Victims of the Libby asbestos poisoning could soon receive payments from a $19.5 million settlement from W. R. Grace and Company announced earlier this year. The payments would help cover medical costs related to asbestos-caused diseases.
The trust is being managed by Brian Bailey of Bailey Insurance in Kalispell and a final decision on how more than 1,600 victims will be paid is expected to be made by a trust advisory committee later this month.
“My job is to help people get the care they need,” Bailey said. “It’s to help them pay for health care and offset medical costs.”
The $19.5 million settlement emerged from a decade-long bankruptcy legal battle between asbestos poisoning victims and W.R. Grace and Company, which at one time mined vermiculite asbestos just north of Libby. Asbestos-related diseases have sickened or killed hundreds of area residents. Libby has been designated an EPA Superfund site since 1999.
To receive money from the settlement, someone must have a health screening to prove they have been sickened by Libby asbestos and have proof of insurance or Medicare. Enrollment for the settlement ends Nov. 20.
Soon after that date, the trust advisory board will decide how people will be paid, but Bailey said it is likely that victims will receive monthly payments of $130. That sum would cover most patients’ premiums.
With the deadline quickly approaching, the Center for Asbestos Related Diseases in Libby has been overbooked with people trying to get a screening. Currently, 1,600 people are enrolled and Bailey said that number could reach 2,000 by Nov. 20.
“We’re running out of time,” said CARD Clinic business manager Nancy Craig. “We’re booked through the 20th.”
As of last week, Craig said the clinic was overbooked by 55 patients and they were working longer hours to try to call everybody in. Craig said it would be nearly impossible for anyone else to get an appointment before the Nov. 20 deadline, but added people have had plenty of warning.
Bailey said the payout would cover those who currently live in Libby and those who have since moved away. Payments from the settlement are expected to last three or four years. Bailey has been managing the settlement free of charge.
“This way it all goes back to the victims,” he said.