Mesothelioma lawyer assistance for financial recovery

According to asbestos victims' lawyers, Asarco LLC, a Tucson based company owes the asbestos victims $2.66 billion.

Attorneys for the asbestos victims argue that Asarco is responsible for all the hazards caused by its units. The Cement Asbestos Products Co. and Lake Asbestos of Quebec Ltd. are the subsidiaries of Asarco.

The estimate of $2.66 billion is there in the court filing submitted on March 5. However, Asarco and its parent company Asarco Inc. and general creditors denied this. Their claim is that Asarco's latent asbestos debts are between $180 million and $490.3 million only.

"Everybody is talking about the same thing, but they are pointing their fingers in different directions," said John H. Tate II who is a San Antonio-based lawyer for asbestos victims. He is planning to file suits against the company.

95,000 asbestos suits are being faced by Asarco and its subsidiaries at the moment. According to the accusations, the company owes $6 billion to the federal government, 16 states and two American Indian tribes for environmental cleanup costs. These claims have been mentioned as main reason why the company sought bankruptcy protection in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 2005.

Asarco will go before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Richard S. Schmidt in September for a lawsuit on the value of the asbestos claims. They have requested to organize an individual trial on the environmental claims.

According to Asarco's estimate, their liabilities are between $242.1 million and $446.9 million.