Study: Asbestos Suits Cost at Least 52,000 Jobs

Asbestos lawsuits have cost 52,000 to 60,000 Americans their jobs and U.S. businesses as much as $275 billion, a study commissioned by the American Insurance Assn. said.

The industry group’s report found that lawsuits brought by individuals claiming asbestos-related illnesses hurt workers and shareholders in companies that are sued, as well as employees vested in retirement plans and smaller companies that do business with the lawsuit targets.

“This is something that is significant for firms in bankruptcy and for the economy as a whole,” said Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, a Columbia University economics professor and chairman of former President Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisors. “Today the impacts are being felt by workers.”

Asbestos suits have forced more than 60 companies to seek bankruptcy protection, including 20 since 2000, said Jonathan Orszag, a former assistant Commerce secretary and co-author of the report. Federal-Mogul Corp. and W.R. Grace & Co. are among the companies that have sought Chapter 11 protection since 2000 citing liability from asbestos, a carcinogen used as insulation and fireproofing.

Stiglitz and Orszag urged Congress to enact legislation to protect companies facing asbestos litigation liability.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys said the best way for companies to resolve their asbestos liability is to pay victims fair compensation. The companies shouldn’t get special treatment from Congress, they said.

“Trying to nationally legislate who is sick and who is not sick is reprehensible,” said Patrick Malouf, a plaintiffs’ lawyer in Jackson, Miss. His clients won a $150-million verdict in an asbestos product-liability case in October 2001.

Each worker forced into unemployment or a lower-paying job will lose an average of $25,000 to $50,000 in earnings over a career, the study said. Companies already in Bankruptcy Court face legal, accounting and other costs as high as $650 million, the study said.