Working with this insulation caused many people to develop pulmonary problems, such as asbestosis, lung cancer, mesothelioma, and other asbestos-related diseases.
Porter sold products to industrial sites in NY, NJ, PA, MD, VA, NC, and SC. Many worksites contained the asbestos-laden insulation through the 1980s and beyond, which caused the cumulative years of exposure to be much greater than the amount of time Porter distributed the products.
Lawsuits, Bankruptcy, and an Asbestos Trust
In the early 1990s, Maryland courtrooms began seeing an onslaught of lawsuits against Porter Hayden Company. One was a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the daughter of a Bethlehem Steel shipyard worker who died after being exposed to insulation dust that fell on his head as he worked at the shipyard between 1943-1945.
He passed away in 1990 after being diagnosed with asbestosis a few years prior.1 In an NJ case, a plaintiff employed by Essex Chemical Corporation from 1967-1984 as a chemical operator sued many asbestos makers and distributors, including Porter, over pulmonary problems caused by working with their materials.
After fighting off asbestos lawsuits for years, Porter Hayden Company went bankrupt in 2005 and established a trust fund in 2007 through the courts to handle the payment of claims.
The trust documents show that mesothelioma claims may be paid out at as much as $350,000 if the person can prove that they were exposed at certain worksites between 1924-1989. The trust pays out lung cancer claims at $40,000, other cancers at $11,500, and asbestosis claims at $40,000.2
File a Claim: Porter Hayden Asbestos Bodily Injury Trust
People who worked at any of the following approved worksites and were later diagnosed with asbestosis, pulmonary cancer, mesothelioma, or other asbestos-related diseases may be eligible to file claims with the trust.
A – C:
- Aberdeen Proving Grounds
- ALCOA
- Alleghany Ballistics Lab
- Allied Chemical
- American Bitumuls
- American Cyanamid Plant
- American Tobacco
- Amoco Oil Refinery
- Am. Viscose/Avtex Chemical
- Annapolis Hospital
- Applied Extrusion Technologies/AET (formerly Hercules)
- Baugh Chemical
- Bethlehem Steel
- B.G. & E.
- Black & Decker
- Broaddus College
- Broadview Apts.
- Calvert Distillery
- Carling Brewery
- Caterpillar Tractor
- Celanese Plant
- Continental Can
- Crown Cork & Seal
- Crownsville State Hospital
D – J:
- Davidson Chemical
- Disposal Plant
- Duke Power Company
- Dupont
- Eastern Stainless Steel
- E. I. Dupont
- Eisenhower Library
- Exxon
- Fairfield Shipyard
- Firestone Poly Vinyl Plant
- Firestone Synthetic Fibers Company
- FMC
- Ft. Holabird
- Ft. Meade Barracks
- Ft. Ritchie
- G. L. Martin/Mrtn Marietta – #2 Bldg
- G. L. Martin/Mrtn Marietta – Nuclear Reactors
- Gunther’s / Hamm’s / Schaeffer’s Brewery
- Harford Memorial Hospital
- Hess Oil
- J.H.H. Hospital Admin Bldg
- J.H.U. College
- J.H.U. College Alumni Hall
K – N:
- Key Highway Shipyard
- Lehigh Cement
- Lever Brothers
- Mack Trucks
- Maryland Cup
- Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock
- Maxwell House
- McGuire Nuclear Plant
- MD General Hospital
- Merck Chemical
- Mercy Hospital
- Montebello Hospital
- Morgan State College
- Morgan State College Auditorium
- Murphy Homes Apts
- National Brewery
- Naval Academy
- Newport News Shipbuilding
- Norfolk Naval Shipyard
- Norfolk Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co
- North Carolina Finishing Plant
O – W:
- Olin Matheson Chemical
- Oyster Creek Atomic Power Plant
- Peachbottom Powerhouse
- Porter Hayden
- Proctor & Gamble
- Radford Army Arsenal
- Seagrams
- Social Security Administration in Woodlawn MD
- St. Mary’s Cathedral
- Union Camp Paper Mill
- Univ Parkway/39Th St
- US Coast Guard Yard
- West Virginia Pulp & Paper Mill
- Western Electric
- Westvaco
- Weyerhaeuser Company3
Rae Steinbach
Lauren Weinand