Quick Facts About The Flintkote Company Trust Fund and Lawsuits
  • wavy circle icon with check mark inside
    Founded:
    1901
  • calendar icon
    Years Operated:
    1917-1987
  • gray building icon
    Headquarters:
    San Francisco, California
  • businessman icon standing next to a globe
    Business:
    Manufactured roofing materials
  • icon of a building with a dollar sign on it
    Asbestos Trust:
    Yes (The Flintkote Asbestos Trust)
  • downward arrow with blocks representing cash
    Bankruptcy Status:
    Filed 2004

Information About the Flintkote Company Asbestos Trust Fund

The Flintkote Asbestos Trust was established in December 2015 with $214 million and began accepting asbestos trust fund claims immediately. The path to creating this trust was lengthy and complicated, spanning over a decade of legal proceedings.

Flintkote Trust Updates

  1. The current payment percentage is 15%.
  2. Mesothelioma has a scheduled value of $184,000.
  3. Lung cancer has a scheduled value of $20,000.
  4. Other cancers have a scheduled value of $4,500.

Flintkote’s insurance covered asbestos settlements until 2001, when payments were delayed or withheld, increasing the company’s debt. In 1987, Flintkote sold its construction, stone and cement plants to pay claims, but this wasn’t enough. Flintkote and its subsidiary filed for bankruptcy in 2004. Disputes between Flintkote and its parent company then delayed and complicated bankruptcy proceedings for a decade before the trust was finally established.

Today, using pre-established guidelines, trust representatives determine the severity of each claim and the award total. Asbestos trust funds like The Flintkote Asbestos Trust ensure all those whose mesothelioma and other eligible diseases traced to Flintkote asbestos products receive compensation.

Legal Help for People Exposed to Flintkote Company’s Asbestos Products

If you developed mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease from Flintkote products, a mesothelioma lawyer can be invaluable in securing the compensation you deserve. Legal representation ensures your Flintkote Asbestos Trust claim includes all required medical records, employment history and exposure documentation while meeting the trust’s specific filing requirements and deadlines.

Your history of asbestos exposure may involve multiple asbestos manufacturers beyond Flintkote. An attorney specializing in asbestos cases will thoroughly investigate your worksites, job duties and the products you encountered to identify every potential source of compensation. This comprehensive approach is critical because companies that didn’t go through bankruptcy can be named in mesothelioma lawsuits, which can result in negotiated settlements or trial verdicts. Your lawyer will coordinate multiple claims strategically, taking into account how trust distributions impact other legal recoveries.

Reach out to our Patient Advocates anytime, day or night, for personalized guidance in finding legal representation that fits your needs. Beyond attorney referrals, we provide a full spectrum of support services from booking consultations with renowned mesothelioma physicians to linking you with peer-support communities and helping you navigate insurance challenges.

Asbestos Litigation Involving Flintkote

Flintkote employees and workers in various occupations that used its asbestos products began filing lawsuits against the company in the early 1970s. The scale of litigation grew exponentially over the following decades.

When Flintkote filed for bankruptcy in 2004, it had already paid $630 million to settle more than 350,000 lawsuits. A 2001 Pennsylvania case, litigated just 3 years before the bankruptcy filing, exemplifies the types of cases successfully brought against the company. The wives of 2 shipyard workers filed separate wrongful death lawsuits after their husbands each died of mesothelioma. Both had worked with Flintkote asbestos products during their careers.

The court combined the cases into a single proceeding and awarded one family $1 million and the other $550,000, providing nearly $1.6 million in total compensation. Successful verdicts like these, combined with approximately 157,000 pending cases against Flintkote and an additional 2,800 against Flintkote Mines, contributed to the company’s decision to file for bankruptcy.

Flintkote’s History With Asbestos

The Flintkote Company was founded in 1901 and is best known for manufacturing roofing materials. Although the company later added other product lines, roofing remained its core industry until it closed in 1987.

For decades, Flintkote’s flagship product was asbestos roofing shingles. Asbestos was used in many products that required durability and heat resistance. Although durable, products with asbestos are dangerous if they are damaged or disturbed.

On May 15, 1982, Flintkote stopped manufacturing products that contained asbestos. Two years later, the company ceased distributing asbestos-containing products.

By then, many people had been exposed to asbestos through Flintkote’s products. Workers who developed asbestos-related diseases after working with the products sued Flintkote seeking compensation to cover medical bills and lost wages.

Flintkote’s Asbestos Products 

Asbestos was added to the company’s products for its strength, heat resistance and affordability. Flintkote’s asbestos products could release toxic microscopic fibers during manufacturing, wear and tear from use and if damaged. These fibers can easily become airborne and be inhaled, lodging in tissues in the body, causing irritation and potentially DNA changes that can lead to cancer.

Asbestos-Containing Products Flintkoke Produced

  • #229 Antisweat compound
  • Adhesives
  • Asphalt
  • Ceiling tile
  • Cement boards
  • Coatings
  • Fibrex cement
  • Flooring felt
  • GF-8 floor tile cement
  • Hydralt protective coating
  • Joint cement
  • Pipes
  • Rexalt roof coating
  • Roofing products
  • Sealers
  • Shingles
  • Siding
  • Thermalkote
  • Vinyl floor tile
  • Waterproofing
  • Weld-On cement

Flintkote’s asbestos products remain in some older buildings and homes that haven’t undergone renovations. Homeowners and roofers are at risk of exposure to these old Flintkote products.

Workers at Risk From Flintkote Products

Flintkote employees who worked at manufacturing plants where its asbestos products were made faced dangerous levels of exposure. Anyone who worked at a Flintkote manufacturing plant was at risk of exposure because airborne asbestos fibers moved throughout the facility.

Tasks That Exposed Workers to Asbestos

  • Adding cement board, shingles and siding
  • Adding protective coatings to roofs and railroad cars
  • Building residential and commercial sites
  • Installing flooring, roofing, piping and chimney lining
  • Pouring asphalt onto roadways

In addition to plant workers, other occupations that may have handled Flintkote’s asbestos products include roofers, floor tilers, construction workers, insulators, plumbers, road pavers, railroad builders, car mechanics and pipefitters.

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