Beginning in 1916, Quigley Co. manufactured insulations and products for foundries and the iron, glass and steel industries, adding asbestos to products to increase heat and fire resistance. In 1968, the pharmaceutical company Chas. Pfizer & Co., Inc., purchased Quigley in a bid to diversify its holdings. By 1991, Pfizer decided to mainly focus on pharmaceutical products and sold off the Quigley assets. Pfizer did, however, keep ownership of the company itself.
When Quigley, which was originally known as Quigley Furnace Specialties Company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004, it was facing thousands of lawsuits due to its asbestos use. While Pfizer never manufactured any of Quigley’s asbestos-containing products, Pfizer was also named in scores of asbestos lawsuits.
Quigley High Risk Occupations
Everyone from the people who manufactured Quigley products to the people who washed their clothing is at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases due to occupational asbestos exposure. Occupations at high risk for asbestos exposure associated with Quigley Co. were primarily in high-heat production environments such as metalwork and glass where asbestos was used to improve insulation. The courts have found that both Quigley and Pfizer are responsible for illnesses related to Quigley products, such as those seen in:
- Construction workers
- Bricklayers and Brick Masons
- Mani-Ply Pipe Insulation
- Foundry workers
- Furnace inspectors and Furnace Workers
- Plant Workers
- Steel Mill Workers and Smelt Workers
The more popular Quigley insulating products were used in a variety of occupational settings including gas, oil and chemical plants, sugar mills, shipyards, logging facilities, paper mills railroads and refrigeration plants.
Exposed to Asbestos
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Why was the Quigley Trust Formed?
Quigley began using asbestos in its products in the 1940s, well after researchers linked asbestos to severe medical conditions. The company mainly manufactured refractory and insulating products for the steel industry. By the 1980s, the company, which was owned by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer at that point, was facing a mountain of asbestos litigation totaling about 160,000 cases.
When Quigley filed for bankruptcy, both Quigley and Pfizer faced more than 210,000 personal injury legal claims totaling about $1.2 billion. Experts estimated the companies could face another 280,000 claims until 2060, valued at about $4.4 billion. Pfizer contribute about $960 million toward the Quigley reorganization plan.
After Quigley filed bankruptcy, Pfizer entered into negotiations with asbestos victims to settle the cases. In the years that followed, Quigley and Pfizer sparred with the bankruptcy courts over reorganization plans. The federal courts issued about 20 decisions over the course of the case.
In 2012, the Quigley bankruptcy plan was completed. The trust currently pays 3.6 percent to 14.5 percent depending on when the claim was filed and other circumstances.
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Quigley Asbestos Exposure
From the 1930s through the 1970s, Quigley manufactured products that contained asbestos. Pfizer acquired Quigley in 1968, but the company did not stop manufacturing asbestos-containing products until at least 1977. Despite being owned by Pfizer, Quigley continued operations by maintaining its own sales staff and filling customer orders. The Pfizer label appeared on Quigley products.
Some of the most widely used Quigley and Pfizer asbestos-containing products were spray insulations and insulation powders.
What Quigley Products Contained Asbestos
As a company that focused on refractory products, Quigley’s goal was to provide goods with insulating properties that can withstand high heat environments. Quigley’s best-selling products contained asbestos, which provided heat, chemical and fire resistance.
Most of Quigley’s products were sold in a dry form that had to be mixed with water to form a paste. In a powder form, asbestos was more likely to be released from the insulating products. Workers in Quigley factories and companies that used the products and their families were at risk for breathing in asbestos fibers. The following are some of the more popular Quigley insulating products:
- Quigley Damit Joint Sealant
- Quigley Insulag Refractory Cement
- Quigley Insulbox Refractory Cement
- Quigley Insuline Refractory Cement
- Quigley Panelag Refractory Cement
- Quigley Panelbond Refractory Cement
- Quigley Fiberock Felt
- Quigley Waterproof Cement
- Retort Cement
- Triple-A No. 10
- Acid proof cement
Anyone who has been exposed to Quigley or Pfizer refractory products are at risk for developing asbestos related diseases and may have access to funds from the Quigley trust. To find out more information about the Quigley Company, Inc. Asbestos Personal Injury Trust and if you qualify for compensation, contact us today.
Quigley Asbestos Lawsuits
Legal claims against Quigley Co. for asbestos exposure began in 1979, shortly following their discontinuation of asbestos use in the mid-1970s. As thousands of lawsuits mounted, Pfizer, who ceased Quigley operations in 1991, chose to resurrect the company to proceed with an official bankruptcy filing.
When Quigley Co. filed bankruptcy in 2004, it was estimated that there were over 411,000 asbestos lawsuits pending against them. Pfizer was also a defendant in over 280,000 of these suits based on their acquisition of Quigley.
Bankruptcy proved difficult for Pfizer, as the courts denied original bankruptcy filing negotiations. After several years of negotiations, Quigley filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2013, including Pfizer forming the Quigley Company, Inc. Trust with initial funding of $569 million.
Quigley Settlements and Payout Amounts
Like all other asbestos-related bankruptcy claims, the Quigley asbestos trust compensates asbestos victims in one of two ways – expedited review or individual review. Each provides claimants with funds based on disease severity, but the amount provided differs, as follows:
Quigley Expedited Claim Review
An expedited review of an asbestos claim provides claimants with a predetermined amount based on a schedule of illnesses. The process is intended to provide quicker access to funds, which can be helpful for gravely ill patients who need fast access to financial relief.
An expedited review from Quigley asbestos trust provides the following compensation:
|Asbestosis/Pleural Disease||$2,000 to $5,000|
To qualify for an expedited review, claimants must be able to produce medical documentation and occupational evidence to correspond with the trust requirements.
Quigley Individual Claim Review
For claimants who do not qualify for an expedited review, an individual review may provide more or less than the fixed values through the expedited review. While the compensation amounts for individual reviews vary, the average schedule of values is as follows:
|Lung Cancer||$15,000 to $45,000|
|Asbestosis/Pleural Disease||$2,000 to $5,000|
In 2017 alone, the Quigley trust approved nearly 14,000 asbestos-related personal injury claims totaling more than $60 million.
If you or a loved one may have been exposed to Quigley Co. products, you may be eligible for compensation from the Quigley Company, Inc. Asbestos Trust which is still active and accepting new claims.
Find Out if you Qualify
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Daniel Wasserberg was a New York metropolitan area “Super Lawyer Rising Star” from 2013 to 2018 (attorneys under age 40), and a Super Lawyer in 2019. In 2017, Daniel was named a “Top 100 Civil Litigator” by the National Trial Lawyers organization. This recognition is rarely awarded to attorneys under the age of 40. Daniel is proud to call himself a Trial Lawyer, and is often asked to speak at gatherings of the nation’s leading attorneys, from both sides of the bar.Learn More
- Berkowitz, Ben. “Court rules Pfizer can face some asbestos suits.”
Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pfizer-asbestos/court-rules-pfizer-can-face-some-asbestos-suits-idUSBRE8390WN20120410
- Rublee vs. Pfizer. Retrieved from http://www.courts.wa.gov/content/petitions/94732-5%20Answer%20to%20prv.pdf
- Quigley asbestos trust distribution schedule. Retrieve from http://www.quigleytrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/35903e718d7cd21f5b0d1f7e4bdea13f.pdf
- Lexis Legal News. “$826 Million Quigley Trust Approved 13,865 Claims Last Year” Retrieved from https://www.lexislegalnews.com/articles/17683