National Gypsum (NGC) Asbestos Trust Claims

If you taped and finished drywall, hung board, sprayed acoustic ceilings, or worked construction around Gold Bond products, or did your own remodeling with them at home, and a mesothelioma or other asbestos diagnosis has now come in, the joint compound and building materials National Gypsum made may be part of the reason, and the company left behind a trust built to pay these claims.

For decades, National Gypsum was one of the country's largest makers of gypsum building products, sold under the Gold Bond name, and the one that mattered most for asbestos was joint compound, the paste that drywall finishers spread over seams and screw heads and then sanded smooth. Sanding it was the dustiest job on the site, and that dust was chrysotile asbestos. The trust the company left behind is one of the largest asbestos trusts, holding nearly $200 million, and it pays one of the higher rates among all asbestos trusts. It's open and still paying today.

You don't need to remember product names or have old records in hand. The trust accepts sworn statements, coworker accounts, and work histories to document exposure, and reconstructing that is our job, not yours. One thing surprises people: National Gypsum is still in business today, but the company you'd buy Gold Bond from now is the reorganized company, and it's protected; the trust pays for the asbestos products of the old National Gypsum. So filing doesn't touch any working business. If you can tell us where you encountered these products and when, we have a place to start.

What the National Gypsum trust pays

This trust works a little differently from most. Instead of one fixed amount per disease, it offers two routes. Expedited Review is the fast track: a fixed amount, paid on straightforward proof, with less back-and-forth. Individual Review values the claim on its specific facts, starting from a higher baseline and reaching well above it for stronger claims, but it asks for more and takes longer. Mesothelioma sits at the top either way.

These are the trust's baseline values as originally set, and they rise by 2.5% each year, so the current-year figures are higher; we confirm them when a claim is filed. The minimal non-malignant category is paid only through the fast track. For a serious claim, the gap between the fast-track amount and what Individual Review can reach, up to four times the baseline, is exactly why the choice between the two routes matters, and it's one of the first things we work through with a client.

Two more things to keep in mind. First, the trust doesn't pay these values in full; it pays a percentage of the claim's value, currently 45%, which is one of the higher payment rates among asbestos trusts. Second, almost no one's exposure was limited to National Gypsum. A construction site or a remodel involved joint compound, texture, and other products from several makers, most of which left their own trusts, so the National Gypsum claim is usually one piece of a larger recovery.

How National Gypsum's products exposed workers

National Gypsum made the materials that finished the inside of a building, and the most dangerous of them was joint compound, the paste used to fill and smooth the seams and screw holes in drywall. For decades it was made with chrysotile asbestos. A finisher troweled it on wet, let it dry, and then sanded it flush, and sanding a dried asbestos compound threw a fine dust into the air of the room, the dustiest routine task in drywall work. Mixing the dry powder compound with water raised dust too, before any of it went on the wall.

It wasn't only joint compound. National Gypsum made sprayed acoustical and texture products that were applied overhead and sanded or scraped, cement products, and the gypsum wallboard itself, which released some fiber when it was cut and fit. But it's the joint compound and the sanding that put this company at the center of so many construction-worker and drywall-finisher cases.

Here's what makes these products reach so many people: the work was everywhere, and it wasn't only professionals doing it. The trades exposed were the drywall finishers and tapers, the hangers, the plasterers, the acoustical-ceiling installers, and the carpenters and painters working alongside them, plus the factory workers who made the products. But because joint compound and patching products were sold to anyone, the do-it-yourself homeowner who hung and finished a basement, or sanded a patch, breathed the same dust. A National Gypsum claim can belong to someone who never worked construction for a living.

A National Gypsum claim also rarely stands alone. A finisher used joint compound from several makers, and a building site or a remodel was full of other asbestos products. We come back to that below, because it's where much of the recovery is. To understand how this work caused exposure, see asbestos joint compound and how it exposed people and drywall finishers and asbestos exposure.

How the National Gypsum bankruptcy created the trust

National Gypsum's path to a trust took two trips through bankruptcy, which is worth understanding because it's why today's company is separate from the old asbestos liability.

