Patients who have spent decades seeking compensation for their asbestos-related diseases will benefit from a multi-million dollar settlement reached with Pittsburgh Corning Corp.

The $178 million award will be taken from a $4 billion asbestos trust fund, which according to Law360 was created by Pittsburgh Corning to deal with personal injury claims against the company over asbestos exposure and harm.

The group consists of around 2,000 individual claimants who have sued Pittsburgh Corning asserting allegations of asbestos exposure and injuries since the 1990s. More than 100 of these cases went to trial but were later overturned on appeal. Pittsburgh Corning has used this as an excuse not to grant requests for an award out of the asbestos trust fund, saying that the claims aren’t legitimate if they did not go to trial, or if they did but were later overturned by the courts.

Now, however, this long-running dispute is coming to an end for this particular group of claimants. The settlement is split into two stages. Claimants will initially receive $38 million from the asbestos trust fund. An additional $140 million is pending and will be granted if an arbitration panel decides that the some of the disputed claims are actually “pre-petition liquidated claims.”

Exposure to asbestos fibers has been linked with a number of possible asbestos diseases, including a substantial lung cancer risk. A growing number of people are filing lawsuits over asbestos diseases, often after years of exposure at their workplace. Lawsuits claim that not enough was done to prevent or limit this risk of exposure and that workers were not adequately warned about the risk of asbestos diseases linked with exposure.

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral was often used for commercial purposes such as electrical or building insulation, as well as countless other uses. The microscopic fibers of asbestos are easily inhaled an can accumulate in the lungs, but then eventually spread to distant organs. Asbestos exposure can cause several critical asbestos diseases, including lung cancer.

These asbestos diseases may take decades to become symptomatic. This rate of development often means that asbestos lung cancer isn’t diagnosed until it has reached a later and more dangerous stage of development. For many patients, the time span between their asbestos exposure and diagnosis is too great to recognize the connection.

Filing an Asbestos Lung Cancer Lawsuit

According to many lawsuits filed over asbestos diseases like lung cancer caused by asbestos exposure, companies that allow workers to be exposed to asbestos should have been aware of the dangerous nature of their asbestos-containing materials. Companies should also be aware of asbestos’ ability to cause disease that often results in a fatality. There are many asbestos regulations in place to prevent these kinds of issues.

Employees who have been diagnosed with or died from lung cancer or other asbestos diseases may be able to file a lawsuit or seek an asbestos fine. While filing a lawsuit cannot undo the damage done by asbestos diseases, it can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses and lost wages that too often go hand-in-hand with diseases from asbestos exposure.  While the legal system can be difficult to navigate an experienced legal professional can help determine whether bringing a lawsuit is right for a potential plaintiff.