We've all heard of unscrupulous attorneys making millions by flooding California courts with bogus asbestos claims. What effect does this behavior have on those who have been truly injured?
These bogus lawsuits have drained and depleted the funds that compensate individuals who have actually been harmed by asbestos. As these funds decrease due to fraud and abuse, injured individuals will find that they are not able to recover the damages to which they are entitled.
Recently, both the RAND Corporation and the Governmental Accountability Office have published studies concluding that the lack of oversight and accountability of asbestos trust funds leaves them wide open to fraud and abuse.
One solution is the federal Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act – the FACT Act. This bill, known as Senate Bill 3076 and House Resolution 4369, would do the following:
- Ensure that asbestos trust funds, currently totaling over $36 billion in assets, are protected from fraud and abuse to preserve asbestos trust funds for legitimate asbestos victims.
- Identify fraudulent and inconsistent claims in both the trust and tort systems, discourage improper claims, and protect funds for future legitimate asbestos claimants.
The broken asbestos compensation system has created incentives for abuse. The FACT Act will preserve the funds to ensure future claimants receive full compensation for their injuries.
