn’t just affect the maintenance personnel; nearby laborers also breathed it in.
Higher Risk Occupations
Carpenters
Construction workers
Consumer appliance assemblers
Demolition workers
Electrical engineers
Electricians
Engine assemblers
General Electric manufacturing plant workers
Insulators
Power plant workers
Steel workers, shipyard workers, naval employees and other government workers also faced occupational asbestos exposure. Employees at GE energy plants, distribution plants or factories that made asbestos-containing products should pay close attention to their health, such as scheduling yearly cancer screenings. Mesothelioma symptoms may not appear for decades, but treatment is more effective when doctors catch the illness early.
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D. Carl Money is an attorney at Nemeroff Law. He has devoted his career to fighting for workers diagnosed with mesothelioma and their families. Money has more than 25 years of experience fighting for people with asbestos-related diseases. He’s licensed in Texas, New York, England and Wales and belongs to various legal organizations across the U.S. and U.K.
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