The company was sued over its asbestos products by the tens of thousands, and in 1990 it filed for Chapter 11. When it emerged in 1993, it split in two. The operating business, the company that still makes Gold Bond wallboard today, was reorganized and went on, while the old corporation was renamed Asbestos Claims Management Corporation and kept the asbestos liability, and a first trust was set up to pay claims. That first trust ran short of money within a few years. So in 2002 the asbestos company filed for Chapter 11 again, and out of that case, in 2003, came the trust that pays today: the NGC Bodily Injury Trust.

It was set up under the part of the bankruptcy law written for asbestos, Section 524(g), which lets a court channel every asbestos claim against a company, the ones already filed and the ones still to surface decades later, into a single trust that pays them in the company's place. The same law protects the reorganized operating company: the channeling injunction sends the asbestos claims to the trust and shields today's National Gypsum from them. That's the practical point for you. When you file, you're filing against a fund built from the old company's money and insurance, set up specifically to pay these claims, not against the business that sells Gold Bond now.

What the trust pays, the two routes, and the percentage

Most asbestos trusts pay a single set amount per disease. National Gypsum's trust, built to mirror how these claims were valued in the courts, gives you a choice between two routes, and the choice can matter to both how much and how fast you're paid.

Expedited Review is the fast track. It pays a fixed amount for your disease on relatively straightforward proof, with less documentation and a quicker turnaround. Individual Review sets that aside and values your claim on its own facts, starting from a baseline that's higher than the fast-track amount and reaching up to four times that baseline for the strongest claims. It weighs things like how direct and how prolonged your exposure was, which is where occupation comes in: a drywall finisher with heavy, hands-on exposure to the compound is valued differently from someone exposed only in passing. Individual Review can pay considerably more, but it asks for more proof and takes longer. For a serious diagnosis we look hard at which route serves the family better.

Whichever route, the trust doesn't pay the claim's value in full. Like every asbestos trust, it pays a percentage of it, currently 45%, so a finite fund can reach everyone it owes, including the people who won't be diagnosed for years. By the standard of asbestos trusts, 45% is a high rate; many trusts pay a small fraction of that. The trust reviews the percentage periodically and can adjust it, and we confirm the current figure when your claim is filed.

Is the National Gypsum trust still able to pay?

Yes, and it's one of the largest and most stable asbestos trusts there is. Here's the picture from its most recent annual report.

• Nearly $200 million on hand. At the end of 2025 the trust held about $197.7 million in net assets, a large fund, invested and actively managed to pay claims for many years to come.
• Holding steady. The fund was essentially flat over the year, with its investment income roughly matching what it paid in claims and expenses. For a trust this size, that's a sign of stability, not decline.
• Paying at a high rate. At 45%, the trust pays a far larger share of each claim's value than most asbestos trusts, which means a National Gypsum claim carries real weight in a recovery.

The honest framing is that this is among the better trusts a construction or drywall worker is likely to deal with: large, stable, and paying a strong percentage. It's still one claim within a larger recovery for most people, because a construction career reaches well beyond National Gypsum, but it's a substantial piece. The trust is open and paying right now. We track the annual reporting and can walk through the full picture with you when you call.

Who qualifies for a National Gypsum trust claim

A trust claim rests on two things: a qualifying asbestos diagnosis, and proof that you were exposed to National Gypsum's asbestos products. The diagnosis side is medical. The exposure side is where the trust's rules come in, and where most of our work happens.

The exposure can have happened more ways than people expect. The trust pays on exposure to National Gypsum asbestos products whether it came on the job, from doing your own work at home, or secondhand in the household of someone who worked with the products. That last point matters: a spouse who laundered dusty work clothes, or a child in the home, can qualify on a worker's exposure. The proof is built from your own sworn account and a coworker's or family member's, describing the work, the products, the places, and the years.

For mesothelioma, you don't need heavy exposure. Mesothelioma can come from brief, limited exposure, and the trust recognizes that: a meso claim asks for credible exposure to National Gypsum products, without the heavier showing the other diseases require, and living mesothelioma claims are moved to the front of the line. The other diseases, the lung cancers, the other cancers, and the asbestosis and pleural claims, call for exposure on a regular basis over an extended period. Every category also requires at least ten years between first exposure and diagnosis, which reflects how these diseases develop.

You did not have to be a tradesman. Because joint compound and patching products were sold to anyone, the trust's exposure rules reach a homeowner who hung and finished drywall, or sanded a patch, not only the professionals. We document that the same way, through your account and any supporting records.

