Individual Review

Individual review is the slower, evidence-intensive way an asbestos bankruptcy trust can evaluate a claim, looking at the claimant's particular facts instead of paying a fixed scheduled value. It can pay more than the scheduled value, up to the trust's maximum for that disease level, but it can also pay less or nothing.

Origin

Individual review was written into trust distribution procedures alongside expedited review as asbestos trusts multiplied in the 1990s and 2000s, so that unusually strong claims, or claims that did not fit the fixed criteria, could still be evaluated.

Significance in Asbestos Context

A trust reviewing a claim individually may consider the claimant's age, dependents, lost earnings, medical costs, the strength and length of product exposure, and the history of verdicts and settlements in the place where the case could have been filed. Mesothelioma claims with strong exposure and significant economic losses are common candidates. Claims that fall short of expedited criteria, such as exposure at a site not on the trust's approved list or medical evidence that does not fit a category, can also be sent for individual review. The process takes longer, often many months, and requires more documentation. Each trust caps individual review awards, and the trust's payment percentage still applies. Lawyers decide trust by trust whether individual review is worth it.

Example Sentence

Because he was 58 with two children still at home, his lawyers submitted the mesothelioma claim to the trust for individual review rather than accepting the scheduled value.

Related Terms

Expedited Review, Scheduled Value, Trust Distribution Procedures, Payment Percentage, Disease Level, Approved Site List, Bankruptcy Trust Claim

Notes

• Gather proof of income, medical bills and family dependents; individual review often needs them.
• Ask your lawyer which trusts are reviewing your claim individually and roughly how long they take.