Asbestos medical trust donates remainder to Libby groups

The Libby Medical Plan Trust has paid out its final round of benefits and will give the remaining $7,600 to the Libby Food Pantry and the Libby Senior Citizens Center for the holiday season.

The trust was created in 2012 to help provide medical benefits to those diagnosed with asbestos-related disease due to the mining and milling of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite in Libby. Over the last five years, more than $13 million has been paid by the trust to over 2,000 beneficiaries.

“The Libby Medical Plan Trust has assisted thousands of folks with paying for insurance coverage for medical expenses for a disease that was caused by no fault of their own” said Roger Sullivan, an attorney for McGarvey, Heberling, Sullivan & Lacey, a Kalispell law firm that assisted with the development and administration of the trust. “Unfortunately, the trust has run its course and all of the benefits have been paid out.”

This year, the trust made its final payment to its beneficiaries and approximately $7,500 was remaining in the account. The Trust Advisory Committee, which includes Leroy Thom, Dave Stephenson and Gayla Benefield, proposed that the distribution of the remaining funds to be split between the Libby Food Pantry and Libby Senior Citizens Center for the holiday season. Lincoln County District Court Judge Matt Cuffe approved the closing distribution.

“We wanted to ensure that every dollar of the trust that was left over went to assist those in our community who are in need during the holiday season,” Thom said.

Although the Libby Medical Plan Trust has now been exhausted, there remains another possible source of recovery for those suffering from Libby asbestos-related disease. W.R. Grace & Co., the company responsible for the asbestos contamination in Libby, filed for bankruptcy in 2001. Through bankruptcy, W.R. Grace Personal Injury Trust has been set up. That trust currently is accepting claims. For those diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease due to asbestos exposure in Lincoln County before Feb. 18, 201.5 the deadline to file a claim with the W.R. Grace Personal Injury Trust is Feb. 28, 2018.