Family members can qualify too. As above, take-home exposure is built into the trust's rules, and families regularly file after a death. how take-home asbestos exposure works.

A note on timing: the trust has its own filing deadlines, generally measured from the date of diagnosis or of death, and the related lawsuit deadlines depend on your state. Some of these are short. We sort out which apply to you, but the safe step is to call promptly. We explain how trust and court deadlines work in our guide to how asbestos trust claims work.

How a National Gypsum claim gets filed

A trust claim isn't a lawsuit, and that surprises people who expect a courtroom. There's no judge, no jury, no deposition, and no defense lawyer arguing the other side. You're submitting a documented claim to a fund that already exists to pay it, and the trust reviews it against its written rules and pays on its schedule.

What the claim needs is proof of your diagnosis and your exposure to National Gypsum's asbestos products, and a decision about which route to take, the fast Expedited track or the higher-value Individual Review. Making that call, and putting the proof together, is our job. We gather the medical records, reconstruct the work or renovation history, document the exposure the way the trust requires, and weigh the two routes for your situation.

The trust has been paying claims since 2003 and is still accepting them, so the door is open. The fuller mechanics of how trust claims are prepared, filed, and paid are laid out in our guide to how asbestos trust claims work. When you call, we'll tell you what your specific claim is likely to involve and how the timeline tends to run.

A National Gypsum claim is rarely the only one

Here's the part that changes the math for most families: the National Gypsum trust is usually one claim out of several, and the others come from the same work.

Joint compound is the clearest example. A drywall finisher didn't use one brand; he used whatever was on the job, and several of the big joint-compound makers also went bankrupt and left their own asbestos trusts. The same sanding that supports a National Gypsum claim usually supports claims against those other makers too. Beyond joint compound, a building site or a remodel was full of other asbestos, in the ceiling texture, the insulation, the flooring, the products of many companies, so a construction career typically reaches a whole set of trusts and defendants. Because each one reviews and pays independently, the claims don't compete. They add up.

This is why even a strong National Gypsum claim, paying at a healthy 45%, is usually one piece. Built alongside the other joint-compound and building-product makers' trusts, the lawsuits against companies still in business, and, for those exposed on the job, the premises claims against the site owners, it becomes part of something much larger. We walk through a full worked example, several trusts totaled across one history, in our guide to mesothelioma trust settlement values. The full set of channels beyond the trusts is laid out next.

Sources of compensation beyond the National Gypsum trust

A National Gypsum claim usually sits inside a larger recovery, and the channels run in parallel without canceling one another out. Which ones apply depends on how you were exposed, and we file across all of them that fit.

• Asbestos bankruptcy trusts. National Gypsum is one, and as the section above explains, the other joint-compound and building-product makers reach a whole set of other trusts. They review and pay independently, so they stack, and this is usually where most of the trust recovery is. How asbestos trust claims work.
• Lawsuits against solvent manufacturers. Several makers of asbestos joint compound and other building products are still in business and can be sued directly for making and selling a product they knew was dangerous, and a lawsuit can recover more than a trust claim, though it takes longer. How asbestos product liability lawsuits work.
• Premises liability against the site owners. For someone exposed on the job, the building owners and general contractors who controlled the worksites can be held responsible for the asbestos conditions they allowed, separate from the product makers. How premises liability claims work.
• Federal and disability benefits. Depending on the work, these can include Social Security disability for anyone whose illness stops them from working, VA disability for those who also served in the military, and other federal benefits, all paid in addition to the trust and lawsuit recovery. How asbestos disability and benefit claims work.

Your National Gypsum trust claim has no defenses to answer. It's a paper claim: no opposing lawyer, no deposition, no courtroom, no one arguing the other side. The old company's asbestos liability was resolved when the trust was funded, and the trust either pays the claim or it doesn't, on its written rules.

Defenses only come up on the lawsuit side, the claims that run alongside the trust against the manufacturers still in business and the premises owners where you worked. Those defendants raise the same handful of arguments they raise in most asbestos cases, plus one specific to joint compound, and none of them is new to us. The short version is that each one describes a cleaner, smaller version of the work than the one your loved one actually did, and the evidence answers it.