A Trust Fund Victims Can't Trust
Harry Weakland’s story
Ft. Myers, Florida. Harry worked as a bricklayer for industrial companies throughout the rust belt and upper Midwest. He worked for U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh, in chemical plants in New York and for the big three automakers in Michigan. It was through this work that he was exposed to deadly asbestos product, unaware that working with asbestos would eventually take his life prematurely.
After his retirement, Harry remained very active in his Ft. Myers community. The neighborhood’s handyman, he was happy to do odd jobs for his friends and neighbors. Mesothelioma, a terminal cancer caused only by asbestos, took his life in March 2004 - only five months after being diagnosed.
His wife, Mary, to whom he was utterly devoted for their nearly 57 years of marriage, has been devastated by the loss of her husband. The stress caused by his illness and death has caused her health to deteriorate drastically.
How would the asbestos bailout bill hurt Harry’s family?
With the case still pending in Texas, on his death bed Harry asked for assurance from one of his daughters that his wife would be compensated for the illness caused by his asbestos exposure. If the asbestos trust fund legislation is enacted, Harry’s dying request may not be realized. In any event, his family would have to begin the claims process again under the asbestos trust fund.
