Plibrico Company made a variety of refractory products with asbestos until the 1970s. Asbestos litigation caused the company to file for bankruptcy in 2002. An asbestos trust fund became active in 2006 with $205,600,000 to compensate victims.
Manufacturer of refractory products and pliable brick materials
Asbestos Trust:
Yes
Bankruptcy Status:
Filed in 2002, reorganized in 2006
The Plibrico Company Asbestos Trust Fund
In 2002, the company declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It emerged from bankruptcy 4 years later and established the Plibrico 524(g) Trust, also known as the Plibrico Asbestos Trust.
Plibrico Company Asbestos Trust Updates
The current payment percentage is 0.94%.
Mesothelioma has a scheduled payment of $350,000.
Lung cancer has a scheduled payment of $120,000.
Other cancers have a scheduled payment of $65,000.
The asbestos trust fund is designed to provide compensation to people who developed asbestos-related cancer after exposure to Plibrico’s products. According to the guidelines for the trust, all mesothelioma claims are processed and paid on “an impartial, first-in-first-out basis, with the goal of paying all claimants over time as equivalent a share as possible of the value of their claims.”
Legal Help for People Exposed to Plibrico Company Asbestos Products
A mesothelioma lawyer will support you in your claim if you were exposed to Plibrico refractory products. Your attorney will gather documentation of your exposure and Plibrico’s responsibility. They’ll manage the filing process with the Plibrico 524(g) Asbestos Trust.
Many tradespeople worked with products from various asbestos manufacturers across job sites, so your lawyer examines your entire career to identify other responsible parties. This opens pathways like mesothelioma lawsuits against non-bankrupt firms, workers’ compensation or state-specific benefits programs.
Finding the right attorney for you and your family can be challenging. A Patient Advocate can help. They can guide you to renowned mesothelioma attorneys. Additionally, they can offer you specialist referrals, assist you in navigating insurance and support you in your VA benefits claims.
Were You Exposed to Asbestos Products Made by Plibrico?
Gain access to trust funds, grants and other forms of compensation for you or your loved ones.
Asbestos lawsuits against Plibrico accumulated throughout the 1980s, 1990s and into the 2000s. The company faced numerous mass tort actions concerning its asbestos use. In 2001, the New Jersey Local 475 Steamfitters union filed an asbestos suit naming Plibrico alongside several other companies.
Cornelius C. Dykstra,who was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, filed another significant lawsuit against Plibrico and 49 other asbestos manufacturers. The case garnered widespread legal attention because it declared that the public- and private-interest factors inherent in asbestos litigation made it a subject of national importance.
The trust continues paying claims for past asbestos exposure. Plibrico still operates as a refractory materials company today.
Plibrico’s History With Asbestos
For more than a century, Plibrico Company has manufactured refractory products for use in thermal and industrial applications. The company’s pliable firebrick materials, also known as monolithic refractories, were used to line high-temperature furnaces, incinerators and boilers.
Since furnace linings must withstand temperatures higher than those of the industrial materials they process, asbestos was frequently added. The company used this toxic mineral from the 1950s through the 1970s.
Plibrico added asbestos to several of its products, including boiler coating and insulating cement. Company employees who manufactured these products were directly exposed to asbestos fibers, which are known to cause cancers such as mesothelioma and lung cancer. End users of these products, such as boiler workers and pipefitters, were also at risk of asbestos exposure.
Between the 1950s and the 1970s, Plibrico manufactured various asbestos-containing products including Plicast refractory cement insulation.
Asbestos Products Plibrico Made
Plibrico incorporated asbestos into nearly all its refractory products for several decades, including the custom monolithic pieces it became known for. The company manufactured these asbestos products under brand names including Pliseal, Plicast and Plisulate from the 1950s through the 1970s.
PlibricoAsbestos Products
Boiler coatings
Casting materials
Demon High-Temperature Cement (air-set and heat-set)
Furnace coatings
Insulating cement
Insulation block
Plibrico Jointless Firebrick
Plibrico Plicast and Air Set castable refractories
Wall coating
Workers who installed, trimmed or mixed these products risked inhaling asbestos fibers during routine tasks. Installing jointless firebrick required pounding 2-inch-thick pieces into place with hammers or pneumatic rammers, then trimming them with trowels or sharp tools.
Mixing Demon cement and Plicast castable refractories from dry powder form released asbestos fibers into the air. These microscopic fibers lingered for hours and created exposure risks for anyone nearby.
Occupations at Risk of Exposure to Plibrico’s Asbestos Products
Company employees were at risk of asbestos exposure during the manufacturing of asbestos products. Once the products made it to market, workers in industries such as construction, shipbuilding and metalwork were at risk of exposure to Plibrico’s refractory products.
Higher Risk Jobs
Boiler workers
Furnace men
Insulators
Pipefitters
Pourers
Steamfitters
Steel and iron workers
Smelter men
These workers mixed, applied and repaired Plibrico refractory materials in high-heat environments, releasing hazardous asbestos dust during installation and maintenance. Family members also faced secondary exposure from contaminated clothing brought home from job sites.
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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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